Excerpts of RICHARD M. NIXON delivering the infamous "Checkers" speech, September 23, 1952 (televised political broadcast): "My Fellow Americans, I come here before you tonight as a candidate for the Vice President and as a man whose honesty and integrity has been questioned. The usual political thing to do when charges are made against you is to either ignore them or to deny them without giving details. I believe we've had enough of that in the United States, particularly with the present Administration in Washington, D.C. To me the office of the Vice Presidency is a great office and I feel that the people have got to have confidence in the integrity of the men who run for that office and who might obtain it. I have a theory, too, that the best and only answer to a smear or to an honest misunderstanding of the facts is to tell the truth." Edit. "Do you think that when I or any other Senator makes a political speech, has it printed, should charge the printing of that speech and the mailing of that speech to the taxpayers? Do you think when I or any other Senator makes a trip to his home state to make a purely political speech that the cost of that trip should be charged to the taxpayers? Do you think when a Senator makes political broadcasts or political Television broadcasts, radio or television, that the expense of those broadcasts should be charged to the taxpayers? I know what your answer is. It is the same answer that audiences give me whenever I discuss this problem. The answer is no. The taxpayers shouldn't be required to finance items which are not official business but which are primarily political business. Then the question arises, how do you pay for these and how can you do it legally? There are several ways that it can be done, and that it is done legally in the United States Senate and in the Congress. The first way is to be a rich man. I don't happen to be a rich man so I couldn't use that one. Another way that is used is to put your wife on the payroll. Let me say, incidentally, my opponent, my opposite number for the Vice Presidency on the Democratic ticket, does have his wife on the payroll and has had it, her on his payroll for ten years. That's his business and I'm not critical of him for doing that. You will have to pass judgment on that. But I have never done that for this reason. I have found that there are so many deserving stenographers & secretaries in Washington that needed the work that I just didn't feel it was right to put my wife on the payroll. My wife's sitting over here. She's a wonderful stenographer. She used to teach stenography and she used to teach shorthand in high school. That was when I met her." C/A of PAT NIXON.
MSs of Vice-Presidential candidate RICHARD NIXON standing with wife PAT NIXON on stage at the 1952 Republican National Convention
Vice Presidential candidate RICHARD M. NIXON continues the infamous Checkers speech, Sept. 23, 1952: Take Communism. I say that as far as that subject is concerned, the danger is great to America. In the Hiss case they got the secrets which enabled them to break the American secret State Department code. They got secrets in the atomic bomb case which enabled them to get the secret of the atomic bomb, five years before they would have gotten it by their own devices. And I say that any man who called the Alger Hiss case a "red herring" isn't fit to be President of the United States. I say that a man who like Mr. Stevenson has pooh-poohed and ridiculed the Communist threat in the United States, he said that they are phantoms among ourselves; he's accused us that have attempted to expose the Communists of looking for Communists in the Bureau of Fisheries and Wildlife, I say that a man who says that isn't qualified to be President of the United States. And I say that the only man who can lead us in this fight to rid the Government of both those who are Communists and those who have corrupted this Government is Eisenhower, because Eisenhower, you can be sure, recognizes the problem and he knows how to deal with it." "And, now, finally, I know that you wonder whether or not I am going to stay on the Republican ticket or resign. Let me say this: I don't believe that I ought to quit because I'm not a quitter. And, incidentally, Pat's not a quitter. After all, her name was Patricia Ryan and she was born on St. Patrick's Day, and you know the Irish never quit. (C/A of PAT NIXON sitting in chair, listening.) "But the decision, my friends, is not mine. I would do nothing that would harm the possibilities of Dwight Eisenhower to become President of the United States. And for that reason I am submitting to the Republican National Committee tonight through this television broadcast the decision which it is theirs to make. Let them decide whether my position on the ticket will help or hurt. And I am going to ask you to help them decide. Wire and write the Republican National Committee whether you think I should stay on or whether I should get off. And whatever their decision is, I will abide by it. But just let me say this last word. Regardless of what happens I'm going to continue this fight. I'm going to campaign up and down America until we drive the crooks and the Communists and those that defend them out of Washington. And remember, folks, Eisenhower is a great man. Believe me. He's a great man. And a vote for Eisenhower is a vote for what's good for America."
Vice Presidential candidate RICHARD M. NIXON continues the infamous Checkers speech, Sept. 23, 1952: "It isn't easy to come before a nation-wide audience and air your life as I've done. But I want to say some things before I conclude." Edit. "in spite of the smears, the misunderstandings, the necessity for a man to come up here and bare his soul as I have? Why is it necessary for me to continue this fight? And I want to tell you why. Because, you see, I love my country. And I think my country is in danger. I think that the only man that can save America at this time is the man that's running for President on my ticket, Dwight Eisenhower. Look at the record. 7 years of Truman-Acheson administration and what's happened? 600 million people lost to the Communists & a war in Korea in which we have lost 117,000 Americans. I say to all of you that a policy that results in a loss of 600 million people to the Communists & a war which costs us 117,000 American casualties isn't good enough for America. I say that those in the State Department that made the mistakes which caused that war and which resulted in those losses should be kicked out of the State Department just as fast as we can get 'em out of there. And let me say that I know Mr. Stevenson won't do that. Because he defends the Truman policy and I know that Dwight Eisenhower will do that, and that he will give America the leadership that it needs. Take the problem of corruption. You've read about the mess in Washington. Mr. Stevenson can't clean it up because he was picked by the man, Truman, under whose Administration the mess was made. You wouldn't trust a man who made the mess to clean it up, that's Truman. And by the same token you can't trust the man who was picked by the man that made the mess to clean it up, and that's Stevenson. And so I say, Eisenhower, who owes nothing to Truman, nothing to the big city bosses, he is the man that can clean up the mess in Washington.
Vice Presidential candidate RICHARD M. NIXON continues the infamous Checkers speech, Sept. 23, 1952: "Well, that's about it. That's what we have and that's what we owe. It isn't very much but Pat and I have the satisfaction that every dime that we've got is honestly ours. I should say this, that Pat doesn't have a mink coat, but she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat. And I always tell her that she'd look good in anything. One other thing I probably should tell you because if we don't they'll probably be saying this about me too, we did get something, a gift after the election. A man down in Texas heard Pat on the radio mention the fact that our two youngsters would like to have a dog. And, believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was? It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he'd sent all the way from Texas. Black & white spotted. Our little girl, Tricia, named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it."
Vice Presidential candidate RICHARD M. NIXON continues the infamous Checkers speech, Sept. 23, 1952: "Now what I am going to do-- and this is unprecedented in the history of American politics. I am going at this time to give this television & radio audience a complete financial history; everything I've earned; everything I've spent; everything I owe." Edit. 07.06 "First of all I've had my salary as a Congressman and as a Senator. Second, I have received a total in this past 6 years of $1600 from estates which were in my law firm at the time that I severed my connection with it. I have not engaged in any legal practice & have not accepted any fees from business that came to the firm after I went into politics. I have made an average of approx $1500 a year from nonpolitical speaking engagements and lectures. And then, fortunately, we've inherited a little money. Pat sold her interest in her father's estate for $3,000 and I inherited $1500 from my grandfather. We lived rather modestly. For 4 years we lived in an apartment in Park Fairfax. The rent was $80 a month. We saved for the time that we could buy a house." C/A PAT NIXON sitting in chair, looking on. "That was what we took in. What did we do with this money? This will surprise you, because it is so little, as standards generally go, of people in public life. First of all, we've got a house in DC which cost $41,000 and on which we owe $20,000. We have a house in Whittier, California which cost $13,000 and on which we owe $3000. My folks are living there at the present time. I have just $4,000 in life insurance plus my G.I. policy which I've never been able to convert & which will run out in two years. I have no life insurance on Pat. I have no life insurance on Tricia & Julie. I own a 1950 Oldsmobile car. We have our furniture. We have no stocks & bonds of any type. We have no interest of any kind, direct or indirect, in any business. That's what we have. What do we owe? In addition to the mortgages, I owe $4,500 to the Riggs Bank in DC with interest 4 1/2 percent. I owe $3,500 to my parents & the interest on that loan which I pay regularly, because it's the part of the savings they made through the years they were working so hard, I pay regularly 4 percent. And then I have a $500 loan which I have on my life insurance."
