--- title: "Richard Nixon — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide" description: "Richard Nixon (1969-1974) ended U.S. combat in Vietnam, pursued détente, signed major environmental laws, and resigned over Watergate. Core APUSH Unit 8 figure." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/president-richard-nixon" type: "key-term" subject: "AP US History" --- # Richard Nixon — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide ## Definition Richard Nixon was the 37th U.S. president (1969-1974), a conservative who wound down the Vietnam War through Vietnamization, eased Cold War tensions with détente, expanded federal environmental regulation, and resigned after the Watergate scandal shattered public trust in government. ## What It Is [Richard Nixon](/apush/key-terms/richard-nixon "fv-autolink") won the presidency in 1968 by appealing to Americans tired of antiwar protests, urban unrest, and what conservatives saw as moral and cultural decline (KC-8.2.III.C). Once in office, he gradually pulled U.S. ground troops out of Vietnam through Vietnamization, which shifted the fighting to South Vietnamese forces, while also opening relations with Communist China and pursuing détente (relaxed tensions) with the Soviet Union. That combination made him one of the most consequential Cold War presidents in the entire [APUSH](/apush "fv-autolink") course. At home, Nixon is a paradox you should be able to explain. He ran as a conservative, but his administration presided over a major expansion of federal regulatory power, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 as the environmental movement gained legislative momentum (KC-8.2.II.D). Then came Watergate. The cover-up of the 1972 break-in at Democratic headquarters forced Nixon to resign in August 1974, the only president ever to do so, and it became the single biggest reason [public confidence](/apush/unit-8/society-transition/study-guide/XwxV2oK2ulyRH0YxkAZd "fv-autolink") in government collapsed in the 1970s (KC-8.2.III.E). ## Why It Matters [Nixon](/apush/key-terms/nixon "fv-autolink") sits at the center of [Unit 8](/apush/unit-8 "fv-autolink") (Cold War and Social Change, 1945-1980) and touches four CED topics at once. For Topic 8.8 (APUSH 8.8.A), his handling of Vietnam fuels the debate over executive power in foreign policy that the CED explicitly names (KC-8.1.II.C.ii). For Topic 8.13 (APUSH 8.13.A), his administration created the federal environmental programs the CED describes. For Topic 8.14 (APUSH 8.14.A), Watergate is the textbook example of the political scandals that drained public trust in government in the 1970s. And for Topic 8.15 (APUSH 8.15.A), Nixon works as evidence on either side of a continuity-and-change argument about national identity from 1945 to 1980. If you can explain Nixon, you can argue half of Period 8. ## Connections ### [Watergate Scandal (Unit 8)](/apush/key-terms/watergate-scandal) Watergate is the event most tightly bound to Nixon's name. It transformed him from a landslide-winning president into the symbol of why Americans stopped trusting Washington, which is exactly the decline in public confidence KC-8.2.III.E describes. ### Detente (Unit 8) Nixon's [foreign policy](/apush/key-terms/foreign-policy "fv-autolink") softened the hard-line containment of earlier presidents. Opening relations with China and negotiating with the Soviets shows you that the Cold War was not one unbroken freeze, which is a great change-over-time point for Period 8 essays. ### [Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Unit 8)](/apush/key-terms/environmental-protection-agency-epa) The EPA, created under Nixon in 1970, is the concrete proof for APUSH 8.13.A that the [federal government](/apush/key-terms/federal-government "fv-autolink") responded to the environmental movement with new programs and regulations. A conservative president expanding federal regulation is a built-in complexity point. ### [Anti-War Movement (Unit 8)](/apush/key-terms/anti-war-movement) Nixon's '[silent majority](/apush/key-terms/silent-majority "fv-autolink")' strategy was a direct answer to antiwar protests. His election in 1968 shows the conservative backlash against 1960s liberalism that KC-8.2.III.C lays out, and his Vietnam decisions kept feeding the protests he ran against. ## On the AP Exam Nixon shows up most often in multiple-choice stems built around excerpts from the era, things like a 'silent majority' speech, Watergate-era commentary, or environmental legislation, asking you to identify the context (conservative backlash, declining trust in government) or the effect (limits on executive power, new federal regulation). No released FRQ requires Nixon by name, but he is high-value evidence for LEQs and DBQs on Period 8 continuity and change, the growth of conservatism, debates over federal power, or the effects of the Vietnam War. The move that earns points is using Nixon precisely. Tie Vietnamization to the executive-power debate, the EPA to the environmental movement, and Watergate to the collapse of public confidence, rather than just name-dropping him. ## President Richard Nixon vs Lyndon B. Johnson Students blur the two presidents who 'owned' Vietnam. Johnson escalated the war, sending hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, while Nixon de-escalated it through Vietnamization, gradually withdrawing American ground forces. They also split domestically. Johnson expanded liberal Great Society programs, while Nixon rode the conservative backlash against them, even though Nixon still grew federal regulation in areas like the environment. ## Key Takeaways - Nixon served as the 37th president from 1969 to 1974 and resigned over the Watergate scandal, making him the only U.S. president ever to resign. - His Vietnamization policy withdrew American ground troops from Vietnam and fed the national debate over how much war power the executive branch should have (KC-8.1.II.C.ii). - Nixon's détente with the Soviet Union and opening to China marked a real shift away from rigid Cold War containment, which makes him strong change-over-time evidence in Period 8. - Despite running as a conservative, Nixon expanded federal power on the environment, including the creation of the EPA in 1970 in response to the growing environmental movement. - Watergate, combined with economic troubles and foreign policy crises, caused public trust in government to plummet in the 1970s, a core Unit 8 essential knowledge point (KC-8.2.III.E). ## FAQs ### What did Richard Nixon do as president? Nixon (1969-1974) wound down U.S. involvement in Vietnam through Vietnamization, opened relations with China, pursued détente with the Soviet Union, and signed major environmental measures including the creation of the EPA in 1970. His presidency ended when he resigned over the Watergate scandal in August 1974. ### Was Nixon impeached? No. The House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment, but Nixon resigned in August 1974 before the full House could vote. He remains the only president to resign the office. ### How was Nixon's Vietnam policy different from LBJ's? Johnson escalated the war by committing massive numbers of U.S. ground troops, while Nixon reversed course with Vietnamization, training South Vietnamese forces to take over the fighting as American troops withdrew. For APUSH, the pair shows how the war drove debates over executive power across two administrations. ### Why did Nixon create the EPA if he was a conservative? Environmental disasters and a surging environmental movement made pollution a mainstream political issue by 1970, so Nixon responded with new federal programs and regulations, exactly what KC-8.2.II.D describes. It is a classic APUSH complexity point that a conservative president expanded federal regulatory power. ### Is Richard Nixon on the APUSH exam? Yes, he is central to Unit 8. He connects to Topic 8.8 (Vietnam), 8.13 (environmental policy), 8.14 (declining trust in government and the conservative turn), and 8.15 (Period 8 continuity and change), so he is some of the most versatile evidence you can bring to a Period 8 essay. ## Structured Data ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/president-richard-nixon#resource","name":"Richard Nixon — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/president-richard-nixon","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/president-richard-nixon#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-06-11T00:48:19.434Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"AP US History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/president-richard-nixon#term","name":"President Richard Nixon","description":"Richard Nixon was the 37th U.S. president (1969-1974), a conservative who wound down the Vietnam War through Vietnamization, eased Cold War tensions with détente, expanded federal environmental regulation, and resigned after the Watergate scandal shattered public trust in government.","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/president-richard-nixon","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"AP US History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"},"educationalAlignment":[{"@type":"AlignmentObject","alignmentType":"educationalSubject","educationalFramework":"AP Course and Exam Description","targetName":"APUSH Unit 8, Topic 8.13, LO 8.13.A"},{"@type":"AlignmentObject","alignmentType":"educationalSubject","educationalFramework":"AP Course and Exam Description","targetName":"APUSH Unit 8, Topic 8.14, LO 8.14.A"},{"@type":"AlignmentObject","alignmentType":"educationalSubject","educationalFramework":"AP Course and Exam Description","targetName":"APUSH Unit 8, Topic 8.14, LO 8.14.B"},{"@type":"AlignmentObject","alignmentType":"educationalSubject","educationalFramework":"AP Course and Exam Description","targetName":"APUSH Unit 8, Topic 8.15, LO 8.15.A"},{"@type":"AlignmentObject","alignmentType":"educationalSubject","educationalFramework":"AP Course and Exam Description","targetName":"APUSH Unit 8, Topic 8.8, LO 8.8.A"}]},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What did Richard Nixon do as president?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Nixon (1969-1974) wound down U.S. involvement in Vietnam through Vietnamization, opened relations with China, pursued détente with the Soviet Union, and signed major environmental measures including the creation of the EPA in 1970. 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