Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Richard M. Nixon
Today, January 9, 2013 marks the centennial of President Richard M. Nixon’s birth. Festivities to celebrate the life of this extraordinary man are planned all month at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California. In addition, special events commemorating the legacy of our 37th president will take place across the nation, including a gala birthday reunion taking place today at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., also home of the Nixon Center.
Presdient Richard M. Nixon
Richard Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California in 1913, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and served two terms as Vice President under Dwight Eisenhower before being elected President of the United States in 1968. He has increasingly come to be regarded as one of the two greatest presidents of the 20th century, along with Ronald Reagan. Among the many accomplishments during his years in the White House, Nixon ended the Vietnam War, opened the door to China, set the groundwork for the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of communism in Eastern Europe, lowered the voting age to 18 and ended the military draft. He died following a stroke in 1994 and is buried next to his wife, Pat, in a simple grave on the grounds of the Nixon Library.
President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon
Visitors to Vietnam today would be pleased to see that it is now a country of hard working entrepreneurs thriving under capitalism. The former capital of South Vietnam, renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the war, is now called Saigon once again. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi is essentially ignored and the Square is virtually empty. Both Vietnam and China are friendly countries filled with people who like America and Americans. This is truly a great legacy for President Richard M. Nixon. Wise men still look to his series of best selling books as a blueprint for foreign policy forty years later.
The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California
One has to wonder how much better the world would be today if Richard Nixon had been able to complete his second term. He was reelected in 1972 by one of the largest landslides in American history with over 60% of the popular vote and carrying every state but Massachusetts. But his liberal Democrat detractors were hard at work undermining his successful presidency, never mind what the American people wanted and so wisely recognized as a great president. Faced with both a House and Senate controlled by the Democrats throughout his presidency, it was a tribute to the skill of this great statesmen that he was able to accomplish anything at all. In a time before balanced cable news, the liberal palaver of all three major networks went unopposed, enabling their news anchormen to become willing accomplices for what have come to be known as the ‘Nixon haters’. Rather than put the country through any further turmoil, Nixon graciously resigned. We were so fortunate to have had such a great man at the helm during the critical years from 1969 to 1974 and today we proudly and gratefully celebrate the life and legacy of President Richard M. Nixon.
February 22, 2011: The 279th Anniversary of Washington’s Birth
George Washington was born in Virginia on February 22, 1732, which makes this the 279th anniversary of his birth. As the Father of Our Country, Washington deserves to have his birthday set aside as a special day for all freedom loving Americans to celebrate and to reflect on the tremendous impact this man had not only on this country, but the entire world.
Washington was a surveyor, soldier and planter who went on to become the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, which he led to victory over the British in the Revolutionary War. He presided over the writing of the U.S. Constitution in 1887 and served as the young nation’s first president from 1789 to 1797. George Washington was married to Martha Custis in 1759, a successful union that lasted 42 years until his death in 1799 at the age of 67. Their home at Mount Vernon has been preserved for posterity and has been maintained without government support by the Mount Vernon Ladies’Association since 1858.
Sadly, students in public schools today are not given the same opportunity to learn about George Washington as children were in years past. Instead, they are subjected to ‘the new curriculum’ with a political agenda and a liberal focus. At one time, portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were displayed in every classroom in the country. These have now largely been replaced by posters of Che Guevara, Malcolm X and similar characters revered by the liberals who have taken over our public schools. School textbooks now barely provide 10 percent of the coverage that was given to Washington’s life and his many contributions to our nation just a few short years ago.
We must make it a point to keep the history alive and pass on to future generations information about the incredible nature of George Washington’s courage and character, as well as the incalculable contributions he made to our country and our way of life. Make it a point to visit your local public schools and inspect the classrooms. As a taxpaying citizen, it is your right to do so. Ask the teachers and principals why the portraits of Lincoln and Washington are no longer displayed. Check out the curriculum of your child’s class and ask for more coverage of great Americans like George Washington if you deem it insufficient. You can make a difference by getting involved in your local public schools and by supporting the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association!
In the late 1960’s during his first term as Governor of California, Ronald Reagan was not afraid to challenge the liberals who were trying to hijack the state’s university and college system. While chancellors and regents capitulated to the demands of disruptive rowdies bent on closing down the campuses, Reagan courageously stood up to them and exposed their motives. At one point, the Chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) decided that it might be inappropriate to hold the annual ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) graduation ceremony that year, considering the anti-war protests and unrest taking place on the campus at the time. Acquiescing to the demands of the pusillanimous (see WOW) sluggards who were afraid to go into the military, the chancellor decided to cancel the graduation ceremony that was to honor the individuals who not only had the courage to serve their county, but who had also bravely endured the taunts of those same cowards, simply because they worn a uniform on campus.
When Governor Reagan heard about the decision to cancel the ROTC graduation ceremony, he immediately dispatched a message to the chancellor. The message went something like this. “Oh No You’re Not! Not only will there be an ROTC graduation ceremony on the UCLA campus this year, but I’m going to be there and I’m going to bring John Wayne with me!” And so he did. The chancellor was put in his place and the protesters were rebuffed. A huge crowd showed up to honor the ROTC graduates and hear the future president give one of his signature inspirational speeches. That was classic ‘Ronald Reagan’, the Ronald Reagan we yearn for today!
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois and it was there, growing up in Middle America, that the framework for his character was formed. Later he would have a successful career in radio, television and movies and he would serve his country in the Army Air Corps during World War II. In 1952 Reagan married actress Nancy Davis, a union that would evolve into a dynamic team on a much bigger stage in the years to come. Early on, Reagan began warning his country about the dangers of communism and its quest for world domination. Many will remember his 1950 documentary illustrating the creeping influence of communism on a large world map.
