"Some historians say that to focus on the personality of a famous figure is to neglect the context in which he/she lived. My argument is that personality provides a way to attract students to history because it allows them to make a personal connection to the past." - Joe Illick
Richard Milhouse Nixon 1969-1974
Richard Nixon, Tricky Dick:
Which persona would you pick?
Standout statesman -- look at China.
Secret racist -- South Carolina.
What motivated Southern Strategy?
What meaning had Silent Majority?
Smart politics? Appeals to hate?
Such politics made Richard grate.
Vietnamization, Pentagon Papers,
Spiro Agnew, plumbers’ capers,
Kissinger, Supreme Court choices:
Conservatism or nether voices?
Finally, CREEP and Watergate.
Vindictive or victim of fate?
Which persona would you pick?
Standout statesman -- look at China.
Secret racist -- South Carolina.
What motivated Southern Strategy?
What meaning had Silent Majority?
Smart politics? Appeals to hate?
Such politics made Richard grate.
Vietnamization, Pentagon Papers,
Spiro Agnew, plumbers’ capers,
Kissinger, Supreme Court choices:
Conservatism or nether voices?
Finally, CREEP and Watergate.
Vindictive or victim of fate?