Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon in 1963
36th President of the United States Incumbent
Assumed Office: January 20, 1961
Vice President	John F. Kennedy
Preceded by	Estes Kefauver
Succeeded by	John F. Kennedy
United States Senator from California
In Office December 1, 1950 - January 1, 1961
Preceded by	Sheridan Downey
Succeeded by	Thomas Kuchel
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 12th district
In Office January 3, 1947 - November 30, 1950
Preceded by	Jerry Voorhis
Succeeded by	Patrick J. Hillings
Personal details
Native name	Richard Milhous Nixon
Date of birth	January 9, 1913
Place of birth	Yorba Linda, California, U.S.
Age at start	49 years old
Nationality	American
Role	Starting leader of the USA
Political party	Republican-Democratic Coalition - (Republican)
Ideology	Silent Conservatism

Richard Milhous Nixon (Born January 9, 1913) is a Republican Party politician and the 36th and starting president of the United States of America in The New Order.

In-Game Description

Richard Milhous Nixon is a complicated figure. Originally a Representative, and then Senator from California, he rapidly rose through the ranks of Congress through skilled political maneuvering. During his time as a Senator, Nixon worked closely with Joe McCarthy in carrying out the Grey Scare, working to root out suspected fascists in government. And while he didn't share the spotlight to the same extent as McCarthy did, nobody doubts that Nixon is still an anti-fascist crusader through and through.

A lifelong member of the Republican Party, Nixon has never been totally comfortable working alongside the Democrats. The broad popularity of the National Progressive Pact dictates that they must, however, and the coalition ticket that won him the 1960 election has made his presidency a living hell. John F. Kennedy's position as the Vice President has driven a wedge in the Executive Branch, as his own magnetic charisma and stunning competence have taken the spotlight away from Nixon more than once.

As much as Nixon wants to focus on foreign policy, so he can act to undermine the unstable German and Japanese empires, domestic affairs have gotten in the way. Civil rights issues can no longer be ignored, as racial tensions flare and people demand action, one way or another. While Nixon has been reluctant to endorse either segregation or integration, staying on the fence is becoming increasingly costly.

Of course, Nixon is also doing what he can to keep the NPP down, including some... extralegal means. With challengers coming at him from all sides, including within the White House, Nixon will have a hell of a time trying to keep the ship of state steady.

Biography

Early Life & Career

Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9th, 1913 on his family's lemon ranch in Yorba Linda, California. Nixon's early life was marked by hardship. At a young age with his father's lemon business going under in 1922 and then losing his younger brother to illness in 1925, he suffered from a nasty case of pneumonia as a young child. However, things started to look up for Nixon in his teens when he joined Fullerton Union High School's debate and basketball teams, however, his older brother, Harold, developed tuberculosis that would later kill him a couple of years later. In 1928, Nixon began his political career on a bad note when he lost the election for student body president. Nixon graduated high school third in his class in 1930 and was offered a tuition grant to attend the prestigious Harvard University.

Nixon's 1946 congressional campaign flyer

Nixon, however, turned it down to instead attend the local Whittier College, so he could more easily attend college while helping out at his father's grocery store. After finishing his Bachelor summa cum laude in 1934, Nixon was accepted into Duke University School of Law. After finishing Law School and passing the bar in 1937 Nixon began practicing law in Whittier, California where he met his future wife Pat. In January 1942, Nixon moved to Washington D.C. to work under the Officer of Price Administration. Nixon, however, did not enjoy working there so he joined the Navy and was made an officer in the Naval Reserve, serving between 1942 and 1946. In 1946, Nixon was convinced by a family friend to run in California's 12th congressional district election on the Republican ticket.

Road to the Presidency

Nixon (back row, far right) and John F. Kennedy (second from the right) participate in a radio broadcast as 1947 freshmen House members.

After being elected as the Representative for California's 12th district in 1946 and 1948, Nixon would go on to be elected as a Senator from California in 1950. Nixon would remain as a Senator until 1961, when he resigned his Senate seat to assume the Presidency. During his time as Senator, Nixon would work closely with fellow Republican senator Joe McCarthy in his Grey Scare to root out suspected Fascists within the US federal government. Nixon's role in the Grey Scare would give him a reputation as an anti-fascist crusader.

