BBC ON THIS DAY | 8 | 1974: President Nixon to resign from office About This Site | Text Only 1974: President Nixon to resign from office Richard Nixon has announced he is stepping down as president of the United States - the first man ever to do so. He has announced his departure in the face of an imminent impeachment trial - and possible removal from office - over the Watergate affair. The president broke the news of his resignation in a television broadcast from the White House on Thursday at 2100 local time. It will take effect from noon tomorrow. Mr Nixon, 61, said initially he had believed it was his duty to complete his term of office despite the Watergate charges. "In the past days, however, it has become evident that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to justify continuing that effort," he said. "As president I must put the interests of America first." Successor Mr Nixon has been charged by the House Judiciary Committee with "high crimes and misdemeanours". The charges stem from a 1972 break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate complex.

The break-in, during that year's election campaign, was traced to members of a Nixon-support group, the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP). Tape recordings have shown the president subsequently tried to influence the police investigation into the crime. Mr Nixon is leaving office with more than two years of his second term left to run. In his address Mr Nixon said he would be succeeded by US vice-president Gerald Ford. Mr Ford will be sworn in as the 38th president of the United States tomorrow. Richard M. Nixon | whitehouse.gov Air Force One Richard M. Nixon Richard Nixon was elected the 37th President of the United States (1969-1974) after previously serving as a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator from California. After successfully ending American fighting in Vietnam and improving international relations with the U.S.S.R. and China, he became the only President to ever resign the office, as a result of the Watergate scandal. Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon. The Nation was painfully divided, with turbulence in the cities and war overseas.

During his Presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Viet Nam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation. His election in 1968 had climaxed a career unusual on two counts: his early success and his comeback after being defeated for President in 1960 and for Governor of California in 1962. Born in California in 1913, Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. In 1940, he married Patricia Ryan; they had two daughters, Patricia (Tricia) and Julie. During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific. On leaving the service, he was elected to Congress from his California district. In 1950, he won a Senate seat. Two years later, General Eisenhower selected Nixon, age 39, to be his running mate. As Vice President, Nixon took on major duties in the Eisenhower Administration. Nominated for President by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy.

In 1968, he again won his party's nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace. His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed Justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing. Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability. During visits in 1972 to Beijing and Moscow, he reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His summit meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev produced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In January 1973, he announced an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina. In 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria. In his 1972 bid for office, Nixon defeated Democratic candidate George McGovern by one of the widest margins on record.

Within a few months, his administration was embattled over the so-called "Watergate" scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 campaign. The break-in was traced to officials of the Committee to Re-elect the President. A number of administration officials resigned; some were later convicted of offenses connected with efforts to cover up the affair. Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts forced him to yield tape recordings which indicated that he had, in fact, tried to divert the investigation. As a result of unrelated scandals in Maryland, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in 1973. Nixon nominated, and Congress approved, House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford as Vice President. Faced with what seemed almost certain impeachment, Nixon announced on August 8, 1974, that he would resign the next day to begin "that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America." In his last years, Nixon gained praise as an elder statesman. By the time of his death on April 22, 1994, he had written numerous books on his experiences in public life and on foreign policy.

The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association. For more information about President Nixon, please visit Richard M. Nixon - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com Richard M. Nixon A+E Networks Introduction Richard Nixon (1913-94), the 37th U.S. president, is best remembered as the only president ever to resign from office. Nixon stepped down in 1974, halfway through his second term, rather than face impeachment over his efforts to cover up illegal activities by members of his administration in the Watergate scandal. A former Republican congressman and U.S. senator from California, he served two terms as vice president under Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) in the 1950s. In 1960, Nixon lost his bid for the presidency in a close race with Democrat John F. Kennedy (1917-63). He ran for the White House again in 1968 and won.

