Just Plain Dick

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Just Plain Dick

Richard Nixon’s Checkers Speech and the “Rocking, Socking” Election of 1952

Politics and government Elections and referenda / suffrage

Author: Kevin Mattson

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Language: English

Published by: Bloomsbury USA

Published on: 18th September 2012

Format: LCP-protected ePub

Size: 272 pages

ISBN: 9781608198160


Introduction

It all started with some businessmen bankrolling Richard Nixon to become a “salesman against socialization.” But in this precursor to current campaign finance scandals, Nixon had some explaining to do to keep his place on Dwight Eisenhower's Republican ticket, so he took to the airwaves. The “Checkers” speech saved and bolstered Nixon's political career and set the tone for the 1952 campaign.

About the Book

Just Plain Dick is political history and more. It’s the story of a young man nearing a nervous breakdown and staging a political comeback. While the narrative focuses tightly, almost cinematically, on the 1952 election cycle — from the spring primary season to the summer conventions, then to the allegations against Nixon through to the speech in September, and finally the election in November — Mattson also provides a broad-stroke depiction of American politics and culture during the Cold War.

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