Richard Nixon Checkers Speech Analysis

When people are in power, they tend to use it to their own personal gain. Nixon is guilty

Lyndon B Johnson was a horrible president. He started a war that split the country in half. People who lived through President Johnson’s years remember him badly. But then – there was Nixon, who not only was as bad as Johnson, he was actually worse. President Richard Nixon was the 37th president whose term lasted from 1969 to 1974. Nixon was doomed to almost certain impeachment. With the threat of impeachment looming over his head, he resigned on August 9, 1974. Several of President Nixon’s actions such as the Watergate scandal, violation of international law, and attempt at wage and price controls made Lyndon Johnson look like a saint in comparison.

Nixon used several logical fallacies in his 1952 Checkers Speech when addressing the issue of funding and how it was received. He attempted to use distraction (Red Herring fallacy) when discussing communism. This was an obvious attempt to capitalize on the fear of communist parties of that time and provided distraction from the illegal funding he had received.

Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson were presidents during one of the most troubled periods in our American history. Both held on with significant social unrest and the question of whether to continue participation in the Vietnam War. Even though both Nixon and Johnson faced similar problems while in office, their style and approach to problems was profoundly different. Even so, Johnson and Nixon shared a disposition to bluff the public and their fellow colleagues in order to pursue what they wanted to do. No matter if it was wrong. .

On the evening of September 23, 1952 former President Richard Nixon, then senator of California addressed issues regarding counter critics who claimed he took $18,000 contribution and used it for personal expenses. His purpose was to persuade Americans of his moral innocence. The speech that was not named but due to the fame of the speech it became known as Checkers Speech, as Nixon admits that his family dog, Checkers was a political gift. Nixon appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos throughout his speech by persuading to credibility, emotions, and reasoning.

One event he is most famous for during his Vice-Presidency is the “kitchen debate” with Khrushchev at the United States exhibition in Moscow (Small 47). This particular debate argued capitalism verses communism and it just so happened to take place in a kitchen (Small 49). He was the first American official to address the Soviets in a live television broadcast. Over the next eight years, Nixon continued to elevate the office of vice president to a new level. With his youthful and vigorous attitude, he made sure he would be the most active vice president in any previous administration.

Richard Nixon. If you didn’t already know, there is a very large amount of controversy surrounding this former president. A large part of this controversy has something to do with him being elected president in both 1968 and 1972. These many years allowed many good, bad, and controversial topics surrounding Nixon. Before we can get to all this controversy in regards to this president, we shall explore what Nixon did before his presidency and what policies he had while he was still in office, because it has become blatantly obvious that too many people in the United States are

Vice President he did many things. “While Vice President to Eisenhower, Nixon made the position important. He took National Security Meetings, when the President could not. He also went on good will trips to gain support for the American’s during the Cold War”(Nixon Library). This is an important achievement because the role of Vice President did not have much meaning before then, other than as a backup in the unlikely event something were to happen to the president. This also shows he was always very involved with his job and strived to be good at it. When Nixon won the 1968 election he did many things in his tenure as president. “During his presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Vietnam, improved relations between the US and USSR, and relations between the US and China.” This has meaning as it shows that Nixon was good at his job, and truly

After the Watergate scandal, Nixon was not trusted by the people and congress. In his speech Nixon announced, “ it has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to justify continuing that effort” (Passage 1 Paragraph 2). This describes Congress not trusting Nixon, because Nixon does not have a strong political base with them. Nixon is sure that, “because of the of the Watergate matter”, he won’t have the needed support from Congress (Passage 1 Paragraph 5). This describes how the Watergate incident made Nixon untrustworthy, because Nixon strongly believes the Congress will not support him after the scandal.

On September 23, 1952, the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Richard Nixon gave a speech famously known as the “Checkers” or the “Fund” speech. The speech addressed the controversy of a slush fund of $18,000 dollars that had been donated from his political supporters for his personal use. The accusation of the slush fund caused doubt about Nixon’s position on the Republican ticket. In response, Nixon broadcasted a thirty-minute speech that included Nixon defending his innocence, attacking those who supported the accusations, and urged the American people to believe in his innocence so he could remain on the Republican ballot.

the purpose of the “Checkers Speech” was to reaffirm Nixon’s status as a reputable politician the public

While in office Ronald Reagan had a disapproval rating that soared to 54% in 1983 (How the Presidents Stack Up). However, in 2001, his retrospective disapproval rating was a mere 27% (Newport). Often the focus of criticism while in office, Ronald Reagan has become known within the ranks of historians as one of the most influential American Presidents, ranking 10th in the Annual C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leaders in 2009 (C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leadership). Lauded as the “Great Communicator,” much has been said of Reagan and his oratorical skills, including his simplicity, clarity, and sincerity of speech (Thompson). While his speech at the Bradenburg Gate, with its famous line, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” has

Richard M. Nixon was a former vice president who barely won the election in 1968 against Hubert Humphrey for the Republican party. Once in his presidency, President Nixon pleased and displeased citizens in the United States. He was not necessarily the most liked president, but he was not the most disliked either. By 1972, it was time for the

"Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country," is a well-known quote among Americans that has so much meaning behind it. John F. Kennedy was a president for the United States and loved among many American citizens. His speeches were always thought out and used many rhetoric devices to reel his audience in. Therefore, making his speeches brilliant and known the citizens of America. By going over the main points of rhetoric JFK used in his innagural speech like antithesis, pathos, and the theme one can realize how deep the speech actually is.

Cultures have been passing down belief for thousands of years. Violence of one race on another is as common and abundant as religion. Racism, judging an entire race or culture base on an individual or small group. Many of our wars in history have been stated bases solely on this concept. The lack of understanding one another, judging base on a skew presentation often lead to violence. Robert Kennedy speech is relevant even today as it resonates with what happening now. This speech does bring up many thoughts on the issue.