1913-1994
President of the United States, 1969-1974

The Heir Apparent Falters.

As vice president under Dwight D. Eisenhower, the most popular Republican president of the twentieth century, Richard Milhous Nixon seemed assured of victory at the beginning of the 1960 presidential campaign. Yet he lost to John F. Kennedy in the closest presidential election of the century. Returning to his home state, California, Nixon joined a Los Angeles law firm and began to prepare for future political involvement, keeping himself in the public eye by writing a series of syndicated newspaper columns and a political memoir, Six Crises (1962), which became a best-seller.

The California Governor's Race.

In September 1961 — believing that he could best demonstrate his appeal to voters and establish a base for another presidential campaign by winning an important elected office — Nixon announced that he would run for governor of California, expecting full...