Checkers

Richard Nixon’s “Checkers” speech was delivered through a televised address on September 23, 1952. At the time of the speech, Nixon was the Republican nominee for vice president of the United States, running alongside presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the midst of the campaign, accusations arose that Nixon had maintained a secret campaign fund of about $18,000 donated to him by political supporters and had used these funds for personal expenses. The speech can be split up into four general sections in which Nixon presents his version of the truth, reveals his finances, turns the tables on his opponents, and fights for his candidacy. It explores the themes of Communism and Corruption in the Democratic Party, The Distinction Between Campaign Expenses and Governing Expenses, and Integrity and Modesty.

This guide refers to the transcribed version of this speech found on the American Rhetoric website.

Nixon begins his speech by introducing himself as a candidate for vice president. He then directly addresses the accusations, giving particular weight to the claim that he used campaign funds for personal expenses. He emphasizes that accusations against him serve as an attack on his character, honesty, and integrity. He then claims that most politicians, when facing similar accusations, would lie, deny, or even ignore the accusation and that he will do no such thing. He states that the country has “had enough” of such behavior, especially from the outgoing Harry Truman administration. Nixon then reminds the audience of the specific accusation against him—that he accepted $18,000 from a group of supporters—and asks the rhetorical question, “Now, was that wrong?” (Paragraph 6).

Nixon first declares in forceful terms that an act of this nature is morally wrong; however, he stipulates that it is wrong only if the money is given in secret, if it is used for personal expenses, or if the contributors receive political favor in exchange for their contributions. Having thus defined the moral criteria against which his actions should be judged, he then addresses these three criteria one by one, insisting that he did not use one cent of the money in this fund for himself, that none of the contributions toward this fund led to special treatment or favoritism toward any constituents, and that the fund was never a secret. He claims that the purpose of the fund was to cover political expenses that he did not feel should be covered by taxpayers. Refuting claims of secrecy, he tells an anecdote in which he gave newspaper columnist Peter Edson the address of Dana Smith, the administrator of the fund.

Nixon then explains the purpose of the fund. He notes that, as a US senator, he receives a salary of $15,000 a year in addition to an allowance sufficient to pay a staff of 13 personnel. This money is allocated directly to the payroll and is not in any way directed toward himself. While he considers these expenses to be essential and rightfully covered by the government, he mentions some expenses that he would hope to find other means of covering. For example, he mentions the cost of printing speeches given by a political figure, the cost of the trips taken to give these speeches, and/or the cost of the public broadcasting of these speeches. Nixon considers these expenses to be political business rather than official business; it should, then, never fall to the taxpayer to cover any part of those expenses.

Since money for political expenses should not come from taxpayers, he then raises the question of where politicians should get this money. One answer, he says, is to be personally wealthy, which he notes that he is not. Another is to “put your wife on the payroll” (Paragraph 24), something that he notes his Democratic vice-presidential opponent, John Sparkman, has done. He asserts that he does not judge Sparkman for that choice and then dedicates two paragraphs to explaining why he could not bring himself to do the same since it would mean denying a job to a qualified and deserving person.

The best and most honest course of action, then, was to accept the campaign contributions that “people in [his] home state of California […] were glad to make” (Paragraph 29)—not only for his campaign but for his agenda to expose communism and corruption in the Truman administration. Nixon, again, assures his audience that this choice to accept funds has not once led to favoritism; not one of his votes on a bill has ever been swayed or influenced by a contributor, and not one dime of taxpayer money has been used for political expenses. He notes that, at his request, the fund has been independently audited by the law firm Price Waterhouse & Co., which found no evidence of any wrongdoing.

Nixon then does something that he claims has never been done before in the history of American politics: He shares what he calls his “complete financial history” with the national television and radio audience, beginning with his early years working in his family’s grocery store in Whittier, California, followed by working his way through college and law school before getting married and joining the military before running for Congress. He lists the savings he has accumulated from his career as an attorney, his debts, and the modest value of his two houses, emphasizing that his financial situation places him squarely in the middle class. While he may not have much, Nixon emphasizes that this money was earned honestly and that he is content without being wealthy. He then confesses that he did receive one personal gift from a supporter. An unnamed man in Texas heard Nixon’s wife, Pat, mention on the radio that their daughters would like a dog, and this man sent the family a cocker spaniel, which the Nixons’ youngest daughter named Checkers. Nixon emphasizes that, regardless of any criticism, he has no intention of returning this gift. (It’s for this reason that the speech is colloquially known, over Nixon’s objections, as the Checkers speech).

Nixon expresses the difficulty with which he has laid bare his life before his audience and then turns to a more direct attack on his critics. He criticizes a statement by Democratic National Committee Chair Stephen Mitchell, whom he paraphrases as saying “that if a man couldn’t afford to be in the United States Senate, he shouldn’t run for senate” (Paragraph 61). Nixon claims that this perpetuates an ideal in which only the wealthy can serve their government. He contrasts his own modest background with the generational wealth of the Democratic presidential nominee, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II. He then notes that Stevenson also has his own questionable funds and suggests that he should do as Nixon has done and explain them to the American public. He reminds the audience that Stevenson’s running mate, Sparkman, has placed his wife on his government payroll—something Nixon has refused to do. Being careful to say that he does not personally pass judgment on these men for their actions, Nixon invites them to do as he has and share their own finances in detail. He emphasizes that any man who wishes to be president or vice president should have no issue following his example.

Nixon anticipates further smears and attempts to silence him but assures his audience that he will prevail in the fight against corruption. He reminds them of cases in the past that did not deter him and asserts that he will always work to save his country. He criticizes the previous administration for failing to contain the spread of communism and for mishandling the war in Korea. He reads aloud a letter from a supporter whose husband is stationed with the US Marines in Korea and who believes that Eisenhower and Nixon will bring him home. He claims that America deserves a change and that can only come in the form of his running mate, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Nixon concludes his address by declaring that he believes a call for resignation to be unnecessary. Nonetheless, he will leave it up to the people to write in a letter of support if they still wish to see him run alongside Eisenhower. Regardless of the outcome, his plight to fight against corruption shall continue, as well as his support for Eisenhower—who, Nixon deems, is unquestionably who is best for the nation.