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-Vice President Richard Nixon "There isn't a day that goes by in the United States when we can't read everything that you say in the Soviet Union, when you re not fully reported in what you said in Poland, in fact Mr Kaslov was traveling in California, talking in terms as you have about peace, you were talking somewhat the other way and it was reported in our press very extensively. And I can assure you, never make a statement here that you don't think we read in the United States."
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-MS microphone on stage in front of reddish-orange curtain, Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon and their respective interpreters enter frame. Mr. Nixon makes a comment to Mr. Khrushchev as to why it's so hot (the colored lights). Mr. Khrushchev: [In jest] "You look very angry, as if you want to fight me. Are you still angry?" Mr. Nixon: [in jest] "That's right!" Khrushchev: "And Nixon was once a lawyer? Now he's nervous." N: (chuckling) "Oh yes, he still is!"
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-Khrushchev "If that's the way it is, I'm holding you to it. Give me your word...I want you, the Vice President, to give me your word that my speech will also be taped in English. Will it be?" Nixon "Certainly it will be. And by the same token, everything that I say will be recorded and translated and will be carried all over the Soviet Union. That's a fair bargain." Khrushchev seizes Nixon's arm, makes many pointed gestures to himself, to Nixon, to the camera; Nixon backs away, grabs the microphone for leverage. They shake hands again, followed by a grand, sweeping handshake.
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-Vice President Richard Nixon Look, let s have a far more communication and exchange in this very area that we speak of. We should hear you more on our television, you should hear us more on yours. Khrushchev responds in Russian. Nixon (patting K's shoulder) "You must not be afraid of ideas." Khrushchev "We have nothing to fear. We're saying it is you who must not be afraid of ideas." Nixon "Well, then, let's have more exchange of them. We all agree on that, right?" [Khrushchev turns to translator and asks what he agreed on? Khrushchev "I want to clarify what I'm agreeing on. Don't I have that right? I know that I'm dealing with a very good lawyer. I want to be unwavering in my miner's girth, so our miners will say, He's ours & he doesn't give in! You're a lawyer of Capitalism, I'm a lawyer for Communism. Let's compete." Nixon: "All that I can say, from the way you talk and the way you dominate the conversation, you would have made a good lawyer yourself."
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-Vice President Richard Nixon What I mean is this, here you can see the type of tape which will transmit this very conversation immediately. This indicates the possibilities of increasing communication and this increase in communication will teach us some things & you some things, too. Because, after all, you don't know everything." Nikita Khrushchev "If I don't know everything, then you know absolutely nothing about Communism, except for fear! But now the dispute will be on an unequal basis. The apparatus is yours, and you speak English, while I speak Russian. Your words are taped and will be shown and heard. What I say to you about science won't be translated, and so your people won't hear it. These aren't equal conditions."
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-Other Russian speaker: "Tell us, please, what are your general impressions of the exhibit?" Nikita Khrushchev responds in Russian It's clear to me that the construction workers didn't manage to finish their work & the exhibit still is not put in order...This is what America is capable of, and how long has she existed? 300 years? 150 years of independence and this is her level. We haven't quite reached 42 years, and in another 7 years, we'll be at the level of America and after that we'll go farther.
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-Nikita Khrushchev responds in Russian As we pass you by, we'll wave hi to you & then if you want we'll stop & say, please come along behind us...If you want to live under capitalism, go ahead, that's your question, an internal matter, it doesn't concern us. We can feel sorry for you, but really, you wouldn't understand. We've already seen how you understand things."
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-A reporter off-screen asks Vice President Richard Nixon if he thinks the Soviet people are impressed with the American National Exhibition. Nixon steps up to the microphone and replies It s a very effective exhibit, and it s one that will cause a great deal of interest. I might say that this morning I, very early in the morning, went down to visit a market, where the farmers from various outskirts of the city bring in their items to sell. As I was taking to them several of them came up and asked me if I knew where they could get tickets for the exhibition. I had none with me but I did make arrangements to send some back to the manager of the market. I can only say that there was a great deal of interest among these people, who were workers and farmers, etc... I would imagine that the exhibition from that standpoint would, therefore, be a considerable success.
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-Vice President Richard Nixon As far as Mr Khrushchev s comments just now, they are in the tradition we learned to expect from him of speaking extemporaneously and frankly whenever he has an opportunity. I am glad that he did say on our color television at such a time as this, of course later on with will both have the opportunity to seek this evening, consequently comment on the various subjects that he raised at this point. Except to say this, this Mr. Khrushchev is one of the most advanced developments in communication that we have, at least in our country. It is color television of course. It is as you will see in a few minutes when we receive the very picture of your speech and my comments that has been transmitted. It s one of the best means of communication that has been developed. And I can only say that if this competition which you have described so effectively, in which you plan to outstrip us, and particularly in the production of consumer goods If this competition is to do the best for both of our peoples and for people everywhere, there must be a free exchange of ideas.
IMAGE QUALITY IS ORIGINAL TO THE MASTER-Vice President Richard Nixon There are some instances where you may be ahead of us--for example in the development of the thrust of your rockets for the investigation of outer space. There may be some instances, for example, color television, where we re ahead of you. But in order for both of us benefit...Khrushchev interrupting No, in rockets we ve passed you by, and in the technology I do not capitulate. Nixon "You see, you never concede anything. Wait till you see the picture. An off-screen spokesman praises the advancement of color TV I think it d be interesting for him to know that this program is now being recorded on Ampex color tape and it can be played back immediately and you can t tell that it isn t a live program. Khrushchev "No, I share the enthusiasm of Soviet engineers about the cleverness of the American people. We always knew that Americans were clever. Foolish people could not have risen to the economic level that they've reached. But as you know, we don't kill flies with our nostrils! In 42 years we've made progress & we're worthy competitors now so let's compete!"
