Richard Nixon : Speeches, Writings, Documents

by Nixon, Richard; Perlstein, Rick

• ISBN13: 9781400835683
• ISBN10: 1400835682
• Copyright: 2010-02-10
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

The first book to present America's most controversial president in his own words across his entire career, this unique collection of Richard Nixon's most important writings dramatically demonstrates why he has had such a profound impact on American life. This volume gathers everything from schoolboy letters to geostrategic manifestos and Oval Office transcripts to create a fascinating portrait of Nixon, one that is enriched by an extensive introduction in which Rick Perlstein puts forward a major reinterpretation of the thirty-seventh president's rise and fall.This anthology includes some of the most famous addresses in American history, from Nixon's "Checkers" speech (1952) and "Last Press Conference" (1962), to the "Silent Majority" speech (1969) and White House farewell. These texts are joined by campaign documents--including the infamous "Pink Sheet" from the 1950 Senate race--that give stark evidence of Nixon's slashing political style. Made easily available here for the first time, these writings give new depth to our understanding of Nixon.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Youth

From RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (1978)

Two letters (1923 and 1924)

"Our Privileges under the Constitution" (1929)

From the Frank Gannon interviews (1983)

Congress

"The Hiss Case--A Lesson for the American People" (Washington, D.C., January 26, 1950)

The "Pink Sheet" (California, 1950)

The "Checkers Speech" (September 23, 1952)

Vice President

"When you go out to shoot rats" (March 13, 1954)

The "Kitchen Debate" (Moscow, July 24, 1959)

The Great Debate: Kennedy v. Nixon (Chicago, September 26, 1960)

Comeback

"Gentlemen, this is my last press conference" (Los Angeles, November 6, 1962)

"The irresponsible tactics of some of the extreme civil rights leaders" (Cincinnati, February 12, 1964)

"Appraisal from Manila" (November 4, 1966)

"What Has Happened to America?" (Reader's Digest, October 1967)

"Asia after Viet Nam" (Foreign Affairs, fall 1967)

"The first civil right of every American is to be free from domestic violence" (Republican National Convention, Miami Beach, August 8, 1968)

President

"To lower our voices would be a simple thing" (inaugural address, January 20, 1969)

"The present welfare system has to be judged a colossal failure" (August 8, 1969)

"The great silent majority of my fellow Americans" (November 3, 1969)

"The postwar period in international relations has ended" ("State of the World" message, February 18, 1970)

Four Vietnam Statements (1970)

Two political statements from 1970

"Our best days lay ahead" (August 15, 1971)

"One China" (Shanghai, February 24, 1972)

"He can undisappear if we want him to" (Oval Office, June 23, 1972)

"Her name was Tanya" (Miami Beach Convention Center, August 23, 1972)

"There can be no whitewash at the White House" (April 30, 1973)

"I am not a crook" (November 17, 1973)

"I made clear there was to be no coverup" (April 29, 1974)

"My mother was a saint" (August 9, 1974)

Index

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