As president, Nixon’s achievements included forging diplomatic ties with China and the Soviet Union, and withdrawing U.S. troops from an unpopular war in Vietnam. However, Nixon’s involvement in Watergate tarnished his legacy and deepened American cynicism about government. Google Education and Early Political Career Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913, in Yorba Linda, California . He was the second of five sons of Francis Anthony Nixon (1878-1956), who struggled to earn a living running a grocery store and gas station, and his wife, Hannah Milhous Nixon (1885-1967). .Nixon absorbed his parents’ discontent with their working-class circumstances and developed a strong sense of ambition.. Did You Know? While serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Richard Nixon won large amounts of money playing poker. He used these winnings to help fund his first political campaign in 1946. He attended Whittier College, where he excelled as a debater and was elected president of the student body before graduating in 1934.

Three years later, he earned a law degree from Duke University, where he was head of the student bar association and graduated near the top of his class. After Duke, he returned to Whittier, California, and began working as an attorney. In 1940, Nixon married Thelma Catherine “Pat” Ryan (1912-93), whom he met while participating in a local theater group. The couple had two daughters, Patricia (1946-) and Julie (1948-). When America entered World War II (1939-45), Nixon joined the U.S. Navy and served as an operations officer in the Pacific. Following the war, Nixon launched his political career in 1946 when he defeated a five-term Democratic incumbent to represent his California district in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a congressman, Nixon served on the House Un-American Activities Committee and rose to national prominence by leading a controversial investigation of Alger Hiss (1904-1996), a well-regarded former State Department official who was accused of spying for the Soviet Union in the late 1930s.

Nixon was re-elected to Congress in 1948 and two years later, in 1950, won a seat in the U.S. Senate. An Unsuccessful Bid for the Presidency Although Nixon’s attacks on alleged Communists and political opponents alarmed some people, they increased his popularity among conservative Republicans. In 1952, General Dwight Eisenhower selected the 39-year-old first-term senator to be his vice presidential running mate. A few months after accepting the nomination, Nixon became the target of a negative campaign that raised questions about money and gifts he allegedly received from industry lobbyists. Nixon answered these charges in his famous “Checkers” speech, claiming that the only gift he ever accepted was a puppy named Checkers for his young daughter. The speech proved effective and preserved Nixon’s spot on the ticket. Eisenhower and Nixon won the election of 1952 and were re-elected in 1956. In 1960, Nixon claimed the Republican presidential nomination, but lost one of the closest elections in American history to U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts . The turning point of the campaign came in the first-ever nationally televised presidential debate.

During the broadcast, Nixon appeared pale, nervous and sweaty compared with his tan, well-rested and vigorous opponent. The loss to Kennedy dealt a terrible blow to Nixon’s ego. He claimed that the media disliked him and had slanted campaign coverage in favor of his handsome and wealthy opponent. Nixon returned home to California, where he practiced law and launched a campaign for governor in 1962. When he lost this election as well, many observers believed that his political career was over. As a disgusted Nixon told reporters, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.” Winning the White House Six years after losing the governorship in his home state, Nixon made a remarkable political comeback and once again claimed his party’s presidential nomination. He prevailed in the 1968 U.S. presidential election, defeating Democrat Hubert Humphrey (1911-78) and third-party candidate George Wallace (1919-98). Nixon took office at a time of upheaval and change in the U.S. The American people were bitterly divided over the Vietnam War (1954-75), while women marched for equal rights and racial violence rocked the nation’s cities.

Declaring his intention to achieve “peace with honor” in Vietnam, Nixon introduced a strategy known as Vietnamization , which called for gradually withdrawing American troops from the war while training South Vietnamese army forces to take over their own defense. In January 1973, Nixon administration officials reached a peace agreement with Communist North Vietnam. The last American combat troops left Vietnam in March of that year. The hostilities continued, however, and in 1975 North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam and reunited the country under Communist rule.In addition to dealing with the Vietnam War, Nixon made historic visits, in 1972, to China and the Soviet Union. He reduced tensions between these Communist nations and the U.S., helping to set the stage for establishing formal diplomatic relations. Nixon also signed important treaties to limit the production of nuclear weapons. The Watergate Scandal and Beyond While Nixon was running for re-election in 1972, operatives associated with his campaign broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel in Washington , D.C. Several members of Nixon’s administration had knowledge of the burglary and while Nixon denied any involvement, secret tapes of White House conversations later revealed that the president had participated in efforts to cover up the criminal activity.

