Richard milhous nixon (1913–84) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as vice president under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Nixon defeated his Democrat opponent Hubert Humphrey in a narrow vote by mobilizing a coalition of southern social conservatives organized by Strom Thurmond. In 1974 Nixon became the only U.S. president to resign from office.

In office, Nixon's administration was widely, and somewhat unfairly, believed to be primarily motivated [Page 1251]by foreign affairs and to have little interest in domestic policies. Nixon inherited the American involvement in Indochina and this ended during his administration. Another notable event occurred when he visited Chairman Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese Communist Party, in Beijing.

Nixon's ...