A Companion to Richard M. Nixon

This companion offers an overview of Richard M. Nixon’s life, presidency, and legacy, as well as a detailed look at the evolution and current state, of Nixon scholarship.

• Examines the central arguments and scholarly debates that surround his term in office
• Explores Nixon’s legacy and the historical significance of his years as president
• Covers the full range of topics, from his campaigns for Congress, to his career as Vice-President, to his presidency and Watergate
• Makes extensive use of the recent paper and electronic releases from the Nixon Presidential Materials Project
  

List of Plates viii

Notes on Contributors ix

Introduction 1
Melvin Small

Part I Pre-Presidential Years 5

1. Nixon Biographies 7
Iwan W. Morgan

2. The Pre-Political Years, 1913–1945 27
Joseph Dmohowski

3. Pat Nixon 49
Gil Troy

4. The Congressional Years 68
Anthony Rama Maravillas

5. The Alger Hiss Case 84
Athan G. Theoharis

6. The Richard Nixon Vice Presidency: Research Without the Nixon Manuscripts 102
Irwin F. Gellman

7. The Election of 1960 122
W. J. Rorabaugh

Part II Domestic Policies 141

8. The Election of 1968 143
Melvin Small

9. The Election of 1972 164
Rick Perlstein

10. The Administrative Presidency 185
Karen M. Hult

11. Richard Nixon, the Great Society, and Social Reforms: A Lost Opportunity? 202
Romain Huret

12. Civil Rights Policy 212
Dean J. Kotlowski

13. Economic Policy 235
Nigel Bowles

14. Political Realignment 252
Robert Mason

15. Nixon and the Environment 270
Paul Charles Milazzo

16. Nixon and the Media 292
Tim Kiska

17. Nixon and Dissent 311
Katherine Scott

18. Nixon and Agnew 328
Justin P. Coffey

Part III Foreign Policies 343

19. Foreign Policy Overview 345
Jussi M. Hanhimäki

20. Nixon and Kissinger 362
Robert D. Schulzinger

21. The Vietnam War 380
Jeffrey P. Kimball

22. Explorations of Détente 400
Keith L. Nelson

23. The China Card 425
Evelyn Goh

24. Nixon and Europe: Transatlantic Policy in the Shadow of Other Priorities 444
Luke A. Nichter

25. Latin America and the Quest for Stability 460
Mark Atwood Lawrence

Part IV Post-Presidential Years 479

26. Watergate 481
Keith W. Olson

27. Nixon and Ford 499
John Robert Greene

28. Nixon’s Image: A Brief History 519
David Greenberg

29. The Nixon Tapes 546
Sahr Conway-Lanz

Bibliography 563

Index 613

"A singularly impressive achievement, particularly in the high quality of the scholarly essays, the international diversity of the contributors, and the comprehensiveness of its coverage. I predict that it will quickly become the
essential guide to the historical study of the Nixon years.” (Expofairs, 22 February 2013)

Melvin Small is Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus at Wayne State University. His numerous publications include Johnson, Nixon, and the Doves (1988), Covering Dissent: The Media and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement (1994), Democracy and Diplomacy: The Impact of Domestic Politics in U.S. Foreign Policy, 1789-1994 (1996), The Presidency of Richard Nixon (1999), Antiwarriors: The Vietnam War and the Battle for America’s Hearts and Minds (2003), and At the Water’s Edge: American Politics and the Vietnam War (2005). Compelled to resign in 1974 during his second term in the Oval Office, Richard M. Nixon was a controversial and especially consequential figure in modern American history who left an indelible mark on American politics and culture. This companion offers an overview of Nixon’s life, presidency and legacy, as well as a detailed look at the central arguments and scholarly debates that surround his term in office.

The essays examine his early years in California through to his three campaigns for congress, his vice-presidency, his presidency, and his legacy. An extensive section on his presidential years includes coverage of domestic issues, the elections, foreign policy, and Watergate. The paper and electronic documents recently released from the Nixon Presidential Materials Project are also incorporated throughout.

A Companion to Richard M. Nixon brings together the world’s leading Nixon experts from the United States and abroad in an essential guide to the historical, political, cultural, and psychological analyses of the 37th president of the United States and the evolution and current state of Nixon scholarship. "A comprehensive overview of Nixon's breakthrough foreign and domestic policies, with important comments on some of the leading Nixon literature, and written by highly knowledgeable scholars of the Nixon years." – Walter LaFeber, Tisch University Professor Emeritus, Cornell University

"A singularly impressive achievement, particularly in the high quality of the scholarly essays, the international diversity of the contributors, and the comprehensiveness of its coverage. I predict that it will quickly become the essential guide to the historical study of the Nixon years.” – Thomas Schwartz, Vanderbilt University