Nixon actually made quite a splash as a freshman Congressman in 1948 when he led the investigation that exposed Alger Hiss as a Soviet spy. He gained a reputation as a virulent anti-communist in the early days of the Cold War, and was able to parlay his fame into winning a Senate seat in 1950 and the vice presidency in 1952 at age 39.

As Vice President, Nixon was given more responsibility than most of his predecessors by Eisenhower, particularly in foreign affairs. At the same time, however, Eisenhower and his old network of allies who made the up the administration largely looked down on Nixon and didn't take him too seriously. Eisenhower also never seemed to have much faith in Nixon's abilities, to the point of declining to ever really campaign for Nixon in 1960.

But Nixon never lost the anti-communist credentials he'd earned in his early years, and this is why he was able to successfully open relations with communist China without being accused of caving in.

Many Nixon biographies focus mostly on his presidency or (like Stephen Ambrose's and Roger Morris') are significantly plagiarized or biased. A great source on his early years and vice presidency is "Ike and Dick: A Strange Political Marriage."