The Historical Visit of President Nixon to China Essay

This caused American and Communist Chinese forces to fight each other during the Korean War, which began in 1949. Communist threats against Taiwan in the 1950's drove the U.S. and the Chinese Communists to the brink of nuclear war. The U.S. went to war in Vietnam in part to prevent the expansion of Chinese Communism. For the United States, China today is neither an outright enemy, nor a trusted friend. Today tensions exist because of the kind of government China has, and the actions it takes.

During the 1960 presidential election, the candidates Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy made history by partaking in the first televised debate. The two men both gave their opinions on a multitude of issues and both argued their positions well, but the true argument was among the people who listened to the debate on the radio and the people who watched the debate on television. For those who listened to the debate, Richard Nixon was the clear winner; but, for those who watched the debate, Richard Nixon’s sweaty face appeared uncomfortable in comparison to Kennedy’s calm and collected appearance. This begs the question when is sweat “good/acceptable/attractive” and when is sweat “bad/unacceptable/unattractive”? With the assistance of a simple

President Richard M. Nixon’s administration had to face many international and domestic challenges in the United States between 1968 and 1974, some positive and some negative. His achievements in expanding peaceful relationships with both China and the Soviet Union are contrastingly different with his continuation of the Vietnam War. In the end, Nixon’s scandals and abuse of presidential power caught up to him, and his administration did much to corrode America’s faith in the government.

Playing the China card was a new way Nixon was able to integrate his idea of linkage politics. His theory was that because China was afraid of the Soviets, they may purse relations with the United States, which in return, would help control the USSR (PBS Nixon

Richard Nixon; the name alone brings to mind terrible words along the lines of scandal and failure. Nixon was the 37th president of the United States. He was also the first and last president to resign from office. However, the scandals leading to Nixon’s resignation definitely overshadowed his humble beginnings and the accomplishments he made as president during the notorious decades of the Cold War.

The politics of the ultratight resonated deeply with Richard Nixon. Nixon had cut his political teeth as a young Red-hunting member of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. His home district in Orange Country, California, was widely known as a Birch Society stronghold. The Los Angeles-area Birch Society claimed the membership of several political and economic elites, including members of the Chandler family, which owned and published the Los Angeles Times. According to the writer David Halberstam (1979, 118) the Times, which was once described as “the most rabid Labor-bating, Red-hating paper in the United States,” virtually created Richard Nixon.

decision to bomb Japan was mainly focused on Truman's confrontational approach to the Soviet Union.”Moreover, this subject is thought to be more appropriately thought as a side benefit of dropping the bomb and not so much its sole purpose.

Prior to Communism in China, it was known to be a chaotic country on the brink of self-destruction. With the emergence of the party leader Mao Zedong, came a new hope, which filled its inhabitants with the belief that China would return to its former historical greatness. American and Chinese relations before 1971 were in simple terms described as “uneasy”, due to the American, Soviet Cold War. It was not until President Richard Nixon visited China and realized the high value of having China as a ally that relations between the two powers began to become positive. Unknown at the time, it is assumed in the book Chinese Lessons written by John Pomfret, that the relationships he formed with the people he met in China would change his outlook on life and Communist China forever.

Following the War of 1812, the United States established itself as a world power and proved its capability to protect needy nations. After the French Revolution, nations realized the importance of balancing power and recognized the dangerousness of one nation holding excessive power. (Stanley Chodorow, MacGregor Knox, Conrad Schirokauer, Joseph Strayer, Hans Gatzke 1969) For years, America held the policy of isolationism and only intervened in other countries’ affairs if necessary. Despite strained relations in the past, diplomatic relations with China began in 1979. (Andrew J. Nathan, Columbia University 2009) Last year, an American battleship entered the South China Sea, inspecting Chinese activities. As an ally and nation known to keep the

Richard Nixon's presidency is one of the most examined, analyzed and discussed, yet least understood, of all the American administrations in history. While many factors still remain to be discovered, and many mysteries are left to be resolved, we need to do the best that we can to make sense of this secretive president of our past and his era. He is the one American figure about whom very few people don't have strong feelings for. Nixon is loved and hated, honored and mocked . The term 'Watergate', labeled by Congress in 1974, stands for not only the burglary, but also for the numerous instances of officially sanctioned criminal activity and abuses of power as well as the obstruction of justice that preceded the actual break-in.

As the years passed, the United States and China were on alert with the Soviet Union's military power and expansionist plans. Between the world's

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Cold War was over, making the U.S. the only superpower left in the world. This has made the international system much more tranquil, and relaxed. The only country potentially powerful besides the U.S., is China. Many Americans fear China, not only because they are communist, but also because of their huge population. Their population is 1.3 billion people, which accounts 1/5th of the world’s population. As one of the only potential superpowers in the world, it would be in the best interest of all Americans if the U.S. and China became allies, instead of enemies. Peace and development, economic prosperity and social progress, are goals that both of

n the years 1937 and 1941 the U.S. relationships with China and Japan were influenced by the conflicts between the two Countries. These conflicts contributed to the United States going to war with Germany and Japan. In China the U.S. officials saw developments that they did not agree with. One of these developments were the Japanese invasion into northeast China and Japanese military rising. The U.S. opposed both of these developments because they valued their friendship with China and because of this friendship the U.S. helped China. The U.S. did not help a lot because they were afraid of provoking Japan. On July 7, 1937 China went to war with Japan and the U.S. began providing more aid to China. This happened because of an incident on the

During World War II the US and the USSR were strong and friendly allies that successfully defeated Hitler. Thus, once the war was over the US and the USSR emerged as the world’s reigning super powers but soon to be mortal enemies (Davidson, 570). This hatred towards each other did not arise overnight though. The tension between the two countries somewhat began at the Yalta Conference in February of 1945. When World War II in Europe was coming to an end, the Big Three (British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin) met in Russia to discuss how to politically shape postwar Europe. Heavy debate erupted, which alluded to the extreme ideological differences between the US and the USSR. Therefore, tensions and conflicts started to rise between the two (LaFeber, 13).

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has become more integrated and willing to cooperate within the global political and economic systems than ever in its history. However, there is growing apprehension in the Asia-Pacific region and the U.S. in regards to the consequences of rising in economic and military power in China. Descriptions about Chinese diplomacy in the policy and scholarly are less positive lately concerning China’s obedience to regional and international rules. There was little debate in the U.S. and elsewhere in regards to whether China was or was not part “the international community.” Scholars and experts in the early 1990s have contended