Nixon Volume 1: The Education of a Politician, 1913–1962 by Stephen E. Ambrose

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Stephen Ambrose has given us a three volume biography of Richard M. Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, and the first President to resign from office. This was the first of the three volumes. The book goes back to 1987 and so necessarily misses much information that has come out since then. This first volume is likely less impacted by that issue.

Richard Nixon most certainly has to be one of the most psychoanalyzed of American Presidents. For such a successful politician he would not be considered to be comfortable around people, and some of his personal traits would become the subject of so much writing and discussion. On that basis alone the part of the book dealing with his upbringing and development is more important, and more interesting, than the typical biography.

The Nixon that developed into a U.S. Representative, and Senator, is covered, and it is safe to say that Nixon became a national figure through those campaigns. He began to draw not only attention, but the enmity of Democrats nationwide for how he campaigned. Those campaigns alone could, and have, filled books. As Nixon became a national figure the Republican Party faced some of the same fissures that are being debated in that party today. Nixon was always interested primarily in foreign policy and over the course of his career came to be known as a GOP expert on the world. After WWII the GOP isolationist wing, as it had before the war, started to become predominant in the party. One of the first flash points in the GOP debate was over the Marshall Plan, and support of the Truman desire to send aid to Greece and Turkey as the British retrenched. Nixon received a letter opposing the Marshall Plan from a group of original supporters, but he determined, on his own, to support the Plan. Nixon the internationalist was born.

“These were not just the voices of California reactionaries; the Republican Party as a whole was having trouble swallowing the Marshall Plan. Senator Taft proclaimed that American money should not be poured into a ‘European TVA.’ Like many Republicans, Taft was disturbed at postwar steps in Western Europe to achieve democratic socialism, and he feared that the Europeans would use Marshall Plan money to nationalize basic industries, including American-owned plants. But despite the pressure from his constituents and from his party leaders, Nixon made up his own mind on the basis of what he saw, and learned, showed that he could free himself from Republican dogma, and then, to top it off, convinced his constituents that he was right.”

Ambrose, Stephen Nixon: The Education of a Politician 1913-1962 pg. 155

The book presents us with some fascinating material, with some real historical perspective added to key parts of U.S. history. The Domino theory in Indochina? Nixon was propagating it in 1954. His role, from the inside as Vice-President, and from the outside after his defeat in the 1960 Presidential election, was so very impactful on U.S. policy, as he always advocated a tougher line against the North Vietnamese. Both Kennedy, and more importantly LBJ, were impacted by Nixon, and the harder edge of the GOP, in formulating policy in Vietnam. The “who lost China” theme always was useful politically and he used it ruthlessly.

“ ‘To sum it up bluntly,’ he declared, ‘the Acheson policy was directly responsible for the loss of China. And if China had not been lost, there would have been no war in Korea and there would be no war in Indochina today.’”

Ambrose, Stephen Nixon: The Education of a Politician 1913-1962 pg. 349

Nixon was clearly wrong on this matter but the politics of it were more important to him. And in fairness at that time it was just not clear that this idea was wrong.

Nixon’s interactions, and political balancing of, the Joseph McCarthy issue is covered, and it shows Nixon as handling the issue adroitly as far as the politics went, but of course such political handling avoided condemnation of the indefensible. Even Ike, who detested much of what Joe McCarthy said and did, walked a fine line.

Nixon, as the Vice President under Ike, was a loyal servant to the President. He did not always agree with Ike, and in his memoirs spoke forcefully against the Eisenhower action to force France, Britain, and Israel to abandon their seizure of the Suez Canal. (He supported the President at the time) We get to look at the events leading up to the “Checkers speech” Nixon gave that saved his spot on the 1952 Republican ticket, which likely saved his career.

There is plenty to look at through Nixon’s 8 years as Ike’s VP. Nixon’s credentials as an ardent anti-communist were burnished during this tenure despite Ike. In light of later developments his position on “Red China” was fascinating. With an absence from an upcoming NSC meeting coming Nixon sent a memo on the China issue so that his views would be known.

“I wish to have my view put on the record as follows: I am unequivocally opposed at this time to recognition of Red China, admission of Red China to the United Nations and to any concept of ‘two Chinas’”.

Ambrose, Stephen Nixon: The Education of a Politician 1913-1962 pg. 460

Nixon’s “kitchen debate” with Khrushchev garnered him much publicity, and of course made him a champion of the anti-communist right. Nixon’s very hard anti-communism always gave him a bit of leeway domestically, which he would exploit carefully. Nobody could accuse Nixon of being “soft” if he made a domestic concession or two. His anti-communist bona fides were just too strong.

The book, of course, gives us a look at one of the most fascinating Presidential elections in history, the Nixon-JFK match of 1960. Great look at how that campaign took shape, and how Nixon was out-maneuvered by the Kennedy campaign on the issue of national security. (The Missile Gap) Nixon never forgot that lesson, and that campaign hardened him more than a little bit. (If that was possible.) Ambrose takes this book through the Nixon campaign for Governor of California. That campaign loss, to Edmund (Pat) Brown, the father of Jerry Brown, brought Nixon to the nadir of his political career. A two-time loser after his loss to JFK in 1960 Nixon was written off as politically dead by many. His press conference after that loss (you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore) gave credence to the idea he was finished. We know that his political story did not end there, but that is where this first volume comes to a close.

Ambrose, admittedly, was not a Nixon fan, but he takes great pains to be even-handed in his approach. He offers both criticism and praise, and I do believe the book is fair.

A final note on this is that we see some of the very important people that would later be associated with Nixon start to appear. Bob Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and even Judge John Sirica make appearances in the book.

There is a lot of scholarship on Nixon, and though dated I do believe that the Ambrose book is well worth the read. Nixon remains one of the most polarizing of U.S. Presidents, and one of the true giants of American politics. Understanding his life, times, and politics, I believe, will help us to understand some of the many issues facing the country today.

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