When you think of influential former presidents, you may immediately think of Washington for being the first, Lincoln for making America truly a free country, Roosevelt for bringing America into the biggest war ever or Obama for breaking boundaries and being the first and only black president. No doubt these were all very influential men, but I think we all overlook the most influential president of them all: the infamous Richard “Dick” Nixon.
Nixon implemented many policies, agencies and systems that are still very much in use today. They made a large impact, but most presidents had similar accomplishments, so what truly makes Nixon the most influential? Three things: the Pentagon Papers, the Southern Strategy and – the scandal that still sends shivers down the government’s spine – Watergate.
The Southern Strategy was a political plan used by Nixon and the Republican Party to win over white Southern voters by appealing to their anger over civil rights changes – using phrases like “states’ rights” and “law and order” instead of openly racist language. This resulted in a complete shift among southern states from Democratic to Republican and reshaped U.S. politics forever.
The Watergate scandal is arguably the most complex scandal in American governmental history. But really, it all begins with the Pentagon Papers.
The Pentagon Papers were a highly-classified government study concerning American and Vietnam relations during the Vietnam War. The papers, leaked in 1971 to the New York Times by a military analyst named Daniel Ellsberg, revealed the truth about America’s involvement in the Vietnam War: that all the presidents from 1945-1969 (that’s Truman, Eisenhower, JFK and Johnson) lied to the American people about why the U.S. was in Vietnam, how the war was going and their real chances of winning. The government was publicly saying things to the American people yet privately knowing the complete opposite.
Once Ellsberg leaked the papers, the Nixon administration tried to censor the New York Times and stop it, but the Supreme Court came in clutch and ruled against Nixon, saying the press had the right to publish.
These papers changed Nixon’s presidency, and from there on, I believe, was his downfall. The Pentagon Papers showed that the oh-so-trustworthy government and beloved former presidents had intentionally misled the public and began public skepticism about the politicians of America.
Watergate was the icing on top of the “maybe we can’t trust the government” cake. Watergate, taking place from 1972-74, was when members of Nixon’s re-election team broke into the Watergate Building, the Democratic Party’s office. Then, Nixon attempted to cover it up. Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the FBI and a Senate committee uncovered the truth of the scandal. In his paranoia – probably over the worry of losing the trust of the people because of the Pentagon Papers – Nixon had tapes of his conversations in the Oval Office, and his own tapes proved his obstruction of the FBI’s investigation, his payment of hush money and how he attempted to hide the evidence. Nixon was forced to release the tapes, and every American knew their president “was a crook.” Nixon shortly thereafter became the first and only president to resign from office.
Along with him literally changing the political dynamics of this country, the scandals that Nixon faced during his time as president changed the way Americans viewed and trusted their government forever. The distrust that took root during his presidency still echoes today as modern Americans continue to question the honesty, transparency and motives of the government. The actions of just one man changed this country forever.
