Hi everybody, today my mommy is going to talk about Richard M. Nixon.

Thank you, Noah, for introducing Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president of the United States.

At the start of his second term in January of 1973,

Richard Nixon was at the peak of his popularity,

having won the election of 1972 by 18 million votes

and an electoral college vote of 520 to 17. Only Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. voted for Nixon's challenger,

Democrat George McGovern. Even George McGovern's home state of South Dakota voted in favor of Nixon.

Less than 19 months after his astounding election victory, Nixon became the first

and only president to resign. How did things go south so quickly? Let's find out. Richard Nixon

was born in California in 1913. He attended a Quaker college where he majored in history.

He then graduated from Duke University Law School in 1937 and returned to California to practice law.

He met Phelma Ryan, who was often called Pat, which was a

nickname given to her by her father, and they got married in June of 1940. When America got involved

in World War II the following year, Nixon joined the U.S. Navy, where he earned the rank of lieutenant.

Upon returning to the United States after the war, Republican officials from California

encouraged Richard Nixon to run for the House of Representatives.

Richard Nixon was a shrewd politician and was aware of the fear many Americans had of communism.

He used that fear while campaigning for the House of Representatives and later the Senate by suggesting that his opponents were soft on communism.

This proved to be an effective strategy that got Nixon elected to the House

and then the Senate. While serving in Congress, Richard Nixon was part of the Un-American

Activities Committee, which was responsible for investigating people that may be acting against the U.S. government.

Richard Nixon continued to rise to new heights and gain recognition for his efforts against communism.

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