Republican National Convention. Miami Beach, Florida. August 8, 1968. RICHARD NIXON receives GOP nomination, makes acceptance speech. C/As throughout speech of largely Caucasian audience listening, applauding; African-Americans in audience appear bored, sullen. Excerpts of speech. "My friends, we live in an age of revolution in America and in the world. And to find the answers to our problems, let us turn to a revolution, a revolution that will never grow old. The world's greatest continuing revolution, the American Revolution. The American Revolution was and is dedicated to progress, but our founders recognized that the first requisite of progress is order. Now, there is no quarrel between progress and order, because neither can exist without the other. So let us have order in America, not the order that suppresses dissent and discourages change but the order which guarantees the right to dissent and provides the basis for peaceful change. And tonight, it is time for some honest talk about the problem of order in the United States. Let us always respect, as I do, our courts and those who serve on them. But let us also recognize that some of our courts in their decisions have gone too far in weakening the peace forces as against the criminal forces in this country and we must act to restore that balance. Let those who have the responsibility to enforce our laws and our judges who have the responsibility to interpret them be dedicated to the great principles of civil rights. But let them also recognize that the first civil right of every American is to be free from domestic violence, and that right must be guaranteed in this country. And if we are to restore order and respect for law in this country there is one place we are going to begin. We are going to have a new Attorney General of the United States of America. I pledge to you that our new Attorney General will be directed by the President of the United States to launch a war against organized crime in this country. I pledge to you that the new Attorney General of the United States will be an active belligerent against the loan sharks and the numbers racketeers that rob the urban poor in our cities. I pledge to you that the new Attorney General will open a new front against the filth peddlers and the narcotics peddlers who are corrupting the lives of the children of this country. Because, my friends, let this message come through clear from what I say tonight. Time is running out for the merchants of crime and corruption in American society. The wave of crime is not going to be the wave of the future in the United States of America." " For the past five years we have been deluged by government programs for the unemployed; programs for the cities; programs for the poor. And we have reaped from these programs an ugly harvest of frustration, violence and failure across the land. And now our opponents will be offering more of the same -- more billions for government jobs, government housing, government welfare. I say it is time to quit pouring billions of dollars into programs that have failed in the United States of America. To put it bluntly, we are on the wrong road -- and it's time to take a new road, to progress. Again, we turn to the American Revolution for our answer. The war on poverty didn't begin five years ago in this country. It began when this country began. It's been the most successful war on poverty in the history of nations. There is more wealth in America today, more broadly shared, than in any nation in the world. We are a great nation. And we must never forget how we became great. America is a great nation today not because of what government did for people -- but because of what people did for themselves over a hundred-ninety years in this country."
TLS U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon), First Lady PAT NIXON, former First Lady MAMIE EISENHOWER, TRICIA NIXON COX and JULIE NIXON EISENHOWER watching Inaugural parade, applauding from behind bulletproof glass. MS bundled middle-aged woman wearing straw boater that says, "Dick's the One" on brim. High angle LS U.S. Navy military band performing "Anchors Away" while marching past grandstand, followed by Annapolis cadets. H/a LS U.S. Air Force marching band performing "Wild Blue Yonder" while passing grandstand, followed by USAF cadets. MSs Richard Nixon & Pat Nixon standing, watching parade, clapping. H/a LS U.S. Marine Corps in dress uniforms, carrying ceremonial swords while passing reviewing stand. The Armed Forces performing for the new Commander in Chief.
High angle TLS/LSs Whittier High School marching band performing for Richard Nixon, Class of 1930, Inaugural Parade. TLSs U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON standing, smiling, waving from behind bulletproof glass, grandstand; First Lady PAT NIXON, JULIE NIXON EISENHOWER, TRICIA NIXON COX join the Prez. Panning TLS State of California theme float passing reviewing stand. Level TLS white Jeep pulling teamwork in sports them float. TLS Vice-President SPIRO T. AGNEW (Spiro Agnew), wife JUDY AGNEW, and their children standing, applauding, watching Inaugural Parade. Level TLS New York State "Liberty & Justice For All" float. MS Richard Nixon, Pat Nixon, Nixon daughters standing, clapping. TLSs steam calliope wagon being towed past reviewing stand, night.
Excellent time lapse LS dawn over East Front of U.S. Capitol Building; audio of President Nixon delivering Inaugural Speech: We have endured a long night of the American spirit. But as our eyes catch the dimness of the first rays of dawn, let us not curse the remaining dark. Let us gather the light. Our destiny offers, not the cup of despair, but the chalice of opportunity. So let us seize it, not in fear, but in gladness-- and, riders on the earth together, let us go forward, firm in our faith, steadfast in our purpose, cautious of the dangers; but sustained by our confidence in the will of God and the promise of man."
Tilting high angle TLS/LS Inaugural parade: military band, marching U.S. Marines & U.S. Navy sailors in dress uniforms, followed by Presidential motorcade (black limousines w/ Secret Servicemen). Great MSs crowd waving arms & small American flags, smiling, one man filming event with 8mm film camera. Panning TLS President RICHARD M. NIXON and PAT NIXON riding in enclosed black limo, Secret Service walking alongside. Great h/a TLS/MSs Richard Nixon & Pat Nixon leaning out of sunroof, smiling & waving (sometimes with both arms) to crowd on parade route, passing grandstand, stonefaced Secret Service agents keeping tight watch. Nice DOF 3/4 view MS parade watchers rising to feet, removing hats. TLS President Nixon waving w/ both arms from behind bulletproof glass on grandstand. H/a LS U.S. military color guard passing Presidential Grandstand, zoom in to Richard & Pat Nixon behind protective glass. LS/TLSs Up With People "Forward Together" parade float, members singing & dancing theme song. H/a LS military marching band performing, passing grandstand, followed by West Point cadets marching.
MS Seventh Archbishop of New York TERENCE CARDINAL COOKE assuming podium at Inauguration of Richard Nixon, delivering prayer blessing, President RICHARD M. NIXON and Vide-President SPIRO AGNEW standing w/ heads bowed in BG. Panning TLS guests standing at police line, heads bowed. LS Terence Cardinal Cooke concluding prayer, shaking hands w/ President Nixon, then LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON (Lyndon Johnson, LBJ), followed by Spiro T. Agnew. High angle TLS Richard Nixon smiling, waving while exiting platform for Capitol Building with wife PAT NIXON, Spiro Agnew & his wife JUDY AGNEW.
TLS/MSs U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon) continues delivering Inaugural Address: "Over the past 20 years, since I first came to this Capital as a freshman Congressman, I have visited most of the nations of the world. I have come to know the leaders of the world, & the great forces, the hatreds, the fears that divide the world. I know that peace does not come through wishing for it-- that there is no substitute for days & even years of patient & prolonged diplomacy. I also know the people of the world. I have seen the hunger of a homeless child, the pain of a man wounded in battle, the grief of a mother who has lost her son. I know these have no ideology, no race. I know America. I know the heart of America is good. I speak from my own heart, and the heart of my country, the deep concern we have for those who suffer, and those who sorrow." C/A MS LADY BIRD JOHNSON, JUDY AGNEW, and PAT NIXON seated, listening to speech, Johnson daughters in BG. "I have taken an oath today in the presence of God and my countrymen--"
TLS/MSs U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon) continues delivering Inaugural Address: "In this past third of a century, government has passed more laws, spent more money, initiated more programs, than in all our previous history. In pursuing our goals of full employment, better housing, excellence in education; in rebuilding our cities and improving our rural areas; in protecting our environment and enhancing the quality of life--in all these and more, we will and must press urgently forward. We shall plan now for the day when our wealth can be transferred from the destruction of war abroad to the urgent needs of our people at home." C/A telephoto MS LADY BIRD JOHNSON, JUDY AGNEW, and PAT NIXON seated, applauding, Johnson daughters in BG. "The American dream does not come to those who fall asleep. But we are approaching the limits of what government alone can do. Our greatest need now is to reach beyond government, and to enlist the legions of the concerned and the committed. What has to be done, has to be done by government and people together or it will not be done at all." C/A TLS U.S. Capitol Building, military servicemen standing with backs to cam in BG. The lesson of past agony is that without the people we can do nothing; with the people we can do everything. To match the magnitude of our tasks, we need the energies of our people--enlisted not only in grand enterprises, but more importantly in those small, splendid efforts that make headlines in the neighborhood newspaper instead of the national journal. With these, we can build a great cathedral of the spirit--each of us raising it one stone at a time, as he reaches out to his neighbor, helping, caring, doing."
