History vs. Richard Nixon - Alex Gendler

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The president of the United States of America is often said to be one of the most powerful positions in the world. But of all the US presidents accused of abusing that power, only one has left office as a result. Does Richard Nixon deserve to be remembered for more than the scandal that ended his presidency? Alex Gendler puts this disgraced president’s legacy on trial.

Lesson by Alex Gendler, animation by Brett Underhill.

The presidency of
the United States of America

is often said to be one of
the most powerful positions in the world.

But of all the U.S. presidents accused
of misusing that power,

only one has left office as a result.

Does Richard Nixon deserve
to be remembered

for more than the scandal
that ended his presidency?

Find out as we put this disgraced
president's legacy on trial

in History vs. Richard Nixon.

"Order, order.

Now, who's the defendant today,
some kind of crook?"

"Cough. No, your Honor.

This is Richard Milhous Nixon,
the 37th president of the United States,

who served from 1969 to 1974."

"Hold on.

That's a weird number of years
for a president to serve."

"Well, you see, President Nixon
resigned for the good of the nation

and was pardoned by President Ford,
who took over after him."

"He resigned because he was about
to be impeached,

and he didn't want the full extent
of his crimes exposed."

"And what were these crimes?"

"Your Honor, the Watergate scandal
was one of the grossest abuses

of presidential power in history.

Nixon's men broke into the Democratic
National Committee headquarters

to wiretap the offices
and dig up dirt on opponents

for the reelection campaign."

"Cough

It was established that the President
did not order this burglary."

"But as soon as he learned of it,
he did everything to cover it up,

while lying about it for months."

"Uh, yes, but it was for the good
of the country.

He did so much during his time in office
and could have done so much more

without a scandal jeopardizing
his accomplishments."

"Uh, accomplishments?"

"Yes, your Honor.

Did you know it was President Nixon

who proposed the creation
of the Environmental Protection Agency,

and signed the National Environmental
Policy Act into law?

Not to mention the Endangered Species Act,

Marine Mammal Protection Act,

expansion of the Clean Air Act."

"Sounds pretty progressive of him."

"Progressive? Hardly.

Nixon's presidential campaign courted
Southern voters

through fear and resentment
of the civil rights movement."

"Speaking of civil rights,

the prosecution may be surprised to learn
that he signed the Title IX amendment,

banning gender-based discrimination
in education,

and ensured that desegregation of schools
occurred peacefully,

and he lowered the voting age to 18,
so that students could vote."

"He didn't have much concern
for students

after four were shot
by the National Guard at Kent State.

Instead, he called them bums
for protesting the Vietnam War,

a war he had campaigned on ending."

"But he did end it."

"He ended it two years
after taking office.

Meanwhile, his campaign had sabotaged
the previous president's peace talks,

urging the South Vietnamese government
to hold out for supposedly better terms,

which, I might add, didn't materialize.

So, he protracted the war for four years,

in which 20,000 more U.S. troops,
and over a million more Vietnamese,

died for nothing."

"Hmm, a presidential candidate interfering
in foreign negotiations --

isn't that treason?"

"It is, your Honor, a clear violation
of the Logan Act of 1799."

"Uh, I think we're forgetting
President Nixon's many

foreign policy achievements.

It was he who normalized ties with China,
forging economic ties that continue today."

"Are we so sure that's a good thing?

And don't forget his support
of the coup in Chile

that replaced the democratically-elected
President Allende

with a brutal military dictator."

"It was part of the fight
against communism."

"Weren't tyranny and violence the reasons
we opposed communism to begin with?

Or was it just fear of the lower class
rising up against the rich?"

"President Nixon couldn't have predicted
the violence of Pinochet's regime,

and being anti-communist didn't mean
neglecting the poor.

He proposed a guaranteed basic income
for all American families,

still a radical concept today.

And he even pushed for comprehensive
healthcare reform,

just the kind that passed 40 years later."

"I'm still confused about
this burglary business.

Was he a crook or not?"

"Your Honor, President Nixon
may have violated a law or two,

but what was the real harm compared
to all he accomplished while in office?"

"The harm was to democracy itself.

The whole point of the ideals
Nixon claimed to promote abroad

is that leaders are accountable
to the people,

and when they hold themselves
above the law for whatever reason,

those ideals are undermined."

"And if you don't hold people accountable
to the law, I'll be out of a job."

Many politicians have compromised
some principles to achieve results,

but law-breaking and cover-ups threaten
the very fabric the nation is built on.

Those who do so may find
their entire legacy tainted

when history is put on trial.