Checkers speech

E45736

The Checkers speech was a nationally televised 1952 address by then–vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon, in which he emotionally defended himself against accusations of financial impropriety and famously mentioned his family dog, Checkers.


Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf campaign speech
political speech
televised address
alsoKnownAs Fund speech
analyzedIn studies of political communication
studies of television and politics
audienceSizeEstimate approximately 60 million viewers and listeners
broadcastFrom Hollywood, California
broadcastNetwork ABC
CBS
NBC
country United States
date 1952-09-23
election 1952 United States presidential election
famousLine “And regardless of what they say about it, we’re gonna keep it.”
historicalSignificance early example of using television in American politics
landmark in political image management
includes appeal directly to the American people over party leaders
disclosure of Nixon family finances
language English
location Los Angeles
medium radio
television
mentions Nixon daughters
Pat Nixon
gift dog named Checkers
namedAfter Checkers (dog)
notableElement mention of family dog Checkers
officeContested Vice President of the United States
politicalContext Cold War era American politics
politicalParty Republican Party
precedes 1952 United States presidential election victory of Eisenhower–Nixon
purpose defend against accusations of financial impropriety
preserve Richard Nixon’s place on the Republican ticket
result Richard Nixon remained the Republican vice-presidential nominee
improved public support for Richard Nixon
rhetoricalStyle emotional appeal
runningMateOf Dwight D. Eisenhower
speaker Richard Nixon
subjectOf academic articles on campaign rhetoric
biographies of Richard Nixon
historical documentaries about Richard Nixon
topic campaign finance allegations
personal finances of Richard Nixon
political corruption accusations
year 1952

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Six Crises
describes

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