Richard Nixon was accepted into Harvard as a teenager, but his family was too poor to afford the tuition so he had to attend Whittier instead. This triggered a life-long resentment towards Ivy League elites and East Cost liberals that helped fuel Nixon's divisive rhetoric and criminal acts of sabotage against the DNC which culminated in Watergate. What if oil is discovered on the Nixon lemon ranch before it's sold off, and Dick's family has enough money to send him to Harvard? How does this change Nixon's future career and/or his psyche?
 
I've never quite understood why Nixon harboured all that resentment against the Ivy League types. Harry Truman graduated from a commercial college(that doesn't even warrant its own page on wikipedia), and LBJ went to Texas State University and later dropped out of Georgetown. As far as I know, both of them were pretty happy-go-lucky about their educational backgrounds, despite having alma maters less presigious than Nixon's Duke.
 
I've never quite understood why Nixon harboured all that resentment against the Ivy League types. Harry Truman graduated from a commercial college(that doesn't even warrant its own page on wikipedia), and LBJ went to Texas State University and later dropped out of Georgetown. As far as I know, both of them were pretty happy-go-lucky about their educational backgrounds, despite having alma maters less presigious than Nixon's Duke.

Nixon felt he deserved better than Whittier, and he was bitter about being shafted by circumstances out of his control. As for LBJ, his tough exterior compensated for his own deep-seated feelings of inadequacy and he resented the "Harvards" and "Yales" who dominated Camelot. It was that character flaw which lead him to intervene in Vietnam even though he knew the war was doomed. Johnson thought he needed to prove he was tough, and that losing a war was better for his public image than allowing an unpopular but just peace. (Obviously there were other geopolitical factors at stake like containing China and the Domino Effect but Johnson's ego loomed larger over his decision making). Ironically, this destroyed LBJ's presidency as Watergate did to Nixon.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
Even more, Nixon could not receive a job offer from one of the big East Coast law firms despite graduating 3rd out of 26 from Duke Law School for crying out loud.
https://books.google.com/books?id=F... in his duke law class of twenty-six"&f=false

True, the law school at Duke was at the time new. But I’m thinking 3rd in class is just about perfect. You’re showing that you’re plenty smart enough, but you’re not a grind.

—————

PS To get into medical or law school, etc, don’t shy away from top of class.
 
Even more, Nixon could not receive a job offer from one of the big East Coast law firms despite graduating 3rd out of 26 from Duke Law School for crying out loud.
https://books.google.com/books?id=FOyjfQWhvvcC&pg=PA143&lpg=PA143&dq="graduating+third+in+his+duke+law+class+of+twenty-six"&source=bl&ots=qnGIdPbw24&sig=W1LuEoZCggiJnQ6_OP-Fi4tqTOU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjM54TT3MDbAhVI4qwKHXQtBTMQ6AEwAHoECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q="graduating third in his duke law class of twenty-six"&f=false

True, the law school at Duke was at the time new. But I’m thinking 3rd in class is just about perfect. You’re showing that you’re plenty smart enough, but you’re not a grind.

—————

PS To get into medical or law school, etc, don’t shy away from top of class.

But the top two in their class, Nixon's friends, did get prestigious jobs. Perhaps in that case it wasn't so much Nixon's background but perhaps his lack of social skills. Very talented people can flunk interviews after all, or come off as duplicitous in person as Nixon often did as a politician.

Another interesting factoid covered in that book is that Nixon could have joined the FBI but budget cuts prevented him from getting a job. Imagine if Nixon had been able to join the FBI and he never enters politics....
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
Frankly, I think Dick Nixon was ‘spectrum,’ meaning autism spectrum. Al Haig said Dick liked to write and think with lights off (sensory issue). John Dean said he was amazed at how awkward Dick was with a pen cap. True, none of this is a slam dunk, but it does paint a picture.

Plus, the current thinking is that 1 out of 65 persons is on the spectrum, so it’s not a super rare bird.

Even if one is not willing to go this far, I think it is the case that Dick sometimes did not fit in socially. And then he could over-try and come across as gauche and awkward.
 

GeographyDude

Gone Fishin'
But the top two in their class, Nixon's friends, did get prestigious jobs. . .
Whoever said the human race was logical! :)

Either the people doing the interviews, or Dick’s reaction. He laid a lot of blame at his swarthy complexion. And for the time, coming across as having some Italian, or Spanish, or Jewish, or some other ethnic stock in your background may have unfairly been a pretty big social handicap.
 
Richard Nixon was accepted into Harvard as a teenager, but his family was too poor to afford the tuition so he had to attend Whittier instead.
I was always led to believe that Nixon received enough in grants/scholarship to attend Harvard. However, his father was very sick; his mother had to take care of his father; so he stayed in California to tend to the family business.
 
