Question

What did Richards Nixon do in the "Checkers speech"?
A) Denied allegations that he had improperly received gifts during his 1952 bid for the vice-presidency.
B) Accused John E Kennedy of being “soft on communism” during the 1960 campaign for president.
C) Announced his policy of “Vietnamization” of the Vietnam War in 1969.
D) Called for normalizing relations with China in 1972.
E) Declared, in 1974, that he “was not a crook” in response to allegations of wrongdoing in connection with the Watergate scandal.

Answer 1

Hint: The thirty-seventh President of the United States was Richard Milhous Nixon. He belonged to the Republican Party. Before serving as the thirty-sixth Vice President, Nixon rose to national prominence as a California representative and senator.

Complete answer:
The Checkers speech, also known as the Fund speech, was delivered by California Senator Richard Nixon on September 23, 1952, six weeks before the United States presidential election in which he was running for Vice President as a Republican. Nixon had been accused of misdeeds involving a fund set up by his loyalists to repay him for campaign costs.

He traveled to Los Angeles and delivered a half-hour television address in which he defended himself, blasted his opponents, and invited the audience to contact the Republican National Committee to inform them whether he should be on the ticket. Nixon's speech sparked a groundswell of public support. Millions of phone calls and telegrams supporting Nixon were received by the RNC and other political offices. He was kept on the ticket, which went on to win the election a few weeks later in November 1952. During the speech, he defended himself against claims that he received inappropriate gifts during his 1952 vice-presidential campaign.

Moreover, we can find that the Checkers speech was delivered in 1952. Hence, it is clear that all other options except option A are wrong.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note: Around sixty million Americans saw and heard Nixon's address. Though it has been mocked or disregarded on occasion, the Checkers speech was an early example of a politician using television to directly address voters. The term "Checkers speech" has since come to refer to any passionate speech delivered by a politician.