TLS/MSs U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon) continues delivering Inaugural Address: "To lower our voices would be a simple thing. In these difficult years, America has suffered from a fever of words; from inflated rhetoric that promises more than it can deliver; from angry rhetoric that fans discontents into hatreds; from bombastic rhetoric that postures instead of persuading. We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another--until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices. For its part, government will listen. We will strive to listen in new ways--to the voices of quiet anguish, the voices that speak without words, the voices of the heart--to the injured voices, the anxious voices, the voices that have despaired of being heard. Those who have been left out, we will try to bring in. Those left behind, we will help to catch up. For all of our people, we will set as our goal the decent order that makes progress possible and our lives secure. As we reach toward our hopes, our task is to build on what has gone before--not turning away from the old, but turning toward the new."
TLS/MSs U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon) continues delivering Inaugural Address: "I do not offer a life of uninspiring ease. I do not call for a life of grim sacrifice. I ask you to join in a high adventure--one as rich as humanity itself, and as exciting as the times we live in. The essence of freedom is that each of us shares in the shaping of his own destiny. Until he has been part of a cause larger than himself, no man is truly whole. The way to fulfillment is in the use of our talents; we achieve nobility in the spirit that inspires that use. As we measure what can be done, we shall promise only what we know we can produce, but as we chart our goals we shall be lifted by our dreams. No man can be fully free while his neighbor is not. To go forward at all is to go forward together. This means black & white together, as one nation, not two. The laws have caught up w/ our conscience. What remains is to give life to what is in the law: to ensure at last that as all are born equal in dignity before God, all are born equal in dignity before man. As we learn to go forward together at home, let us also seek to go forward together w/ all mankind. Let us take as our goal: where peace is unknown, make it welcome; where peace is fragile, make it strong; where peace is temporary, make it permanent. After a period of confrontation, we are entering an era of negotiation. Let all nations know that during this administration our lines of communication will be open. We seek an open world--open to ideas, open to the exchange of goods & people--a world in which no people, great or small, will live in angry isolation. We cannot expect to make everyone our friend, but we can try to make no one our enemy." C/A telephoto MS guests including Reverend BILLY GRAHAM, J. MARK THRICE and Senator EVERETT DIRKSEN (R-IL) applauding. "Those who would be our adversaries, we invite to a peaceful competition--not in conquering territory or extending dominion, but in enriching the life of man. As we explore the reaches of space, let us go to the new worlds together--not as new worlds to be conquered, but as a new adventure to be shared. With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift up the poor & the hungry. But to all those who would be tempted by weakness, let us leave no doubt that we will be as strong as we need to be for as long as we need to be."
TLSs U.S. President LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON (LBJ, Lyndon Johnson), Vice-President HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, Speaker of the House JOHN MCCORMACK, Sen. EVERETT DIRKSEN (R-IL) descending steps onto Inaugural Platform, shaking hands w/ peers, Hail to the Chief playing in BG. Great MS Lyndon Baines Johnson smiling, shaking hands w/ colleagues on platform, passing cam. TLS/CUs VP-elect SPIRO T. AGNEW (Spiro Agnew) descending steps, passing cam, standing at podium w/ LBJ & HHH. MS/TLSs President-elect RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon) smiling, gloating, standing atop stairs with Everett Dirksen & Rep. GERALD FORD (R-MI); MS/CUs Richard Nixon descending, passing cam, shaking hands & patting the back of Lyndon Johnson. TLS Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee descending steps.
TLS/MSs U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon) continues delivering Inaugural Address: "The second third of this century has been a time of proud achievement. We have made enormous strides in science and industry and agriculture. We have shared our wealth more broadly than ever. We have learned at last to manage a modern economy to assure its continued growth. We have given freedom new reach, and we have begun to make its promise real for black as well as for white. We see the hope of tomorrow in the youth of today. I know America's youth. I believe in them. We can be proud that they are better educated, more committed, more passionately driven by conscience than any generation in our history." C/A TLS guests including HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, Sen. EVERETT DIRKSEN, Speaker JOHN MCCORMACK, Rep. GERALD FORD, Rev. BILLY GRAHAM applauding in inaugural gallery. "No people has ever been so close to the achievement of a just and abundant society, or so possessed of the will to achieve it. Because our strengths are so great, we can afford to appraise our weaknesses with candor and to approach them with hope. Standing in this same place a third of a century ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed a Nation ravaged by depression and gripped in fear. He could say in surveying the Nation's troubles: "They concern, thank God, only material things." Our crisis today is the reverse. We have found ourselves rich in goods, but ragged in spirit; reaching with magnificent precision for the moon, but falling into raucous discord on earth. We are caught in war, wanting peace. We are torn by division, wanting unity. We see around us empty lives, wanting fulfillment. We see tasks that need doing, waiting for hands to do them. To a crisis of the spirit, we need an answer of the spirit. To find that answer, we need only look within ourselves. When we listen to "the better angels of our nature," we find that they celebrate the simple things, the basic things--such as goodness, decency, love, kindness. Greatness comes in simple trappings."
TLS/MSs U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon) continues delivering Inaugural Address: "For the first time, because the people of the world want peace, and the leaders of the world are afraid of war, the times are on the side of peace. Eight years from now America will celebrate its 200th anniversary as a nation. Within the lifetime of most people now living, mankind will celebrate that great new year which comes only once in a thousand years--the beginning of the third millennium. What kind of nation we will be, what kind of world we will live in, whether we shape the future in the image of our hopes, is ours to determine by our actions and our choices. The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker. This honor now beckons America--the chance to help lead the world at last out of the valley of turmoil, and onto that high ground of peace that man has dreamed of since the dawn of civilization. If we succeed, generations to come will say of us now living that we mastered our moment, that we helped make the world safe for mankind. This is our summons to greatness. I believe the American people are ready to answer this call."
TLS/MSs U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon) delivering Inaugural Address: "Senator Dirksen, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice President, President Johnson, Vice President Humphrey, my fellow Americans--" Edit. "--history is a fleeting time, precious and unique. But some stand out as moments of beginning, in which courses are set that shape decades or centuries. This can be such a moment. Forces now are converging that make possible, for the first time, the hope that many of man's deepest aspirations can at last be realized. The spiraling pace of change allows us to contemplate, within our own lifetime, advances that once would have taken centuries. In throwing wide the horizons of space, we have discovered new horizons on earth. For the first time, because the people of the world want peace, and the leaders of the world are afraid of war, the times are on the side of peace."
High angle LS Senator EVERETT DIRKSEN (R-IL) introducing U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren at Inauguration ceremony for Richard Nixon. MS Chief Justice EARL WARREN administering Oath of Office to RICHARD M. NIXON, wife PAT NIXON standing betwixt the men, holding open Bible. MS Richard Nixon & Pat Nixon standing, receiving adulation, Vice-President SPIRO AGNEW standing in BG. High angle LS crowd standing, applauding the new President and his wife.
Zooming high angle LS Senator EVERETT DIRKSEN (R-IL) introducing Reverend Billy Graham at Inauguration ceremony for Richard Nixon. MS white men & women in crowd with heads bowed during convocation. TLS Reverend BILLY GRAHAM offering prayer, RICHARD M. NIXON, LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON, HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, and SPIRO AGNEW standing in tow w/ heads bowed reverently. TLS crowd with heads bowed, listening to convocation.
TLS/MSs Senator EVERETT DIRKSEN (R-IL) speaking to crowd at Inauguration ceremony for Richard Nixon, introducing Vice President-elect Spiro Agnew. Rear view TLS crowd, Capitol Building dome in BG. MSs Sen. Everett Dirksen administering Oath of Office to SPIRO T. AGNEW, President-elect RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Milhous Nixon) watching on, shaking his hand at outset.
