Nixon Resignation 50 Years Later

Nixon was religious, having been raised a Quaker, and he certainly had a conscience that tormented him when he lied or defied the law. He did not sin easily. His guilt was sweatily evident to all. His friendship with preachers like Billy Graham and Norman Vincent Peale was sincere, and he esteemed Christian counsel, even if he never professed fully to affirm Christ. Nixon was a liberal Protestant who thought Jesus was a great thinker and leader but not divine. (See my recent interview with Nixon spiritual biographer Daniel Silliman.) Yet, as White House aides commented during his demise, even in anguishing depression, Nixon’s religiosity precluded suicide.