On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon made a speech that would guarantee him a special spot in American History books for many, many years to come. Although Nixon is known for the Watergate Scandal, many presidents have had scandals; however, he is the only president to have resigned from office (Nixon, 1974).
Stuck in a media frenzy of accusations pointing to him being guilty, many of course question Nixon’s credibility at this point. As a rich, white man holding such a high political position, many would not question his credibility. However, his reputation is now tainted by accusations of him being a crook and dishonest to the American people. In order to try and persuade the American public to be on his side again, he utilizes ethos and shares his credibility with them by using “we” when discussing what America has accomplished while he was in office. “We have ended America’s longest war” (Nixon, 1974) he states, not only sharing responsibility of the end of the war with North Vietnam, but now also puts some of the blame on the American people for the Watergate Scandal.
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Nixon uses emotion to appeal to America in order to try and recover what little bit of dignity he still has. He states how he is not a quitter and would have preferred to carry through with the rest of his term (Nixon, 1974) and goes on to discuss the items on his agenda he would have carried out, but is now leaving to someone else to clean up. He appeals to the audience’s emotions by expressing his desire for nuclear weapons are destroyed and peace is attained (Nixon, 1974). As Americans, we want peace to be a universal idea that becomes a reality and by expressing how he wanted to destroy nuclear weapons worldwide, Nixon is able to appeal to the hope that still resides in his
Larry Berman's, No Peace, No Honor (Touchstone), argues that Richard Nixon wanted to be remembered as a great foreign policy president, however, his plans went array due to the Watergate scandal. Berman believes that with the aid of Henry Kissinger, President Nixon buried the truth about America's “honorable” pulling out of South Vietnam, thus leaving the South to fend off their northern counterparts. It is argued by Kissinger that the administration won the war and that it was Congress that lost it. Kissinger has said that it is evident that congress lost the war when they defunded any continued military activity that could have prevented the communist from taking over South Vietnam. Berman argues that Nixon and Kissinger both knew that with
In 1974, former President Nixon resigned from office and Gerald Ford became the temporary president. One of the first executive orders that Ford did was pardon Nixon for his crimes against the United States. The entire scandal had, “driven a stake into the heart of traditional national politics.” (Farber, 27) This controversy was not only publicized nationally, but severely damaged the American people’s already withering relationship with their government.
To have reached adulthood in modern America is to have lived a life haunted by the political trials and fibrillations of Richard Nixon: Commie-hunter in the postwar Congress, globe-trotting veep to an unappreciative Dwight Eisenhower, sweaty television debater overcome by a cool Jack Kennedy, loser even for governor of California, he was nonetheless propelled into a melodramatic presidency in 1968 by the war in Vietnam and the implosion of the Democratic Party. He was and always would be with
Prior to the 1952 presidential election, vice-presidential candidate Richard Nixon confronted a selective political persecution. He was targeted, possibly by those within his own party, by the drudging up and the exposing of a slush fund, in which Nixon used to pay for extra governmental expenses. Instead by heeding to the political pressure and removing himself from the ticket, like those who created the scandal would have wanted, Richard Nixon delivered an impeccable thirty-minute speech, in which he not only defended and cleared himself, but he also turned the tables on his democratic opponents and even indirectly threatened General Eisenhower himself. Nixon’s “Checkers,” named after the Nixon family dog, speech is widely regarded as
The televised advertisement was very persuasive for voters of different ethnicities and backgrounds. He used the three different rhetorical appeals, ethological appeals, logistical appeals, and pathological appeals, to gain the votes, minds, and hearts of citizens. Nixon emotionally connected with American parents and future American parents as voters to gain their respect and trust with their children and their uncertain futures in a turbulent American society. He shows himself to be a respectful and knowledgeable man whom not only has experience as a leader and political figure, but also sees the people of America as people. He deems them more important than the American government system, and tries his best to ensure that they know that they will be taken care of by him if he becomes the President of the United States of America.