High angle LS crowd gathered for Inauguration of Richard Nixon. MS Senator EVERETT DIRKSEN (R-IL) speaking to crowd, introducing Reverend Charles Eubank Tucker. MS/TLSs Reverend Tucker delivering convocation, President-elect RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Milhous Nixon) & VP-elect SPIRO T. AGNEW (Spiro Agnew) standing in BG, heads bowed reverently. TLS Rabbi Edgar Magnin delivering speech. TLS Archbishop Iakovos (Greek Orthodox) speechifying. An ecumenical invocation.
MS First Lady LADY BIRD JOHNSON exiting White House with PAT NIXON, Speaker of the House JOHN MCCORMACK, Lynda Bird Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson. MS U.S. President LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON (Lyndon Johnson, LBJ) exiting White House with President-elect RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon), Sen. EVERETT DIRKSEN (R-IL), Vice-President HUBERT H. HUMPHREY and VP-elect SPIRO AGNEW in tow. Great LS 3/4 view East Front of U.S. Capitol Building as viewed from break in springtime trees. TLSs Presidential motorcade (black limousines with Secret Service) taking right onto boulevard. MS Sen. Dirksen & President Johnson outside car. MS Richard Nixon & Lyndon Johnson smiling, talking with reporters including CBS News correspondent MIKE WALLACE, then entering Capitol. H/a TLS Luci Baines Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson, Tricia Nixon (Tricia Cox), Douglas Rogers (son of Secretary of State William Rogers), Julie Eisenhower Nixon, and David Eisenhower taking seats in inaugural gallery. MS Lady Bird Johnson and MURIEL HUMPHREY BROWN descending steps, smiling. MSs former First Lady MAMIE EISENHOWER and JUDY AGNEW descending steps. MS/TLSs Pat Nixon descending steps with Louella Carver Dirksen, taking seat in gallery.
Panning MS U.S. Navy sailors marching outside U.S. Capitol Building on Inauguration Day. MSs guests arriving, having tickets checked by police officers & U.S. Marines. TLS bulky, fuel-inefficient cars arriving at ceremony. High angle LS Inaugural Platform (gallery). High angle LS East Front of U.S. Capitol. TLS House Sergeant at Arms carrying mace onto gallery. TLS/MSs House of Representatives descending stairs to gallery. TLS Senate descending stairs onto gallery-- noticeable here are Sen. RICHARD B. RUSSELL (D-GA), Sen. EDWARD KENNEDY (D-MA, Ted Kennedy), and Sen. HUGH SCOTT (R-PA). MSs Governor of California RONALD REAGAN smiling, descending steps onto gallery -- note Governor of New York NELSON ROCKEFELLER in FG. TLS U.S. Supreme Court descending steps-- Chief Justice EARL WARREN, Associate Justice THURGOOD MARSHALL, WILLIAM DOUGLAS, WILLIAM BRENNAN, et al. MS Apollo 8 astronaut FRANK BORMAN in attendance. MS guests descending stairs, taking seats in inaugural gallery.
High angle rear view TLS U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon), PAT NIXON, Vice-President SPIRO T. AGNEW, and JUDY AGNEW standing on balcony, receiving adulation from crowd on Inauguration Day. MS Richard M. Nixon delivering Inaugural Address. Opening Credits. Excellent 3/4 view LS East Front of U.S. Capitol Building, Capitol Dome. Great low angle TLS American flags flying from semi-circle flagpoles, fluttering in wind. LS silhouetted view from between two pillars, looking out onto Washington Mall. TLSs Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee led by Senator EVERETT DIRKSEN (R-IL) meeting; MS Sen. Everett Dirksen seated, reading, rubbing forehead; MSs committee members including Rep. GERALD FORD (Gerald R. Ford), Speaker of the House JOHN MCCORMACK, Rep. CARL ALBERT (D-OK), and J. MARK TRICE.
MS U.S. President RICHARD M. NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon) delivering Inaugural Address, Vice-President SPIRO T. AGNEW seated in BG, listening: "... the Constitution of the United States. And to that oath I now add this sacred commitment: I shall consecrate my office, my energies, and all the wisdom I can summon, to the cause of peace among nations. Let this message be heard by strong and weak alike. The peace we seek to win is not victory over any other people, but the peace that comes "with healing in its wings"; with compassion for those who have suffered; with understanding for those who have opposed us; with the opportunity for all the peoples of this earth to choose their own destiny. Only a few short weeks ago, we shared the glory of man's first sight of the world as God sees it, as a single sphere reflecting light in the darkness. As the Apollo astronauts flew over the moon's gray surface on Christmas Eve, they spoke to us of the beauty of earth--and in that voice so clear across the lunar distance, we heard them invoke God's blessing on its goodness. In that moment, their view from the moon moved poet Archibald MacLeish to write: To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold--brothers who know now they are truly brothers. In that moment of surpassing technological triumph, men turned their thoughts toward home and humanity--seeing in that far perspective that man's destiny on earth is not divisible; telling us that however far we reach into the cosmos, our destiny lies not in the stars but on Earth itself, in our own hands, in our own hearts.
President Richard Nixon. Good evening, my fellow Americans. I have requested this television and radio time tonight to give you a progress report on our plan to bring a just peace to Vietnam. When I first outlined our program last June, I stated that the rate of American withdrawals from Vietnam would depend on three criteria: progress in the training of the South Vietnamese, progress in the Paris negotiations, and the level of enemy activity. Tonight I am pleased to report that progress in training and equipping South Vietnamese forces has substantially exceeded our original expectations last June. Very significant advances have also been made in pacification. Although we recognize that problems remain, these are encouraging trends.
No Presidential statement on Vietnam would be complete without an expression of our concern for the fate of the American prisoners of war. The callous exploitation of the anxieties and anguish of the parents, the wives, the children of these brave men, as negotiating pawns, is an unforgivable breach of the elementary rules of conduct between civilized peoples. We shall continue to make every possible effort to get Hanoi to provide information on the whereabouts of all prisoners, to allow them to communicate with their families, to permit inspection of prisoners-of-war camps, and to provide for the early release of at least the sick and the wounded.
Tonight I want to thank the American people for the support you have given so generously to the cause of a just peace in Vietnam. It is your steadiness and your stamina that the leaders of North Vietnam are watching tonight. It is these qualities, as much as any proposals, that will bring them to negotiate. It is America's resolve, as well as America's reasonableness, that will achieve our goal of a just peace in Vietnam and strengthen the foundations of a just and lasting peace in the Pacific and throughout the world. Thank you and good night.
View of Pacific Ocean from President Nixon s home in San Clemente.
POLICE AND NATIONAL GUARD CONDUCT Reporter. Mr. President, in the light of the Kent State University incident, could you tell us what, in your judgment, is the proper action and conduct for a police force or a National Guard force when ordered to clear the campus area and faced with a crowd throwing rocks? President Nixon. We think we have done a rather good job here in Washington in that respect. As you note, we handled the two demonstrations, October 15 and November 15 of last year, without any significant casualties, and that took a lot of doing because there were some pretty rough people involved a few were rough; most of them were very peaceful. I would hope that the experience that we have had in that respect could be shared by the National Guards, which, of course, are not under Federal control but under State control. Now, what I say is not to be interpreted as a criticism in advance of my getting the facts of the National Guard at Kent State. I want to know what the facts are. I have asked for the facts. When I get them, I will have something to say about it. But I do know when you do have a situation of a crowd throwing rocks and the National Guard is called in, that there is always the chance that it will escalate into the kind of a tragedy that happened at Kent State. If there is one thing I am personally committed to, it is this: I saw the pictures of those four youngsters in the Evening Star the day after that tragedy, and I vowed then that we were going to find methods that would be more effective to deal with these problems of violence, methods that would deal with those who would use force and violence and endanger others, but, at the same time, would not take the lives of innocent people.
