Nixon Lecture Summary

Richard Nixon's Scandals

Nixon had numerous scandals, making it difficult to cover them all.
Watergate and the Chenault affair are among the most significant.
He had a close relationship with a possible Chinese spy working as a cocktail waitress.
His first vice president was indicted for taking bribes while governor of Maryland and was fined 10,000 and sentenced to three years probation while in office.
Nixon was accused of accepting 2,000,000 in jewelry from the Shah of Iran and a Saudi Prince, which, as gifts to the president, are considered property of the U.S. government.
He initially claimed he would return the jewelry but failed to do so after his resignation, despite requests from Congress.
Other scandals include secret bombings in Cambodia and the "rat-fucking" activities of the plumbers.
The Nixon campaign had millions of dollars in slush funds, sometimes in secret locations.
Nixon secretly supported genocide by Pakistan in Bangladesh.

Nixon wanted to change the White House Guard uniforms, drawing inspiration from European trips.
The press criticized him for adopting costumes reminiscent of a banana republic.
The idea was eventually abandoned, but not before some photos were taken of guards in the proposed uniforms.

The 1960 election between Kennedy and Nixon was very close.
Kennedy won by a narrow margin of 112,827 votes, with an electoral win of 303 to 219.
Nixon believed fraud in Texas and Illinois contributed to Kennedy's win, though there was no evidence.
This perceived fraud made Nixon paranoid about elections.
Nixon lost again in 1962.

LBJ's decision not to run significantly altered the 1968 election.
LBJ withdrew on March 31, 1968, due to declining popularity stemming from the Vietnam War.
LBJ's domestic policy successes, such as the Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act, and Great Society programs, were overshadowed by Vietnam.
The Democratic coalition fractured over Vietnam, with young Democrats opposing the draft and the war.
LBJ feared Vietnam would damage his historical legacy and hoped to end the war to redeem himself.
Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey contested the Democratic nomination, with Humphrey ultimately winning.
LBJ asked both candidates to support his peace efforts and avoid taking counter positions on the campaign trail.

Nixon alluded to having a secret plan for peace in Vietnam.
He assumed LBJ's peace plan aimed to secure a Humphrey victory and continue the Johnson legacy.

Negotiations to find place for the peace talks took two months.
Paris was chosen as the location, despite Vietnam's history as a French colony.
Ho Chi Minh, who wanted Vietnam to be separated from France, even tried to meet with Woodrow Wilson.
Other questions included who could attend, and it was decided by January 1969 that both South Vietnam and the Vietcong could attend but would have separate sides.
The US wanted to bring in South Vietnam, but North Vietnam did not recognize the South Vietnamese government. The US didn't want to bring in the National Liberation Front either.
It took eight months to figure out how the talks would take place.

In October 1968, LBJ spoke with Nixon, Humphrey, and George Wallace about movement by Hanoi and the need to avoid jeopardizing it.
LBJ did not mention that South Vietnam had also agreed to stop hostilities.
Johnson wanted all candidates to keep Vietnam campaign talk to a minimum.

Nixon's polling lead had been shrinking since October.
On October 22, Nixon instructed HR Halderman to have Anna Chenault work on South Vietnam.
Six days after asking all candidates to back off, Nixon sought to undermine any peace deal.

Anna Chenault, born in China, became a war correspondent during the Japanese invasion.
She interviewed Claire Chenault, leader of the Flying Tigers and founder of Air America, and later married him.
Both shared anti-communist views.
After coming to America, she became a Washington socialite and used her anti-communist views to gain influence.
She had relationships with the Eisenhower administration, specifically with his vice president, but particularly favored Nixon due to his anti-communism stance.
She was known as Nixon's "little flower" but also sometimes referred to as the "Dragon Lady."

On October 22, Nixon told Halderman to keep Chenault on South Vietnam, aiming to convey that Nixon would offer a better deal.
Eight days later, Nixon sent a message to Richard Russell, a Democratic senator from the South, via LBJ.
LBJ revealed that Nixon had been undermining peace efforts by telling allies they would be sold out, referencing historical events like Yalta and Potsdam.
Johnson said that Anna Chenault had been contacting the South Vietnamese ambassador on Nixon's behalf.
Johnson, to Russell, stated that Nixon was using back channels to communicate with South Vietnam, telling them to not play along with Johnson but just wait for Nixon instead.
LBJ administration viewed Nixon's actions as undercutting the President's ability to set foreign policy.
The US viewed the South Vietnamese ambassador as agents of these folks.
One day later, the Johnson administration ordered a total halt to the bombing in North Vietnam, a key demand of North Vietnam for coming to the table.
Two days later, South Vietnam announced it would not take part in the peace process.
Johnson and Dirksen discussed that some folks, including the old China Lobby, were going to the Vietnamese embassy and saying, please notify the president that if you'll hold out to November, he can get a better deal.
Johnson told Dirksen that this was treason.
The same day, the FBI recorded Chennault telling the South Vietnamese ambassador, hold on, we are going to win.

Scholar George Veeffe argues that the Nixon campaign did not interfere.
Veeffe explains the recorded call from Chenault as not a message from Nixon.
He suggests that her "boss" referred to John Mitchell, not Nixon, despite Mitchell being the chair of the Committee to Elect Nixon.
FBI recordings show that Mitchell said to Chennault, speaking on behalf of Mr. Nixon, that it is very important that our Vietnamese friends understand our Republican position. Is that not speaking for Nixon?
The South Vietnamese ambassador sent a message back which states that many republican friends have contacted me and encouraged us to stand firm.
Notes from Halderman state that Nixon ordered to throw a monkey wrench in the initiative.

LBJ knew about the interference through tracked conversations and tapped phones.
LBJ worried about publicizing the story, fearing it would reveal the phone tapping of an ally and cast doubt on the administration.
Secretary of State Dean Rusk opposed using interceptions for political purposes.
Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford worried about the shocking nature of the story and its potential impact on the country if Nixon were elected.

John Farrell argues that Nixon's actions were reprehensible and prolonged the conflict in Vietnam.
The conflict continued until 1972, with the US not officially leaving until 1975.
21,257 more Americans died due to the continuation of the Vietnam War, which is thirty six percent of all deaths that happened in Vietnam.
An estimated 1.5 million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians were killed.

The Chenault affair remains a significant but often undiscussed event.
Recordings, phone calls, and notes confirm the Nixon campaign's interference in the peace process.
LBJ's pursuit of peace was political but genuine.
Nixon encouraged the continuation of the war for his political gain as a private citizen, leading to the deaths of thousands more Americans.
The Chenault affair represents one of the lowest points in American political history.