American Rhetoric: Richard M. Nixon

Have you ever heard a speech made by someone considered a thief? ;Did you think that it would be a Vice Presidential candidate who wrote it? Richard Nixon had created a speech, in which, he put several personal facts about his life, the allegations that were put against him, and how he was inspired to make the speech; This speech had awed all the people who tuned into watch it and helped clear his name entirely. Nixon had begun the speech with the phrase of “My fellow Americans” (“American Rhetoric: Richard M. Nixon”), and this phrase had lived on after the speech to be used by the next presidents of the United States in their speeches. Though Nixon had made the speech with the primary goal of winning the presidential election under the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, he had “turned the speech back on his political enemies” (“Biography: Richard Nixon”). The presidential campaign for Nixon was very rough as several factors were being placed against him, but it was ultimately saved by his legendary speech “Checkers”, which he named after the spotted Cocker Spaniel that he had received as a gift from a fan who supported his campaign. Nixon’s personal life was a key factor in the formation of the speech “Checkers” as he used it to help awe the people of the United States and gain their support in his Vice-Presidential campaign with Eisenhower. Nixon was born in California and grew up working for his family’s grocery store. Nixon’s family was generally very poor as he stated in his speech, and added to it with “the glory of it was that we didn’t know it” (“Biography: Richard Nixon”). Nixon had dug deep into his personal life as he described himself as a “man whose integrity had been questioned” (“American Rhetoric: Richard M. Nixon”). Nixon had spent a majority of his school time in order to become a lawyer, but he later quoted “Being a lawyer was not enough” (“Biography: Richard Nixon”), and that he had wanted to expand past that and do something that would help keep him out of debt. As the speech had progressed, Nixon had given out his financial situation and how he still had loads of crippling debt that still needed to be payed off, and what he owned, such as his car, his home, and some other needs that were causing him to have the debt in the first place. Nixon, at the time of his speech was being accused and charged for money laundering from many of his supporters for his own personal use. The charge that was placed against Nixon was that he “Laundered more than $18,000 from his supporters” (Biography: Richard Nixon”). Nixon had said in his speech that “it was not a secret fund” (“American Rhetoric: Richard M. Nixon”) and that it would have been morally wrong and illegal if he had used any of the money for his own use. Nixon had continued to add onto the defence against the charges in his speech by going at his accusers, and saying that if they didn’t have anything to hide, then they would show their financial history like he had done. By releasing what he had done with the money , which was to help pay for his and Eisenhower’s presidential …show more content…
Nixon had wished to initially clear his name to the American people, but not only did he do that, he had gained their support entirely as he presented himself as an “Honest Man” (“Biography: Richard Nixon”), and gave several details of what not only happened with the money, but also his personal life. The speech was initially called the “Fund Speech” but later it would become known as the “Checkers Speech” (“Biography: Richard Nixon”). This speech would not have been brought along if it wasn’t for Checkers and he was “the key inspiration for Nixon” (“Biography: Richard Nixon”). Nixon’s “Checkers” was the key speech that had led him to defeat his political opponents in the campaign as it gained him the support of a majority of the American people, and the hearts of those who were awed on how the speech had came to in the end of his broadcasted