During the election of 1968, Nixon campaigned heavily on ending the war quickly while still saving American lives, he said this vaguely never setting forth a plan on how his administration would end the war. “Denying he had a surefire, ‘Magical Formula’ or a ‘Push Button Technique’, to achieve peace, he tried to avoid the political trap of a concrete plan.” Had Nixon campaigned on a set plan he would have boxed himself into a corner because it would have stuck his administration with going just one route and any deviation could have hurt his presidency. ‘I never
President Gerald Ford was the new president who gave a pardon that liberated President Nixon from the Watergate, Nixon Scandal. Because of the pardon, Nixon would not have to go to court, and his previous actions would not result in a direct penalty. Americans sought this as an unfair negotiation between Gerald Ford and Nixon. They considered this as an unjust action, for others included in the Watergate, Nixon Scandal were prosecuted and sent to jail (Appleby et al. [Page 907]).
One of the many landmark cases heard by the United States Supreme Court in American history was Lemon vs Kurtzman. In 1971 the Supreme Court had to decide if states could give money to certain religious based schools to hire staff even if the teachers couldn’t teach religious classes. The first amendment to the Constitution established the law of separation of church and state. What is the established boundary between church and state? This case would be the defining point in that fight between the involvement of a state and the churches.
1. The Watergate Scandal in 1972 revealed many ethical dilemmas in President Richard Nixon and his administration. President Nixon proves to be a teleological egoist as he determines what is right is what will benefit himself the most. Additionally, he has a subjective theory of the good because what is good is determined by how he feels about it. When deciding to break in to the Democratic National Headquarters, both Nixon and the five agents of the Committee to Reelect the President lacked prudence because they did not act wisely.
Barbara Jordan gave a powerful speech regarding President Nixon and his possible impeachment for the Watergate Scandal. Throughout the speech, Jordan expressed her standpoint and reasoning as to why Nixon should be impeached. The main argument that Jordan presents in this speech is that the President should be impeached due to his actions that jeopardize the people of the United States and the Constitution. Barbara Jordan uses a great deal of effective language within her speech. I found her to be very eloquent and expressive when she spoke.
This scandal caused many Americans and Republican politicians to push Eisenhower to remove Nixon as his running mate and to question Nixon’s integrity. In rebuttal to the scandal, Nixon took the bull by the horns and defended himself by going on live national television and addressed the nation by giving the famous Checkers speech. The soon to be Vice-President articulated his speech with a perfect combination of Pathos, Ethos, and Logos to turn the tables from making everyone hate him to making the American People and Republican Politicians love him. Nixon’s integrity was
The thirty seventh president’s tone throughout the speech was genuine and anguished. He stated frequently his regret towards his resignation; when this passage is read aloud, it is stressed heavily on pathos and that Nixon defended his decision with the selflessness of his own emotions and did what is better for the country (“American”). In his speech, Richard Nixon establishes his credibility and then goes on to show the logic of why he is resigning along with sparking the reader’s emotions in defense of him through the use of frequent fallacies and rhetorical devices. Nixon goes on to speak of his accomplishments and the tasks he hopes the American people will achieve with a new president, but those ideas are shadowed by the steady reminders by Nixon himself of the circumstances that are causing him to resign the Presidency that overall make Nixon’s arguments to logic and his credibility seem
On August 8th, 1974 at exactly 9:01 pm, Richard Nixon--former President-- gave a speech that would affect both United States history and the american people. Richard Nixon’s argument and claim lay within the textual aspects, in other words, his tone, attitude, and the strategic ways of presenting to his audience. In this historical speech, Richard Nixon broadcasted his character, past decisions, and future advice to the people of the United States in order to justify his resignation from the presidential office. The rhetorical stylistic tools were effective and instrumental in backing up the argument. Recognition of audience was important, because it will determine his attitude and tone, which was innocence.
He had amassed a collection of government fills, tape records, and intelligence on the common people in the Watergate building. After it was broken into, files were stolen and released to the public. It was the first real time that the general public learned just how paranoid Nixon was, but also how much he wanted to keep the power he already had. As these precious documents surfaced, one could see in full light that Nixon exhibited all the symptoms of Paranoid Personality Disorder. He was always distrustful of people, he recorded every encounter he had, so that one could twist his words against him.
In his essay, Hills explains how Nixon evokes the intended response from the immediate audience by gaining support for the war. Nixon states in his speech, “tonight-to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans-I ask for your support.” Here, Nixon uses resentment in sacrifice in lives and finance, longing for some action in a marked direction were strategies used to gain support instead of “teaching.” This in turn allowed America to continue in the war which proves that he agrees with Foss for Nixon’s primary role was not that of a teacher or