Good day audience! I am a member of the presidential libraries and as a member, I get general admission included to visit the presidential libraries anytime. These libraries are great for history and people who want to learn facts about the presidents' administrations. There are 14 presidential libraries including the upcoming Obama museum. The libraries I have attended include those of JFK, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon. If one happens to visit Northeastern Orange County and wants to escape the shopping malls, beach, or Disneyland, one should hop to Yorba Linda, both Richard Nixon's birthplace and the location of his museum.
The Richard Nixon Presidential Museum and Library is the final resting place of both Richard Nixon and his wife Pat. The museum was opened on July 19, 1990. The museum goes into exclusive detail about the president's life, history, and career. His family home was designed to appear as it did in the 1910s. Wow! What an impressive fact for those who like to explore history. The museum did a massive expansion in 2016 and includes the oval office, media to appeal to millennials, the Vietnam War, Nixon in China, and Nixon's sitting room. These exhibits add more variety and give one a better appreciation of Richard Nixon's legacy. The main topics I hope to address are Nixon's life, the Vietnam War, his accomplishments, and the Watergate Scandal. I'd rather relive Watergate than live Trump and Putin.
Richard Nixon was born in Yorba Linda on January 9, 1913. Interesting fact: Richard Nixon's father was a grocer like I am. One of Nixon's earlier quotes about his life was, "We were poor, but the glory of it is we didn't know it." That would make everyone's financial problems much easier today if they adopted that mentality. Both of Nixon's brothers died before he turned 20. Richard Nixon got into Harvard, but due to finances, he went to Whittier College and got a full scholarship to Duke University Law School. In 1940, he married a schoolteacher Pat and had two daughters.
Richard Nixon was determined to do what it took to be president. In 1960, he competed against John F. Kennedy. Talk about the heartbreaking loss, by just 120,000 votes. Reminds me of the 2000 election of Bush vs. Gore. At least JFK won the popular vote. Upon return to California, he was encouraged to run for governor against Pat Brown, ultimately loosing to her. Richard Nixon decided to come back and run for president against Hubert Humphrey and independent George Wallace. He won the election by 500,000. If Nixon taught us anything, it teaches us to do what it takes to follow our dreams. I can relate to Nixon in the sense that I've been trying for years to get a job in entertainment and travel, and despite my failures, I keep trying to get that job.
One of the major conflicts that Richard Nixon had to endure was the war in Vietnam caused by Lyndon B. Johnson. He really had a dilemma because the war caused the country to be split. If he didn't end the war, there would be outrage, but if he did, it would be an outrage too. Part of the problems he faced with the Vietnam War was that Democrats could charge Nixon abandoning a peaceful solution with war crimes. But if he didn't end the war, Saigon would fall. He slowly pulled troops out of Vietnam. In 1972, there were no troops on the combat field and by 1973, only 25,000 soldiers remained in Vietnam. The Vietnam War is a subject we can all debate if it was necessary or not. However this ended the mandated draft. Ending the war will go down as one of Nixon's accomplishments.
Like or hate Richard Nixon, he tried his best to make America better than when he came in. He accomplished some excellent goals that helped set up our country for success. He founded the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), which was in response to pollution and conservation. Some of the laws that were passed were the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Mamel Marine Act. These laws have been very beneficial to make the environment safer and easier to battle global warming. He started the War on Cancer which created national cancer centers and medications to battle cancer. My favorite accomplishment of Nixon was that he was the first US President to visit China. He eased relations between China and America, making it easier for me to go on my favorite trip since graduating high school and go to Shanghai Disneyland this summer. I think these were excellent traits of this president. Unfortinatly, the Watergate Scandle were what led to the end of Nixon.
Most of us are aware of the Watergate scandal, and it is relevant today to Trump colluding with Russia. There was a break-in on June 17, 1972 at the Democratic National Committee. The people involved were with Richard Nixon's re-election campaign. They used wiretapping phones and stole documents. Nixon made sure that Watergate was covered up. This caused people to question their leaders. Two reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein from the Washington Post, did a deep investigation and were applauded for their efforts in investigating and won a Pulitzer prize. This was traced back to Nixon because phone numbers of the re-election campaign were with the burglars' stuff. Also Richard Nixon arranged hush money to the burglars to keep quiet about Watergate, like Donald Trump did for Stormy Daniels. Nixon's administration tried to impede the CIA, which was both an abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The Saturday Night Massacre, October 20, 1973, was when Archibald Cox was fired upon his request for Nixon to give up the tapes. Nixon was forced to resign on August 8, 1974 and six weeks later was pardoned by Gerald Ford. This was a dark time, causing a lot of problems for years to come. Nixon was at least admirable for leaving when he knew he was in trouble. We live in similar times now and I hope that we have a country where we can trust our leaders.
After Nixon resigned, he returned to Southern California to have a regular life. He went back home to San Clemente. He had a lot of struggles, both physically and financially, since Watergate. He died on April 22, 1994, and his wife Pat died a year earlier. At the end of the library, they had the video of his memorial. Richard Nixon left a legacy both good and bad, but did care for America's best interests. I hope that if you happen to be in Orange County or traveling from Riverside County, you will get off the 91 freeway and make up your own opinion about Nixon. Please watch this video: https://youtu.be/zztLek59e_M
