Former President Richard Nixon with three other Former Presidents: Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford.
On August 9, 1984 Richard Nixon officially resigned from office before this second term was up. The first President to do so, Nixon was an oddity, and his life after the Presidency was just as odd. In his later years, Nixon truly embodied what it meant to make a comeback.
Nixon received $200,000 of the $850,000 usual transition funds granted to a President. Nixon flew back with his wife to their former home in San Clemente California. Melancholy and dejected, Nixon spent many days alone with members of his decreasing staff. Due to the small transition funds, and falling sick with phlebitis, Nixon would soon face financial problems that would trouble him.
Before that, however, many people in the public still wished to see the former President punished for his crimes. Nixon's successor Ford looked to pardon Nixon, and at first asked Nixon to publicly apologize in a statement of contrition. Nixon refused, believing he did nothing wrong, but Ford still granted Nixon a full pardon.
In 1975, Nixon returned to public life. Due to expenses on continuing legal battles and the fact that much of his transition fund had been depleted, Nixon at one point had only $500 in the bank. Hoping to get more financial stability, Nixon speeded his work on his memoir and began to sat down for interviews with hosts such as David Frost who paid him huge funds. He also sold property to continue to garner funds.
After Carter was elected, Nixon decided to travel. He was still welcomed with open arms in China, but in other parts of the world such as the United Kingdom, many officials refused to meet with him. Even at home, the Carter administration was at best lukewarm to Nixon and strayed away from him. For instance, Carter only invited Nixon to the white house after Chinese officials asked for his presence.
Nixon continued to remain unpopular at home, even being rejected by two Manhattan cooperatives when buying a new house. Abroad, however, Nixon looked to regain popularity. Traveling to all corners of the world, such as Iran for the funeral of the Shah and other Middle Eastern Nations along with former Soviet States, Nixon continued to rehabilitate his image. Soon later, after writing articles and publishing his memoirs, Nixon regained popularity though the 1980's.
Nixon died on April 22, 1994 from a stroke. Twenty years before he had been one of the most unpopular and politically toxic people due to Watergate, but at his funeral, five former presidents stood and paid their respects. Nixon had truly risen from the metaphorical ashes and regained much of the public's respect.
This is a cool article because he left office so early. It was interesting how you included how much money he actually got out of what most presidents actually get and it does make you wonder how long he hoped to live off of that with his medical expenses.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting to see how Nixon life was after he resigned from office. Its amusing how he was welcomed more in other countries than in the United States. It's a little unfair to call Nixon toxic, although he was involved in the Watergate scandal, we cant forget the good things he did like getting the US out of Vietnam, the SALT agreements and making diplomatic relations with China.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! I was actually really curious about how Nixon spent the rest of his life after Watergate- this was a great overview of what he did. In class, the documentary particularly emphasized Nixon's tendency to obsess over the purity of his reputation, so it's understandable that he wanted to keep trying to improve it after being kicked out of office. It's interesting how legacy plays such a huge role in presidents' decisions- most of them come into office with intentions to change the nation for the better. It's a shame that Nixon's involvement in such a corrupt scandal dampened his other achievements.
ReplyDeleteI think your blog comes at a very interesting time with many people wondering what Obama’s plans are for after the Presidency. While Obama did not leave the White House unpopular, besides writing a book and enjoying time off nobody is quite sure what he is going to do. I was also shocked that five former Presidents attended his funeral after his rocky departure from Washington, but it’s good to hear that he hopefully did not die as lonely as he was in 1984. Reading into Obama’s life and what people predict he will do, I found out that he is living in Washington D.C., the first President’s family to remain there since Woodrow Wilson. Additionally, many predict he will act like Bill Clinton, earning millions on a speaking circuit and writing a memoir. He has also created the Obama Foundation, which has already begun planning for Obama’s presidential library in Chicago. Read more about Obama’s life after the presidency: http://time.com/4617422/barack-obama-private-citizen-after-white-house/
ReplyDeleteSuper interesting blog post. We never really think about what presidents do after they run terms unless they continue to be involved in government. Although the hatred towards Nixon has died down due to its irrelevancy, I do not think people have forgotten the water gate incident. In fact, even today Richard Nixon is parodied and mocked. In the popular show Futurama, Nixon is the "president of Earth". Within the show Nixon is frequently made fun of. You can find out more about his character on the show here:
ReplyDeletehttp://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Richard_M._Nixon's_head
This was a very interesting post! It was nice to learn about Nixon's life after watergate and his resignation from presidency. Nixon was able to turn his life around and regain popularity, even after the watergate scandal and facing serious financial troubles.
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