Richard Nixon Last Will and Testament

Download a free copy of the last will and testament of Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994).

Richard Nixon was the 37th President of the United States from 1969 to 1974 and was also the 36th Vice President of the United States (1953 to 1961), and the first born in the 20th century. Nixon was the only President to resign the office and also the only person to be elected twice in both the offices of the Presidency and Vice presidency.

Nixon received a law degree from Duke in 1937. During World War II he joined the Navy and served in the Pacific. In 1952 he became one of the youngest Vice Presidents in history, serving under Dwight D. Eisenhower. He lost his bid to become President in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and after losing a race for Governor in California in 1962, he withdrew from politics. In 1968, however, he ran again for president of the United States and was elected.

The most immediate task facing President Nixon was a resolution of the Vietnam War. He initially escalated the conflict, overseeing incursions into neighboring countries, though American military personnel were gradually withdrawn and he successfully negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam in 1973, effectively ending American involvement in the war. His foreign policy initiatives were largely successful: his groundbreaking visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972 opened diplomatic relations between the two nations, and he initiated the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. At home, he implemented new economic policies which called for wage and price control and the abolition of the gold standard. He was reelected by a landslide in 1972.

In his second term, the nation was afflicted with economic difficulties. In the face of likely impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. He was later pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, for any federal crimes he may have committed while in office. In his retirement, Nixon became a prolific author and undertook many foreign trips. His work as an elder statesman helped to rehabilitate his public image. He died following a debilitating stroke at the age of 81.

Source: Wikipedia.com.