Accomplished and Noxious: The Legacy and Image of President Richard M. Nixon from 1974 to 2014

Faculty Sponsor

Larry Baas

College

Arts and Sciences

Discipline(s)

Political Science

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 5-2-2015

Abstract

Overall, what is President Richard M. Nixon's lasting legacy? The public, consisting of historians, journalists, scholars, and other writers, have retrospectively, written about President Richard M. Nixon and what his contribution, impact, or lasting legacy is to America since his resignation over 40 years ago. At one point in time or another, the perception of President Richard M. Nixon has been either good, favorable, and positive because of his fighting instincts, or bad, negative, and unfavorable because of the scandal known as Watergate. But what most of these accounts fail to address is whether or not there has been a change or evolution in the president's legacy across several points or moments in time. Therefore, this paper undergoes a thorough qualitative analysis of articles from six newspaper companies published after Richard M. Nixon's resignation in 1974, almost 20 years after his resignation with his passing in 1994, and 40 years after his resignation in 2014. This paper will show how President Richard M. Nixon's lasting legacy is his accomplished and noxious image, which has been perpetuated by the public's perception of him in their minds. As a result, President Nixon is not gone: his legacy lives on.

Biographical Information about Author(s)

Alexander Uryga is a Valparaiso University Christ College Honors College Scholar and previous president of the student body. He is receiving his Bachelor of Arts in political science and history this May. Over the past summer, articles, documentaries, and movies started appearing in anticipation of the 40th anniversary of President Richard M. Nixon's resignation which lead Alex to became intrigued about Nixon's legacy. Someday, he hopes to go to graduate school to earn a doctoral degree in political science.

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