1960 presidential election results

In 1960, Nixon was convinced by the Republican party leadership to run for the Presidency under the Republican-Democratic Coalition (RDC) alongside Democratic senator John F. Kennedy in that year's presidential election. The ticket would be the first time two candidates on the same ticket were from opposing parties since Republican president Abraham Lincoln ran with Andrew Johnson, a Democrat in 1864. The Nixon-Kennedy ticket would defeat the National Progressive Pact (NPP) ticket, consisting of Henry M. Jackson and J. William Fulbright, in a landslide. Nixon would win 424 electoral votes and 58.5% of the national popular vote.

"Dirty Tricks" campaign

Nixon's landslide victory would not prove entirely fairly won. Using ties with F.B.I. Director, J. Edgar Hoover, Nixon would employ a campaign of "dirty tricks", which would see several sabotage operations be enacted against the NPP and its candidate, Henry M. Jackson. Nixon's campaign would begin to steal crucial information from files taken from the NPP and discredit the Pact by making light of the Nazi and Communist members, including Francis Parker Yockey and Gus Hall. Nixon would approve the wiretapping of the National Progressive Pact Headquarters and would work on dividing the NPP in the election to hinder their chances of winning while boosting the Republican Party's standing in the RDC. The "Dirty Tricks" campaign would prove to be a resounding success, aiding in the hindering of the NPP's growth and Nixon's own dominance of the RDC during his time as President.

Presidency (1961-1964)

Nixon was inaugurated on January 20th, 1961, and was sworn in by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Pat Nixon held the family Bibles open at Isaiah 2:4, which reads, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." In his inaugural address, which received almost uniformly positive reviews, Nixon remarked that "the greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker"—a phrase that found a place on his gravestone.

Foreign Policy

The flag of the Einheitspakt

The flag of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Nixon continued the policy of "containment", the belief that the United States should limit the expansion of fascism abroad rather than enter into direct confrontation with the German-led Einheitspakt and the Japanese-led Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Nixon would often act as the decider in foreign policy matters; often ignoring his own Secretary of State, William P. Rogers.

As President, Nixon would have to deal with escalating tensions between the African Reichskommissariats (Zentralafrika, Ostafrika and Südwestafrika) and South Africa. The US would undergo an economic battle with the Reichskommissariats to claim economic dominance over South Africa. The tensions would soon continue to escalate, which would lead to the South African War in November of 1963.

A U-2 reconnaissance photograph of Hawaii, showing Japanese nuclear missiles.

Furthermore, Nixon would have to deal with the Hawaiian Missile Crisis, involving the placement of Japanese ICBM missiles on the Hawaiian Islands. Nixon would be given recommendations to invade the islands in 1961, however, he took the advice of Vice President Kennedy and chose not to invade while allowing Kennedy to enter into negotiations with Japan. While the United States has laid claim to the islands since 1959, they remain under Japanese control.

While Hawaii would prove to be a big focus of the Nixon administration, the threat to the independence of the Philippines would prove to be daunting. With a Japanese presence on the island of Luzon, the Japanese sought to remove American influence from the Pacific entirely, which included the American-supported Free Philippines Republic.

Domestic Policy

Civil Rights

By the time of Nixon's inauguration, the issue of Civil Rights had gripped the nation since the 1950s. While Civil Rights protests had become more prominent by the month, Nixon had employed a stance of ignoring the problem in the hopes that not fueling either side would make the protests less prominent. The fragile Republican-Democratic Coalition was split on their support of Civil Rights, with conservative Democrats and Republicans being against it and liberal Democrats and Republicans being for it. Nixon attempted to hedge the issue by trying to appease both civil rights leaders and segregationists. This attempt to toe the line would ultimately fail and lead to nationwide riots. In the ideal of "law and order", Nixon would bolster the American police force to handle the massive riots.

Although the cause of Civil Rights was entirely unignorable by 1962, Nixon continued to try and remain politically neutral, however, the vocally pro-civil rights Kennedy and the Civil Rights Act of 1962 would end up forcing Nixon to acknowledge civil rights and his decision to either pass the bill or veto it would decide America's relationship with race permanently.

Economy

When Nixon entered office, he oversaw an era of stagnation. As the American economy struggled, so did many other nations connected to the US economy, especially Canada. As Nixon began to devalue the US Dollar, it caused an economic recession that would be dubbed the "Nixon Shock". With the American economy still struggling, many are beginning to call it the "American Malaise".