Sept. 23, 1952: Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, at a television studio where he delivered his famous “Checkers” speech.
Nixon, the junior U.S. senator from California, ran a campaign of attacking government corruption. In September 1952, journalists became aware of a special fund raised by Nixon supporters to reimburse him for travel, postage and political expenses. While such funds were not illegal in 1952, opponents quickly charged Nixon with giving special favors to contributors.
To avoid being dropped from the GOP ticket, Nixon stopped campaigning and flew to Los Angeles. During a 30-minute speech, Nixon attacked his opponents, pointed out that he was a man of limited means and asked the audience to contact the Republican National Committee to keep him on the ticket.
Regardless of what happened, Nixon stated that he intended to keep one gift — a black and white dog his daughters had named Checkers.
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