Richard Milhous Nixon was born into a poor Quaker family in Yorba Linda, California, on January 9, 1913. Nixon excelled as a student and became a successful debater and public speaker during his high school years. While practicing law in California, Nixon participated in a local play, where he met his future wife, Thelma “Pat” Ryan. Nixon’s political aspirations moved his family to Washington, D.C., in 1942, just as the United States was becoming heavily involved in World War II. A Quaker by birth, Nixon could have been exempt from military service, but he chose to enlist in the Naval Reserves. Early in the war, he served in the South Pacific as a naval passenger control officer. By its end, he had achieved the rank of lieutenant commander. After the war, Nixon ran for and won a seat in California’s 12th Congressional District. He spent three years in the House, before winning a seat in the Senate. As a Senator, Nixon gave speeches across the country warning of the threat global communism posed. General Dwight Eisenhower soon selected this highly visible young politician as his running mate for the 1952 presidential election. It was during this campaign that Nixon had his first brush with scandal. Though not illegal per se, vice-presidential candidate Nixon was accused of receiving reimbursement for political expenses from his supporters. If true, this might imply an unethical profit or a conflict of interest. Nixon took the bull by the horns and addressed the country on television – a fairly new media outlet at the time. In an eloquent live speech, Nixon explained to 60 million viewers that no wrongdoing had occurred, except perhaps one campaign gift that he refused to return – a cocker spaniel his six-year-old daughter had already bonded with. The speech was a huge success. Eisenhower and Nixon won the election less than two months later.