Richard Nixon 's Background and His Political Views

This research examines how Richard Nixon's background and upbringing in poverty influenced his political thought and positions when he served in the US House of Representatives and when he served as US Vice President. The research will provide an overview of Nixon's early life and then discuss patterns of influence on his political philosophy and behavior in the first period of his public life.

When Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974, his valedictory address to the White House staff included references to his upbringing. In the day of tell-all, in-your-face confessionals that sight the boundaries of vulgarity almost as a matter of routine, it is perhaps unusual to remark that this mid-1970s public figure revealed private information about his background on national television, but the fact that he described his father as a great man and his mother as a saint is noteworthy for its uncharacteristically heartfelt quality.

I remember my old man. I think that they would have called him sort of a little man, common man. He didn't consider himself that way. You know what he was? He was a streetcar motorman first, and then he was a farmer, and then he had a lemon ranch. It was the poorest lemon ranch in California, I can assure you. He sold it before they found oil on it. [Laughter] And then he was a grocer. But he was a great man, because he did his job, and every job counts up to the hilt, regardless of what happens.

Nobody will ever write a book, proba

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lar trait, Abrahamsen sees a direct link between Nixon's childhood and his choice of a political career. Many biographers feel that Richard Nixon's entry into politics was accidental. . . . It is my conclusion that the antagonism between father and son led Richard Nixon into the combat of politics. He was interested in politics as a young man, and there is little doubt that he was influenced by his father's political interests (Abrahamsen, 1977, p. 66). Whatever truth lies in the details of Nixon's early family life, there is little doubt that, like all other children, the Nixon boys were shaped in significant part by the vicissitudes of their home environment. In sum, Abrahamsen takes the view that family influences worked strongly to shape Nixon's fundamental personality and behavior and even to prefigure patterns of his political behavior: Nixon's forebears were wandering people, perpetually seeking new lands which held greater promise. But despite their hard work, they . . . were never "well-to-do," and they survived on the margin of poverty. . . . These patterns were strongly pronounced in Frank, and later became readily apparent in Nixon. Even though Richard Nixon did succeed, he ultimately failed (Abrahamsen, 1977, p. 32

Category: Government - R