1
Pohutsky, Bortei-Doku, Maldonado
Jordan Pohutsky, Naa Bortei-Doku, and Dani Maldonado
Jennifer Benson
ENG 121-130
October 10, 2018
Analysis of Checkers by Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon, was born on January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California. Nixon was one of five children born to mother, Hannah Milhous Nixon, and father, Frank Nixon. He had devoted his life to supporting his family by owning a service station, while his mother was a devout Quaker. His family faced poverty, he and his four brothers worked relentlessly in his father's shop to make ends meet. As Nixon grew, he excelled in academics and was offered a scholarship to Harvard, but couldn’t support the funds. Instead, he became a student at Whittaker College and later attended Duke Law School. After he conferred his degree from Duke, Nixon returned to his hometown of Whitaker, California to practice law at Kroop & Bewley. He was involved in a community drama theatre where he met a fellow aspiring actor, Thelma “Pat” Ryan. They later married in the year 1940, and became the parents of two daughters, Julie and Tricia. With a family to take care of, Nixon shifted his career in a political direction and obtained a position in the Office of Price Administration and moved his family to Washington D.C. Subsequently, after Pearl Harbor occurred, Nixon enlisted in the U.S. Navy and as World War II came to an end and so did his naval post. Beginning the job search once more, he was approached by several notable California Republicans who were in search of a congressional candidate. Nixon soon became a household name after he accused his opponent in the congressional candidates of being a communist sympathizer. Nixon was later elected congressmen of his California sector and in 1950, Nixon won a senate seat.
In 1952, Senator Nixon began campaigning to be vice president for Republican presidential candidate, General Dwight Eisenhower. Two months prior to election, the New York Post published an article titled “Secret Rich Men’s Trust Fund Keeps Nixon in Style Far Beyond His Salary.” This depicted that Nixon was using funds from campaign donors for his own personal expenses. September 23, Senator Nixon went onto national television in order to address the issue and refute the claims made against him. By acknowledging the allegations at hand, Nixon single handedly preserved his political career. The main objective of Checkers was that the donated funds were only used to pay for political expenses that he felt should not be billed to the taxpayers that were supporting his campaign. Nevertheless, he did admit to accepting one personal gift, a cocker spaniel dog that his daughters named Checkers. In his speech he stated, “And you know, the kids, like all kids, loved the dog, and I just want to say this, right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we are going to keep it” (6). This quote is by far one of his most famous, in being that it captured emotional attention from the viewers ...