PROGRESS TOWARD GOALS Reporter. Mr. President, in your Inaugural Address, you said that one of your goals was to bring us together in America. You said that you wanted to move us in international terms from an era of confrontation to an era of negotiation. You said you wanted to bring peace to Vietnam. During the past 2 weeks, it seems that we are farther than ever from those goals. How do you account for this apparent failure? President Nixon. Don't judge us too quickly. When it comes to negotiation, I would suggest that you recognize the fact that some very important talks are going forward on arms limitation with the Soviet Union. We are still far apart. But I will predict now that there will be an agreement. When that agreement comes, it will have great significance. I say that having in mind the fact that we are far apart from the Soviet Union in our policy toward Southeast Asia, in our policy toward the Mideast; but I say that where the problems of arms is concerned, here is where our interests are together. The Soviet Union has just as great an interest as we have in seeing that there is some limitation on nuclear arms.
WILL THE WAR PROVE WORTHWHILE? Paul F. Healy, New York Daily News. Mr. President, this war was well underway before you came in, as you just said. Now, considering the toll in lives and in everything else that is happening now, do you think this war has proved to be worthwhile? President Nixon. It is rather a moot question, Mr. Healy, as to whether it will prove to have been worthwhile. As Commander in Chief, I have found for 525,000 Americans it has been my responsibility to do everything I could to protect their lives and to get them home as quickly as I can. And we have succeeded pretty well. We brought 115,000 home. We are going to bring another 150,000, and this action will assure the continued success of that program. However, looking at the whole of Southeast Asia, looking at the fact that we have lost lives there, I would say that only history will record whether it was worthwhile. I do know this: Now that America is there, if we do what many of our very sincere critics think we should do, if we withdraw from Vietnam and allow the enemy to come into Vietnam and massacre the civilians there by the millions, as they would if we do that, let me say that America is finished insofar as the peacekeeper in the Asian world is concerned.
CAMBODIA'S FUTURE Reporter. After the American troops are removed from Cambodia, there may still be a question as to the future of Cambodia's ability to exist as a neutralist country. What is your policy toward Cambodia's future? President Nixon. The United States is, of course, interested in the future of Cambodia, and the future of Laos, both of which, of course, as you know, are neutral countries. However, the United States, as I indicated in what is called the Guam or Nixon Doctrine, cannot take the responsibility and should not take the responsibility in the future to send American men in to defend the neutrality of countries that are unable to defend themselves. In this area, what we have to do is to go down the diplomatic trail, and that is why we are exploring with the Soviet Union with not too much success to date, but we are going to continue to explore it with Great Britain, with the Asian countries that are meeting in Jakarta, and through every possible channel, methods through which the neutrality of countries like Cambodia and Laos, who cannot possibly defend them. Selves to see that that neutrality is guaranteed without having the intervention of foreign forces.
The enemy has failed to win the war in Vietnam because of three basic errors in their strategy. They thought they could win a military victory. They have failed to do so. They thought they could win politically in South Vietnam. They have failed to do so. They thought they could win politically in the United States. This proved to be their most fatal miscalculation. In this great free country of ours, we debate, we disagree, sometimes violently, but the mistake the totalitarians make over and over again is to conclude that debate in a free country is proof of weakness. We are not a weak people. We are a strong people. America has never been defeated in the proud 190 year history of this country, and we shall not be defeated in Vietnam.
REASONS FOR THE CAMBODIAN ACTION John A. Scali, ABC News. Mr. President, how do you answer the criticism that the justification that you give for going into the Cambodian sanctuaries is hauntingly similar to the reasons that President Lyndon Johnson gave as he moved step by step up the ladder of escalation? He wanted peace, too, sir. President Nixon. Mr. Scali, President Johnson did want peace, and, if I may use the vernacular, he has taken a bad rap from those who say that he wanted war. However, the difference is that he did move step by step. This action is a decisive move, and this action also puts the enemy on warning that if it escalates while we are trying to deescalate, we will move decisively and not step by step.
However, I must report with regret that no progress has taken place on the negotiating front. The enemy still demands that we unilaterally and unconditionally withdraw all American forces, that in the process we overthrow the elected Government of South Vietnam, and that the United States accept a political settlement that would have the practical consequence of the forcible imposition of a Communist government upon the people of South Vietnam. That would mean humiliation and defeat for the United States. This we cannot and will not accept.
Let me now turn to the third criteria for troop withdrawals, the level of enemy activity. In several areas since December, that level has substantially increased. In recent months Hanoi has sent thousands more of their soldiers to launch new offensives in neutral Laos in violation of the Geneva Accords of 1962 to which they were signatories. South of Laos, almost 40,000 Communist troops are now conducting overt aggression against Cambodia, a small neutralist country that the Communists have used for years as a base for attack upon South Vietnam in violation of the Geneva Accords of 1954 to which they were also signatories. This follows the consistent pattern of North Vietnamese aggression in Indochina. During the past 8 years they have sent tens of thousands of troops into all three countries of the peninsula and across every single common border. Men and supplies continue to pour down the Ho Chi Minh Trail; and in the past 2 weeks, the Communists have stepped up their attacks upon allied forces in South Vietnam. However, despite this new enemy activity, there has been an overall decline in enemy force levels in South Vietnam since December. As the enemy force levels have declined and as the South Vietnamese have assumed more of the burden of battle, American casualties have declined. I am glad to be able to report tonight that in the first 3 months of 1970, the number of Americans killed in action dropped to the lowest first quarter level in 5 years.
In June, a year ago, when we began troop withdrawals, we did so on a "cut and try" basis with no certainty that the program would be successful. In June we announced withdrawal of 25,000 American troops; in September another 35,000 and then in December 50,000 more. These withdrawals have now been completed and as of April 15, a total of 115,500 men have returned home from Vietnam. We have now reached a point where we can confidently move from a period of "cut and try" to a longer-range program for the replacement of Americans by South Vietnamese troops. I am, therefore, tonight announcing plans for the withdrawal of an additional 150,000 American troops to be completed during the spring of next year. This will bring a total reduction of 265,500 men in our Armed Forces in Vietnam below the level that existed when we took office 15 months ago. The timing and pace of these new withdrawals within the overall schedule will be determined by our best judgment of the current military and diplomatic situation. This far-reaching decision was made after consultation with our commanders in the field, and it has the approval of the Government of South Vietnam.
Now, viewed against the enemy's escalation in Laos and Cambodia, and in view of the stepped-up attacks this month in South Vietnam, this decision clearly involves risks. But I again remind the leaders of North Vietnam that while we are taking these risks for peace, they will be taking grave risks should they attempt to use the occasion to jeopardize the security of our remaining forces in Vietnam by increased military action in Vietnam, in Cambodia, or in Laos. I repeat what I said November 3d and December 15th. If I conclude that increased enemy action jeopardizes our remaining forces in Vietnam, I shall not hesitate to take strong and effective measures to deal with that situation. My responsibility as Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces is for the safety of our men, and I shall meet that responsibility. The decision I have announced tonight to withdraw 150,000 more men over the next year is based entirely on the progress of our Vietnamization program.
There is a better, shorter path to peace, through negotiations. We shall withdraw more than 150,000 over the next year if we make progress at the negotiating front. Had the other side responded positively at Paris to our offer of May 14 last year, most American and foreign troops would have left South Vietnam by now. A political settlement is the heart of the matter. That is what the fighting in Indochina has been about over the past 30 years. Now, we have noted with interest the recent statement by Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Malik concerning a possible new Geneva conference on Indochina. We do not yet know the full implications of this statement. It is in the spirit of the letters I wrote on April 7, to signatories of the 1962 Geneva Accords urging consultations and observance of the Accords. We have consistently said we were willing to explore any reasonable path to peace. We are in the process of exploring this one. But whatever the fate of this particular move we are ready for a settlement fair to everyone.
