Did you know that Dogs in Politics Day is also known as Checkers Day? But how are the 2 connected? In 1952, Richard M. Nixon was running for the office of Vice-President of the United States. He was running with Dwight D. Eisenhower. People said that Nixon used some of the campaign money for his personal use, so he spoke to the American people. On September 23, 1952, he gave a speech to explain the issue. He promised that he did not use any of the funds for personal use, and at the end of the speech, he told the American public that his daughters had received a dog as a gift. Nixon said they had named the dog “Checkers” and would be keeping the dog.
So this speech became known as the “Checkers” speech and became one of the better speeches in American political history. Since “Checkers” the dog was in the speech, this day is known as Dogs in Politics Day.