After serving two eventful terms as Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, Reagan emerged as a leader who could unite both sides of the political spectrum and actually get things done. Elected President of the United States in 1980 by a landslide, Reagan would revive the U.S economy with his common sense approach that came to be known as Reaganomics and he would eventually bring down the Soviet Union with his unwavering belief that all people should live in freedom. Millions of individuals were liberated and millions of lives were improved, all because of the resolve of one man. No wonder Ronald Reagan is revered as one of the greatest U.S. presidents and is considered by his many admirers across the globe to be one of the greatest world leaders of the Twentieth Century. Happy Birthday, President Reagan, and thank you for all that you have done.
When Richard Nixon was born in Yorba Linda on January 9, 1913 in the small home which his father built, the area was still a small California farming community outside of Los Angeles. Enduring the many hardships of his childhood and early life, Nixon became the embodiment of the American Dream and earned his place as a charter member of the Greatest Generation. Over time, Nixon would weather the ups and downs of his tumultuous life and in the end he would become the quintessential survivor. Nixon worked hard to get through Whittier College and won a scholarship to study law at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Nixon enlisted in the military and served his country as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Stationed on the remote island of Bougainville in the South Pacific, Nixon would have plenty of time to think about what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. In 1940 he married his college sweetheart, Thelma (Pat) Ryan, cementing a relationship based on love and teamwork that would last a lifetime. Dick and Pat had two beautiful daughters, Tricia and Julie, and together they would one day grace the White House as the First Family.
In what could be described as a meteoric rise to power, Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946, the U.S. Senate in 1950 and as Vice President of the United States in 1952. The bumpy ride during these rigorous campaigns makes fascinating reading and set the tone for the rest of Nixon’s political career. Early in his public life, Nixon stood out as a staunch anti-communist, garnering significant attention from the press through his investigative involvement in episodes such as the Alger Hiss case. Although he gets little credit, Nixon laid the groundwork for the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, the liberation of Eastern Europe and the ‘capitalization’ of the Peoples Republic of China, all of which would come to fruition after his presidency. Unlike most vice presidents, Nixon played a significant role as Dwight Eisenhower’s second in command and it was almost a given that he would be the Republican Party’s choice in the 1960 Presidential election. In the end, the country chose a young, attractive, albeit inexperienced John Kennedy rather than the pragmatic, tested statesman, but only by a razor thin margin. Nixon graciously conceded despite the many questions raised about voting irregularities, rather than put the country through the uncertainty of a recount. A 1962 run for the Governorship of California also ended in defeat.
The Presidency
After a six year hiatus from the public arena, Nixon was back in 1968. In the interim he had polished his resume and broadened his international credentials, all the while practicing law in New York. Republicans basked in the glory of his stunning victory over Hubert Humphrey that year, but by the time the Nixons moved into the White House in 1969 the country was already in turmoil. Anti-war sentiment was being fomented by left-wingers who owned the college campuses and the fire was further stoked by the media at a time when there was no cable television to counter their liberal bias. If that wasn’t enough, the President had to deal with a radically left wing House and Senate. Against these odds, it is amazing that the Nixon Presidency accomplished so much and had an impact in so many areas, including the environment, the War on Drugs, civil rights, education and the Space Program, to name a few. It is interesting to speculate how different things would have been if President Nixon had been able to finish his second term. His 1971 War on Cancer initiative comes to mind.
Nixon’s landslide re-election in 1972, winning 49 of 50 states, was just too much for his detractors. When a handful of ruffians broke into Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in 1972, the liberals seized on this amateurish prank as a way to neutralize him. A series of gaffs early in the investigation and his betrayal by several key advisors eventually put the presidency in a tailspin. For the next two years the liberal news commentators on all three networks pounded him night after night, eventually influencing public opinion, until President Nixon graciously stepped down on August 8, 1974 to spare the country further division. At that time, President Nixon still had millions of committed supporters, many of whom wept as they watched his resignation speech on television. It was indeed a sad day for the country and a sad day for the world. A few months after President Nixon’s departure, the communists, who had been on the verge of defeat, declared victory in Vietnam, unleashing the killing fields that cost millions their lives. The resignation was a particularly bitter pill to swallow for those who knew President Nixon well, not just because we knew he did not deserve this, but because we knew that he was not a quitter. But President Nixon had much more work to do.
The Legacy
President Nixon will be remembered by most for the historic trip he made to Communist China to meet with Mao Zedong in 1972, opening the world’s most populous country to the rest of the world. To this day, Nixon is revered in China and other countries across the globe for his efforts to bring peace to the world. President Nixon wrote a total of ten books, all well received and widely read. Most were written after his presidency and serve as a foreign policy blueprint for future statesmen to follow. In 1994, he established the Nixon Center in Washington, D.C., an institution which now makes significant contributions to shaping U.S. foreign policy. The Center publishes The National Interest, a journal dedicated to international affairs and diplomacy.
In 1990, he dedicated the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, featuring the home where he was born, the presidential limousine and helicopter, and a reproduction of the Oval Office, not to mention an unprecedented archive of presidential papers and other historic documents. The Library hosts numerous events featuring world class speakers and public figures and is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, Presidential Library in the country. Both President and Mrs. Nixon are buried in simple graves on the grounds of the library, in keeping with their humble beginnings and the manner in which they conducted their lives. On the occasion of President Nixon’s 98th birthday, we are proud to honor him and thankful for one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. Richard Nixon is truly a great American and an inspiration to all.