Let me briefly review for you the principles that govern our view of a just political settlement. First, our overriding objective is a political solution that reflects the will of the South Vietnamese people and allows them to determine their future without outside interference. I again reaffirm this Government's acceptance of eventual, total withdrawal of American troops. In turn, we must see the permanent withdrawal of all North Vietnamese troops and be given reasonable assurances that they will not return. Second, a fair political solution should reflect the existing relationship of political forces within South Vietnam. We recognize the complexity of shaping machinery that would fairly apportion political power in South Vietnam. We are flexible; we have offered nothing on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.
And third, we will abide by the outcome of the political process agreed upon. President Thieu and I have repeatedly stated our willingness to accept the free decision of the South Vietnamese people. But we will not agree to the arrogant demand that the elected leaders of the Government of Vietnam be overthrown before real negotiations begin.
Let me briefly review the record of our efforts to end the war in Vietnam through negotiations. We were told repeatedly in the past that our adversaries would negotiate seriously if only we stopped the bombing of North Vietnam; if only we began withdrawing our forces from South Vietnam; if only we dealt with the National Liberation Front as one of the parties to the negotiations; if only we would agree in principle to removal of all of our forces from Vietnam. We have taken all these steps. The United States, over a year and a half ago, stopped all bombing of North Vietnam. Long ago we agreed to negotiate with the National Liberation Front as one of the parties. We have already withdrawn 115,500 American troops. Tonight I have announced a decision to reduce American force levels by a quarter of a million men from what they were 15 months ago. We have offered repeatedly to withdraw all of our troops if the North Vietnamese would withdraw theirs. We have taken risks for peace that every fair and objective man can readily recognize. And still there is no progress at the negotiating table. It is Hanoi and Hanoi alone that stands today blocking the path to a just peace for all the peoples of Southeast Asia.
When our astronauts returned safely to earth last Friday, the whole world rejoiced with us. We could have had no more eloquent demonstration of a profound truth that the greatest force working for peace in the world today is the fact that men and women everywhere, regardless of differences in race, religion, nationality, or political philosophy, value the life of a human being. We were as one as we thought of those brave men, their wives, their children, their parents.
The death of a single man in war, whether he is an American, a South Vietnamese, a Vietcong, or a North Vietnamese, is a human tragedy. That is why we want to end this war and achieve a just peace. We call upon our adversaries to join us in working at the conference table toward that goal.
My fellow Americans, 5 years ago American combat troops were first sent to Vietnam. The war since that time has been the longest and one of the most costly and difficult conflicts in our history. The decision I have announced tonight means that we finally have in sight the just peace we are seeking. We can now say with confidence that pacification is succeeding. We can now say with confidence that the South Vietnamese can develop the capability for their own defense. And we can say with confidence that all American combat forces can and will be withdrawn. I could not make these statements tonight had it not been for the dedication, the bravery, the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of young men who have served in Vietnam. Nor could I have made it had it not been for the perseverance of millions of Americans at home.
When men write the history of this Nation, they will record that no people in the annals of time made greater sacrifices in a more selfless cause than the American people sacrificed for the right of 18 million people in a faraway land to avoid the imposition of Communist rule against their will and for the right of those people to determine their own future free of outside interference.
"For more than a quarter of a century in public life I have shared in the turbulent history of this era. I have fought for what I believed in. I have tried to the best of my ability to discharge those duties and meet those responsibilities that were entrusted to me. Sometimes I have succeeded and sometimes I have failed, but always I have taken heart from what Theodore Roosevelt once said about the man in the arena, "whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again because there is not effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievements and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly."
"To those who have stood with me during these past difficult months, to my family, my friends, to many others who joined in supporting my cause because they believed it was right, I will be eternally grateful for your support. And to those who have not felt able to give me your support, let me say I leave with no bitterness toward those who have opposed me, because all of us, in the final analysis, have been concerned with the good of the country, however our judgments might differ. So, let us all now join together in affirming that common commitment and in helping our new President succeed for the benefit of all Americans."
"As we look to the future, the first essential is to begin healing the wounds of this Nation, to put the bitterness and divisions of the recent past behind us, and to rediscover those shared ideals that lie at the heart of our strength and unity as a great and as a free people. By taking this action, I hope that I will have hastened the start of that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America. I regret deeply any injuries that may have been done in the course of the events that led to this decision. I would say only that if some of my judgments were wrong, and some were wrong, they were made in what I believed at the time to be the best interest of the Nation."
"As I recall the high hopes for America with which we began this second term, I feel a great sadness that I will not be here in this office working on your behalf to achieve those hopes in the next 2 1/2 years. But in turning over direction of the Government to Vice President Ford, I know, as I told the Nation when I nominated him for that office 10 months ago, that the leadership of America will be in good hands. In passing this office to the Vice President, I also do so with the profound sense of the weight of responsibility that will fall on his shoulders tomorrow and, therefore, of the understanding, the patience, the cooperation he will need from all Americans. As he assumes that responsibility, he will deserve the help and the support of all of us."
"I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of America first. America needs a full-time President and a full-time Congress, particularly at this time with problems we face at home and abroad. To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home. Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.
"We have ended America's longest war, but in the work of securing a lasting peace in the world, the goals ahead are even more far-reaching and more difficult. We must complete a structure of peace so that it will be said of this generation, our generation of Americans, by the people of all nations, not only that we ended one war but that we prevented future wars. We have unlocked the doors that for a quarter of a century stood between the United States and the People's Republic of China. We must now ensure that the one quarter of the world's people who live in the People's Republic of China will be and remain not our enemies but our friends."
"In the Middle East, 100 million people in the Arab countries, many of whom have considered us their enemy for nearly 20 years, now look on us as their friends. We must continue to build on that friendship so that peace can settle at last over the Middle East and so that the cradle of civilization will not become its grave. Together with the Soviet Union we have made the crucial breakthroughs that have begun the process of limiting nuclear arms. But we must set as our goal not just limiting but reducing and finally destroying these terrible weapons so that they cannot destroy civilization and so that the threat of nuclear war will no longer hang over the world and the people. We have opened the new relation with the Soviet Union. We must continue to develop and expand that new relationship so that the two strongest nations of the world will live together in cooperation rather than confrontation."
"Around the world, in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, in the Middle East, there are millions of people who live in terrible poverty, even starvation. We must keep as our goal turning away from production for war and expanding production for peace so that people everywhere on this earth can at last look forward in their children's time, if not in our own time, to having the necessities for a decent life. Here in America, we are fortunate that most of our people have not only the blessings of liberty but also the means to live full and good and, by the world's standards, even abundant lives. We must press on, however, toward a goal of not only more and better jobs but of full opportunity for every American and of what we are striving so hard right now to achieve, prosperity without inflation."
"I would have preferred to carry through to the finish whatever the personal agony it would have involved, and my family unanimously urged me to do so. But the interests of the Nation must always come before any personal considerations. From the discussions I have had with Congressional and other leaders, I have concluded that because of the Watergate matter I might not have the support of the Congress that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office in the way the interests of the Nation would require."
(Glitch at beginging of speech is original to the master) President RICHARD M. NIXON reading statement. "Good evening. This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office, where so many decisions have been made that shaped the history of this Nation. Each time I have done so to discuss with you some matter that I believe affected the national interest. In all the decisions I have made in my public life, I have always tried to do what was best for the Nation. Throughout the long and difficult period of Watergate, I have felt it was my duty to persevere, to make every possible effort to complete the term of office to which you elected me. In the past few days, however, it has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to justify continuing that effort. As long as there was such a base, I felt strongly that it was necessary to see the constitutional process through to its conclusion, that to do otherwise would be unfaithful to the spirit of that deliberately difficult process and a dangerously destabilizing precedent for the future. But with the disappearance of that base, I now believe that the constitutional purpose has been served, and there is no longer a need for the process to be prolonged."
