Nixon did have an influential role in [[White House]] political operations. He campaigned for Republican members of Congress in 1954 and 1958. Nixon positioned himself as Presidential and his famous 1959 "Kitchen debate" in [[Moscow]] with [[Soviet Union]] President [[Nikita Khrushchev]] boosted his public appeal. By the end of the Eisenhower administration Nixon had become the top contender to be the Republican nomination for the 1960 Presidential election.
Nixon invited Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] to Washington, D.C., for a meeting on 13 June 1957. This meeting, described by [[Bayard Rustin]] as a “summit conference,” marked [[national]] recognition of King's role in the civil rights movement (Rustin, 13 June 1957). Seeking support for a voter registration initiative in the South, King appealed to Nixon to urge Republicans in Congress to pass the 1957 Civil Rights Act and to visit [[the South]] to express support for civil rights. Optimistic about Nixon's commitment to improving race relations in the United States, King told Nixon, “How deeply grateful all people of goodwill are to you for your assiduous labor and dauntless courage in seeking to make the civil rights bill a reality.”
[[Image:Johnfkennedyrichardnixon.jpg|left|thumb|275px|Vice President Nixon and Senator Kennedy in their 1960 Presidential Debate.]]
Nixon's second candidacy for the presidency came amid the [[Vietnam War]] and general urban unrest stemming from perceived shortcomings of the [[civil rights]] legislation. With President [[Lyndon Johnson]] losing [[credibility]] because of the increasingly unpopular war, Nixon ran once more. Then sitting [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] [[Hubert Humphrey]] narrowly won the Democrat nomination. [[Alabama]] Democratic Governor [[George Wallace]], a strong segregationist with blue collar appeal, entered the race as a third party candidate. There was no "[[Southern strategy]]," Wallace carried all the [[Electoral college|electoral votes]] of the "Solid South." Nixon promised to end the war, unify the nation and restore law and order to the country.
[[File:Nixon in China.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Chou Enlai (left) President Nixon (center) Jiang Qing (right)]]
President Johnson announced an October Surprise intended to help Humphrey, that bombing in North Vietnam would be halted and that a cease-fire would follow, however his announcement was too late. On election day, Nixon defeated Humphrey by over 100 electoral votes, although he won the election with only 43 percent of the vote to 42 percent, partly because Wallace took 13 percent.
{{Main|United States presidential election, 1972}}
President Nixon's reelection campaign got underway in 1972. He had high approval ratings for his handling China and the Soviet Union. Nixon's Democrat opponent, [[South Dakota]] Senator [[George McGovern]] was viewed too [[liberal]] by many Americans. According to the ''[[New York Times]]'', fully one-third of all Democrats voted for Nixon.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/14/archives/poll-says-nixon-won-labor-vote-it-finds-that-54-of-union-families.html</ref> However, there was still concern in the Nixon camp because of his close victory in 1968 and the continued involvement in the Vietnam War. President Nixon beat McGovern in 49 out of 50 states.
==Presidency (1969-1974)==
===The petrodollar agreement===
{{See also|Petrodollar}}In August 1971, Nixon ended the convertibility of U.S. dollars into gold, in the face of mounting inflation and debts caused in part by out-of-control government spending and in part by the war. This caused the value of the dollar to enter a state of free fall. In June 1974, Nixon addressed this issue by signing a series of bilateral agreements with Saudi Arabia, in which the latter country would use its political influence to coerce [[OPEC]] into standardizing the sale of oil in dollars, therefore preserving the dollar's status as the global reserve currency in the post-Bretton Woods era.[https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/072915/how-petrodollars-affect-us-dollar.asp][https://www.fxcm.com/uk/insights/what-is-the-petrodollar/] This agreement -- which is arguably unconstitutional because it undermines Congress' oversight of the valuation of money as prescribed in Article I, Section VIII[https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript] -- helped set the stage for the undue influence Saudi Arabia and its [[Neoconservatism|neocon]] allies have had on the U.S. government todayinto the early 21st century.
===Impeachment proceedings===
*"You see, homosexuality, dope, immorality in general. These are the enemies of strong societies. That's why the communists and left-wingers are pushing the stuff, they're trying to destroy us."<ref>https://origins.osu.edu/article/illegalization-marijuana-brief-history/page/0/1</ref>
*"The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire."
*"Never forget, the press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy. The professors are the enemy. Professors are the enemy. Write that on a blackboard 100 times and never forget it."<ref>https://www.australiaunwrapped.com/meaningful-inspirational-quotes-by-richard-m-nixon/</ref>
*"Let us remember that as a Christian nation . . . we have a charge and a destiny"<ref>Richard Nixon, “[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-national-prayer-breakfast-6 Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast],” ''American Presidency Project'', February 1st, 1972.</ref>
==References==
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Moderate Republicans]]
[[Category:Affirmative Action]]
[[Category:Diplomacy]]
[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:Former United States Representatives]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:Victims of Cancel Culture]]
[[Category:Victims of the liberal agenda]]
[[Category:Anti-establishment]]
[[Category:Republican Anti-establishment]]