Dr. Robert Robinson, a Cal State Fullerton history professor, had much to say about the US Presidency during a recent installment of “Becoming America,” an ongoing lecture series streamed by The Nixon Library and Museum.
According to Robinson, the president does not have the power to achieve as much as many think. During a recent hour-long lecture, the historian explained that constitutionally, most of the president’s power is in international relations and “setting the tone” for policy agendas at home.
“When push comes to shove, it can still be very tough for presidents to get their agendas passed domestically,” Robinson said.
The lecture series is held every Tuesday evening and is free to the public via the museum’s YouTube page. On tap for the next installment is a lecture on “The President and all His Men,” by Bryan Santin, a history professor at Concordia University in Irvine. The lecture details the differences between the cabinets of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.
During his talk, Robinson touched on many of Nixon’s key presidential moments, many of which can be viewed from 70 exhibits when visiting the library including a hand-carved jade vase given by China in 1972 to symbolize progress between the two countries during the Cold War, a Malachite jewelry box from the secretary of the USSR, and a pair of Bolshoi ballet pointe shoes gifted to First Lady Pat Nixon during a 1972 trip to Moscow.
On a recent visit, one crowd favorite was Nixon’s childhood home, which has been moved to the museum’s grounds.
“[The house] is just so rich in history and authentic. … It’s probably one of the nicest little homes I’ve ever seen,” Museum Guide Deborah Thompson told The Epoch Times.
The small yellow house sits in the Pat Nixon Rose Garden and has been completely restored, allowing visitors to walk through its various rooms where Nixon lived since his birth in 1913 and before moving to Whittier, Calif. a few years later.
Another must-see exhibit is a replica of Nixon’s Oval Office, detailed exactly as it was during his administration, even down to its size, according to Thompson.
The office features Nixon’s minimalist style and decor including his collection of Boehm bird sculptures adorning office shelves and a secret doorway leading to his secretary’s office.
The museum additionally presents hours of archived footage throughout many exhibits, including holographic text illuminating the walls of a replica of the White House’s Lincoln Room with the former president’s voice reading notes he wrote on his yellow legal pads, of which he filled hundreds of pages, according to the Lincoln Room archive exhibits.
And now until next March, it is presenting an exhibit entirely dedicated to the Cold War, featuring spy tools used by KGB agents including a ring with a hidden compartment and suits and suitcases with hidden cameras. There’s even an interactive missile simulator where visitors can engage submarines and watch on screen as they hit their targets.