Whoever said the human race was logical! :)

Either the people doing the interviews, or Dick’s reaction. He laid a lot of blame at his swarthy complexion. And for the time, coming across as having some Italian, or Spanish, or Jewish, or some other ethnic stock in your background may have unfairly been a pretty big social handicap.
The man said it himself "That's when it starts, the snubs, slights and laughs you get, because your poor, irish, jewish, or ugly. But if you work hard enough you can change that, while those who have everything sit on their butts." He was driven, in both good and bad ways to make a name for himself
 

Deleted member 83898

I was always led to believe that Nixon received enough in grants/scholarship to attend Harvard. However, his father was very sick; his mother had to take care of his father; so he stayed in California to tend to the family business.
This is what Wiki says, IIRC
 
I was always led to believe that Nixon received enough in grants/scholarship to attend Harvard. However, his father was very sick; his mother had to take care of his father; so he stayed in California to tend to the family business.

This is what Wiki says, IIRC

I've heard otherwise, but either way Nixon was able to blame his family situation for his shortcomings and he never got over the fact that he didn't go to Harvard. You see this mindset continue later in life when right from the start of his national career he blames Eisenhower for the behind the scenes effort to kick him off the ticket in 1952. Then he blames his 1960 loss on the media and the Kennedy machine (technically he wasn't wrong here, but the fatal mistakes of running a 50 state strategy, not adequately preparing for the debates, picking Lodge as a running mate, and alienating black voters were all Nixon's fault). From then on he starts on a downward spiral of vindictiveness and lashing out at society (the press, opponents of the war, Democrats, etc) which of course leads to Watergate.

And the POD still works in this case. If the family discovered oil on their lemon ranch then Nixon's family wouldn't need him to stay home and help out instead of going to Harvard.
 
It wasnt the fact that the family was poor as much as it was that his older brother Harold was dying from Tuberculosis. His treatment siphoned every bit of the families money away, and left Nixon unable to afford the train ride there. He was pretty much already accepted to the college.

His massive resentment toward the elite came from the Franklins at Whittier. They were a rich class fraternity that shunned Nixon. Nixon in turn formed the Orthogonians and led them to multiple victories. This resentment was further nailed in by how some of the elite treated him during his days as congressman and senator. In one instamce he heard third hand people he considered to be friends making fun of how Pat was dressed.

The Hiss case made sure these opinions never reversed.

However, it is also worth noting that Nixon had a fair number of advisers and cabinet ministers that hailed from the east coast establishments.

In my opinion watergate had nothing to do with these opinions. Watergate was born at the release of the pentagon papers and it snowballed from there.

Had nixon gone to Harvard or Yale, he had offers from both, he may have pursued his first dream of becoming a supreme court justice. He likely wouldnt have become president
 

Deleted member 83898

It wasnt the fact that the family was poor as much as it was that his older brother Harold was dying from Tuberculosis. His treatment siphoned every bit of the families money away, and left Nixon unable to afford the train ride there. He was pretty much already accepted to the college.

His massive resentment toward the elite came from the Franklins at Whittier. They were a rich class fraternity that shunned Nixon. Nixon in turn formed the Orthogonians and led them to multiple victories. This resentment was further nailed in by how some of the elite treated him during his days as congressman and senator. In one instamce he heard third hand people he considered to be friends making fun of how Pat was dressed.

The Hiss case made sure these opinions never reversed.

However, it is also worth noting that Nixon had a fair number of advisers and cabinet ministers that hailed from the east coast establishments.

In my opinion watergate had nothing to do with these opinions. Watergate was born at the release of the pentagon papers and it snowballed from there.

Had nixon gone to Harvard or Yale, he had offers from both, he may have pursued his first dream of becoming a supreme court justice. He likely wouldnt have become president
This, IMO, is a better explanation of why Nixon turned out the way he did than “he didn’t go to Harvard”.
 
This, IMO, is a better explanation of why Nixon turned out the way he did than “he didn’t go to Harvard”.

So at Harvard he still engages in warfare with the elites, but having gone there his career might take a different turn and he might not enter politics. He came extremely close to joining the FBI, but lost his slot thanks to budget cuts. Being a Harvard alum might put him over the top and he could join in 1937. Of course without Nixon in US politics this could dramatically change the course of post-WWII US history.
 
If you don't mind me asking, what are you referring to here?

Nixon was said to at times have been clumsy to an almost suspicious degree when doing certain tasks. Some in his inner circle chopped it down to a very old and tried method of a leader making himself look less intelligent during meetings to both increase the contribution of others in attendance. Reagan and Eisenhower were both notorious for using this strategy. I personally link it to his struggle with self-confidence and nervousness when meeting with people.

If you really watch interviews where he is not on top of the situation he is pretty awkward in movement, sort of clumsy with items he is holding, and blinks a lot (one of his nervous ticks). He truly was a severe introvert in an extroverts profession.
 
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