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Richard Nixon Typed Letter Signed UACC PADA

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37th President. Typed letter signed, one page, quarto. New Jersey, April 12, 1991, on personal letterhead, to Honorable William Hyland. In full: "Dear Bill, Talk about going into the lion's den. I thought you would like to see a list of those who attended an off-the-record appearance I made at a Carnegie Endowment forum in Washington Wednesday. I guess they thought that by having me they would balance the fact that Alger Hiss was once their President! Sincerely,". During the Red Scare of the 40's and 50's, Alger Hiss was accused of secretly being a Communist while in federal service. After Hiss appeared before Congress and denied being a Communist, Nixon, a Congressman at the time, pressed the Comittee to continue the investigation. Hiss was found guilty of two counts of perjury. In a curious way, the reputation of Alger Hiss was permanently linked to that of Richard Nixon. The Nixon-haters have always been eager to exonerate Hiss while Nixon's fans are usually convinced of Alger's guilt as a spy. When Nixon was doing well, for example, when he was Vice-President and when he was a popular President during his first term, Hiss's reputation suffered a decline. When Nixon did poorly as after his disastrous run for governor and especially during and after the Watergate crisis, more people thought of Hiss as an innocent victim. "File" notation in blue marker at the top right, otherwise in excellent condition. In over 2 decades it's the only Nixon letter we have ever seen mentioning Alger Hiss.

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