"I pledge to you tonight that as long as I have a breath of life in my body, I shall continue in that spirit. I shall continue to work for the great causes to which I have been dedicated throughout my years as a Congressman, a Senator, a Vice President, and President, the cause of peace not just for America but among all nations, prosperity, justice, and opportunity for all of our people. There is one cause above all to which I have been devoted and to which I shall always be devoted for as long as I live. When I first took the oath of office as President 5 1/2 years ago, I made this sacred commitment, to "consecrate my office, my energies, and all the wisdom I can summon to the cause of peace among nations." I have done my very best in all the days since to be true to that pledge. As a result of these efforts, I am confident that the world is a safer place today, not only for the people of America but for the people of all nations, and that all of our children have a better chance than before of living in peace rather than dying in war. This, more than anything, is what I hoped to achieve when I sought the Presidency. This, more than anything, is what I hope will be my legacy to you, to our country, as I leave the Presidency."
"To have served in this office is to have felt a very personal sense of kinship with each and every American. In leaving it, I do so with this prayer: May God's grace be with you in all the days ahead." Diss to image of Presidential Seal."
"I shall leave this office with regret at not completing my term, but with gratitude for the privilege of serving as your President for the past 5 1/2 years. These years have been a momentous time in the history of our Nation and the world. They have been a time of achievement in which we can all be proud, achievements that represent the shared efforts of the Administration, the Congress, and the people. But the challenges ahead are equally great, and they, too, will require the support and the efforts of the Congress and the people working in cooperation with the new Administration."
B&W: MSs Richard Nixon meeting, shaking hands with aged Chairman MAO TSE-TUNG (Mao Zedong), Chou En-Lai and National Security Advisor HENRY KISSINGER watching, later sharing a big laugh with Nixon. Color: MS Dick Nixon & Chou En-Lai toasting each other at formal event, newsreel film & video camera abounding; Chou toasts Pat Nixon.
Kennedy Meets Nixon At key biscayne, Florida, a post-campaign meeting between president-elect Senator John F. Kennedy and his opponent, Vice-President Richard M. Nixon, intended to restore their cordial relationship of 14 years' standing. Both Kennedy and Nixon are reserved as to the details of their 63-minute talk despite rumors Kennedy would offer Nixon a post in the administration. Photographers & press.
MS jubilant President RICHARD NIXON meeting with white female supporters, getting pictures taken with them. Traveling shot of the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, as witnessed from car on rainy day.
Color archival shots of 1968 Republican National Convention. Mass of balloons fall from ceiling to delegate floor. Richard Nixon and Pat Nixon walk through floor. Pro-Nixon signs on convention floor. Low angle of Nixon waving and pointing and flashing peace sign to crowd. Sign - PEORIA FOR NIXON.
1960 Republican National Convention: triptych of Eisenhower, Nixon & Abraham Lincoln hanging from rafters; "We Want Nixon" sign; man announcing nomination of Nixon as GOP candidate; delegates with "Nixon for President" banner; Vice-President Richard M. Nixon w/ running mate Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. 1960 Democratic National Convention: U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy walking through crowd; convention floor, delegates with JFK placards; Kennedy smiling from podium w/ Rose and Eunice Kennedy; JFK at podium with Lyndon B. Johnson, Hubert H. Humphrey, Stuart Symington and Adlai Stevenson. Candidates on campaign trail, Pat Nixon and Jacqueline Kennedy in tow. Nixon & Kennedy shaking hands after national TV debate in Chicago, WBBM-TV studio; TV screen, flickering images of JFK & Nixon debating. Woman voting, placing ballot in box. Pierre Salinger at print-out machine. Scrolling ticker, night: "Kennedy Takes Lead." Nixon delivering concession speech, Pat at his side. JFK walking through crowd at campaign HQ; Patricia, Eunice & Jean Kennedy listening to speech; JFK speech after winning election: "To all Americans I want to say the next four years are going to be difficult & challenging years for us all. The election may have been a close one but I think there is general agreement that a supreme national effort will be needed in the years ahead to move this country safely through the 1960s."
Nixon In The U. S. S. R. Highlights of Vice President Richard M. Nixon's tour of the Soviet Union. His party views the Reds' nuclear-powered ice-breaker 'Lenin', after a clash over whether the visitors are being permitted the same close inspection granted Kozlov of America's nuclear ship, earlier. On many of his points of call, Nixon is greeted by hecklers, primed with anti-American questions. City street scene (VO says Leningrad). Nixon talks amid a crowd, reporter jots notes. Nixon and others tour factory, where the V.P. talks and factory workers smile and applaud (they look earnestly friendly). Ship with sign that says "Lenin." Nixon leaves ship, shakes hands with people in the crowd (presumably Soviet citizens).
B&W: MS Senator Richard Nixon holding arm of DWIGHT EISENHOWER at 1952 Republican National Convention, wife MAMIE EISENHOWER watching. MS Ike giving a speech at indoor rally. MS crowd of well-dressed African-Americans at outdoor rally, some looking angry. MSs Dwight Eisenhower & Richard Nixon shaking hands on steps of airplane called the Dick Nixon Special; MCU supporter's sign: "I Like Ike and All-American Nixon." MSs Ike demonstrating how to cast fishing pole at country retreat; Ike almost clips Nixon with hook.
Color: Great traveling MS Communist Chinese soldiers pointing & aiming rifles affixed with bayonets at camera. MSs Red Chinese (PRC) soldiers working with quarterstaves & armor. President RICHARD NIXON and First Lady PAT NIXON visiting China, Feb, 1972: MSs First Couple alighting Air Force One, shaking hands with Premier CHOU EN-LAI in Peking; MS Richard Nixon & Chou En-Lai inspecting Red Guard, Chinese troops.
B/W CU RICHARD NIXON joking about media image at rally on 1968 campaign trail.
Panning TLS spirited crowd at Nixon headquarters after the GOP drubbed the Democratic ticket in national election; great MS President RICHARD NIXON & Vice-President SPIRO AGNEW smiling, walking on stage, waving to crowd; MCU Nixon at podium: "I've never known a national election when I'd be able to go to bed earlier than tonight."
Great slightly over the shoulder TLS Pres. Nixon speaking at press conference. MS White House Chief of Staff H.R. HALDEMAN (Bob Haldeman) speaking to press. MS Assistant to the President John Ehrlichman speaking to press.
The Republicans are coming! Panning MS Governor of Michigan GEORGE W. ROMNEY passing crowd of young white female supporters dancing on street while campaigning in New Hampshire; MS George Romney dancing in circles w/ young white female supporter on street, white male press photographers taking pictures; MSs Governor Romney entering cafe, shaking hands with white female diners at lunch counter. MS politico RICHARD NIXON smiling, shaking hands, entering packed room; high angle TLS Richard M. Nixon shaking hands, talking w/ white woman in crowded room; MS Richard Milhaus Nixon speaking to reporters on campaign trail, wife PAT NIXON standing in BG: "They have failed in so many areas that we need a new team in Washington and the place to begin is in New Hampshire and in November we'll finish the job." MS Governor of New York NELSON ROCKEFELLER alighting plane, shaking hands w/ supporters; MS Nelson Rockefeller shaking hands on street while campaigning in New Hampshire.
President Richard Nixon talking to press about marijuana, the National Commission on Marijuana, Drug Abuse and legalization.
