Richard Milhous Nixon

Birth-Death: (1913 - 1994 ) Term: (1969-1974 )

President Nixon's election was a call to end American involvement in Vietnam. He lived up to this promise, and by 1973, all American troops had been withdrawn. Nixon wished to promote global stability, and to do so met with representatives of the Soviet Union and Communist China in their respective countries. He managed to improve relations with these nations, and was the first President to visit a nation not officially recognized by the United States government: China.

Foreign Events of Richard Nixon

    President Nixon was elected on a withdrawal from Vietnam campaign. His solution was to train South Vietnamese forces, such that they would take over the war upon the United States' withdrawal. The program of gradual withdrawal was successful, as the number dropped from an all time high of 549,000 under President Johnson to about 70,000 by April 1971. There was much fighting during the spring of 1972, however, Nixon kept his promise and by August 1972 the last of the infantry had left Vietnam. Some bombing missions were still flown into North Vietnam until the peace agreement was signed in January 1973. As a result, all of the United States' troops left South Vietnam by the end of March 1973. Two years later, North Vietnam launched a major offensive and overran the Southern forces. A Communist government was established, but Communist expansion stopped at that point.

    President Nixon is responsible for the improvement of relations between the United States and China. Early in 1971 he lessened the restriction on the entrance of Communist Chinese into the United States. By July he was invited for formal talks to China. The visit that took place ended twenty-two years of hostility between the US and China. As President Nixon put it, "The primary goal of this trip was to reestablish communication with the People's Republic of China. We achieved this goal."

    When the President returned from the China trip, he went to a summit conference with the USSR. The major talks of the conference centered around the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT). Both sides agreed to limit the number of defensive and offensive missiles (ABMs) that both sides had. This was one more indication that both nations were leaning towards "peaceful coexistence" rather than full scale nuclear war.