Richard Nixon’s 1952 Checkers speech

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Richard Nixon’s 1952 Checkers speech was a nationally televised address in which the then–vice-presidential candidate emotionally defended himself against accusations of financial impropriety, famously referencing his family dog Checkers.

All labels observed (3)

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Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf historical event
political speech
accusationType financial impropriety
alsoKnownAs Checkers speech
Fund speech
audienceScope national
broadcastFrom Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
campaignOf Dwight D. Eisenhower
context 1952 United States presidential election
country United States
date 1952-09-23
defenseStrategy detailed disclosure of personal finances
emotional appeal to middle-class values
estimatedViewers approximately 60 million
famousLine "regardless of what they say about it, we’re going to keep it"
"the one thing that we did get was a dog"
famousReference family dog Checkers
historicalSignificance early example of using television to shape political image
influenced future use of televised addresses by candidates
landmark in American political communication
location Los Angeles, California
mainTheme defense against accusations of financial impropriety
personal integrity
transparency about personal finances
medium radio
television
mentionedPerson Dwight D. Eisenhower
Pat Nixon
his daughters Tricia and Julie
namedAfter Checkers
linked to: Checkers (play)
network ABC
CBS
NBC
officeSought Vice President of the United States
politicalOutcome helped preserve Nixon’s vice-presidential candidacy
politicalParty Republican Party
result Nixon remained on the Republican ticket
rhetoricalAppeal appeal to ordinary American families
self-portrayal as a man of modest means
speaker Richard Nixon
subjectOf historical analyses of political rhetoric
media studies on television and politics
subsequentEvent Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon won the 1952 election
subsequentOfficeHeldBySpeaker President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
tone defensive
emotional
populist
triggeringIssue allegations about a secret political expense fund
year 1952

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Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Fund speech alsoKnownAs Richard Nixon’s 1952 Checkers speech
Checkers (play) titleRefersTo Nixon family dog Checkers
linked to: Richard Nixon’s 1952 Checkers speech
Richard Nixon’s 1952 U.S. vice‑presidential campaign crisisResponse nationally broadcast Checkers speech
linked to: Richard Nixon’s 1952 Checkers speech