In 1968, Life magazine asserted "The Nixon Era Begins." But the Nixon Era began much earlier during the "cold war" years of the red scare and McCarthyism. It was during this time that Congressman Nixon, a member of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, was catapulted into the spotlight.

So convincing was Nixon's role in the Alger Hiss spy investigation, that he won a Senate seat in 1950 and became the natural choice for Dwight D. Eisenhower's running mate in the '52 presidential campaign. After 8 years as Vice President, he was narrowly defeated by John F. Kennedy for President in 1960. The failed bid against Pat Brown for the governership of California in 1962 seemed to spell doom for Nixon's political career—as he remarked "well, you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore." But Nixon was far from being gone; first the 1968 election and then his 1972 re-election placed him in the world's most powerful position: the presidency of the United States.

While a majority focus on the Watergate scandal as the defining moment in Richard M. Nixon's life, his era extends beyond his resignation on August 9, 1974. We conclude that the domestic legislation passed and the foreign affairs activities that occurred during the Nixon presidency have far more reaching effects than his tenure as President. Good, bad or indifferent, we are still being affected by the Nixon Whitehouse. Thus the Nixon Era continues.

The year 2001 has been one of utmost importance for Mountain State University. During this year, we have evolved from The College of West Virginia to a full fledged university offering six accredited graduate programs in a variety of fields. With our change in direction, there precipitated a desire for a change in name. Announced on January 12 and put into effect on August 28, we have become Mountain State University—a name which reflects the educational opportunities that are as high as the mountains characteristic of our region.

During this summer, MSU was pleased to acquire a collection of physical and virtual archives relating to the Nixon presidency and Watergate. These holdings were donated by Len Colodny—one of the authors of the best selling work: Silent Coup. With the collection comes voluminous records which were used in the researching of Silent Coup, and additional records relating to the resulting law suit filed by John and Maureen Dean. It is a fascinating collection and should prove valuable to any individual wishing to find out more regarding the tumultuous period of American history known simply as Watergate.

While some of the virtual documents will be readily available to the general public, others will comprise research materials used specifically for classes in recent American history. It is our plan that these courses will be available on-line in the next few months. In addition to the virtual collection, the physical collection will eventually be available to researchers by appointment.

While the aforementioned research collection of the Nixon presidency will comprise a great deal of what is initially available at NixonEra.com, it is our plan to grow this site with other research materials relating to the Nixon Era. In the spirit of good academic principles, we are availing these materials sans any editorial comment. We neither support the ex-President, nor do we vilify him. We simply are providing these documents and allow you to draw your own conclusions.

We thank you for visiting NixonEra.com and extend a warm invitation for you to visit Mountain State University either physically or virtually.

Dr. Charles H. Polk
President
Mountain State University