Mrs. Bossu
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3/24/17
Richard M. Nixon Richard M. Nixon was born on January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California. He was the second of five children belonging to Frank and Hannah Nixon. From a young age the Nixon family was plagued with bad luck. Is younger brother died in 1925 and his older, who he was very close to, died in 1933 of tuberculosis. In 1922, the Nixon ranch failed and his family moved closer to his mother’s family in Whittier, California. His family never had much money, however, Nixon was credited with saying “We were poor, but the glory of it was we didn't know it.” During his high school career at Whittier High School he ran for student body president, but lost to a more popular student. His academic success …show more content…
To win this position, Nixon utilized a tactic he would repeatedly use throughout his political career; he exploited his opponent, Voorhis’s, alleged communist sympathies. In the end, Nixon won a seat on the US House of Representatives by more than fifteen thousand votes. While in this position, Nixon served on the Education and Labor Committee and was one of those in support of the Taft-Harley Act. As a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee he became a controversial national figure. This stemmed from him leading the investigation of former State Department official Alger Hiss for being an alleged spy for Russia during World War II. Nixon was opposed, however, years later, Hiss’ guilt was revealed and he was pegged as a fervent anti-communist. Nixon was reelected for congress in 1948. In 1950, won the position of California Senator by nearly half a million votes after distorting his opponent, Helen Douglas’s voting history as left-wing. This move earned him the unflattering nickname “Tricky Dick” that followed him for the rest of his life. Nixon won the attention of President Eisenhower for his anti-communist reputation and, in 1952, won the nomination as vice president. However, during his campaign, a rumor surfaced that he held a secret fund for his own use. Eisenhower gave him a chance to clear his name and, in a nationally televised statement, Nixon affirmed the existence of the fund but denied that any of it was being used for the wrong purpose. Eventually, he won the positon as vice president. In this positon, he attended many of the high-power meetings meant for Eisenhower as the president was often incapacitated by sickness. In a way, he was already