Facing impeachment by Congress, Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974. He was replaced by Vice President Gerald Ford (1913-2006), who a month later pardoned Nixon for any wrongdoing. A number of administration officials were eventually convicted of crimes related to the Watergate affair. After leaving the White House, Nixon retired to California (he and his wife later moved to New Jersey ) and quietly worked to rehabilitate his image, writing books, traveling extensively and consulting with Democratic and Republican presidents. By the time he died on April 22, 1994, at age 81 in New York City, after suffering a stroke, some people viewed him as a respected elder statesman. Other Americans, however, rejected efforts to paint him as anything but a disgraced criminal. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault . Start your free trial today. Tags The History Place - Impeachment: Richard Nixon 37th U.S. President About President Nixon: He served as vice president under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953-61.

Nixon ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 1960, losing by a very close margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1962, Nixon ran unsuccessfully for Governor of California. This second loss led Nixon to bitterly announce he was leaving politics, telling reporters "...you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore." However, he re-emerged as a presidential candidate in 1968 and ran a successful campaign against Democrat Hubert Humphrey, squeaking out a victory in one of the closest elections in U.S. history. In 1972, Nixon ran for re-election against Democrat George McGovern and swept to victory in a landslide with 60 percent of the popular vote, winning in every state except Massachusetts. ADVERTISEMENT Events Leading to Impeachment: A break-in occurred on the night of June 17, 1972, as five burglars entered the Democratic National Committee offices inside the Watergate office complex in Washington. Discovered by 24-year-old night watchman Frank Wills, they were arrested at the scene by police at 2:30 a.m. Investigations soon revealed the Watergate burglars were employed by the Committee to Re-elect President Nixon.

However, a White House spokesman dismissed the incident as a "third-rate burglary attempt." In August of 1972, President Nixon told reporters, "no one in the White House staff, no one in this administration, presently employed, was involved in this very bizarre incident." The arrest of the Watergate burglars marked the beginning of a long chain of events in which President Nixon and his top aides became deeply involved in an extensive coverup of the break-in and other White House sanctioned illegal activities. Those activities had started in 1970 after The New York Times revealed a secret bombing campaign against neutral Cambodia in Southeast Asia was being conducted as part of the American war effort in Vietnam. Following the revelations, Nixon ordered wiretaps of reporters and government employees to discover the source of the news leaks. In 1971, the Pentagon Papers were published in The New York Times, detailing the U.S. Defense Department's secret history of the Vietnam War. A "Plumbers" unit was then established by Nixon aides in the White House with the sole purpose of gathering political intelligence on perceived enemies and preventing further news leaks.

A team of burglars from the "Plumbers" then broke into a psychiatrist's office looking for damaging information on Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who had leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press. Audio Highlights TV Speech August 9, 1974 President Gerald R. Ford speaks to the Nation upon taking office shortly after Richard Nixon had resigned in disgrace. August 9, 1974.(:54) Play Pause In 1972, as part of Nixon's re-election effort, a massive campaign of political spying and 'dirty tricks' was initiated against Democrats, leading to the Watergate break-in to plant bugs (tiny audio transmitters) inside the offices of the Democratic National Committee. Two young reporters from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, then began a dogged pursuit of the facts surrounding the break-in. Among the many items revealed by them -- one of the Watergate burglars, retired CIA employee James W.

McCord, was actually the security coordinator for Nixon's re-election committee - a $25,000 cashier's check for Nixon's re-election campaign had been diverted to the bank account of one of the burglars - Attorney General John Mitchell had controlled a secret fund which financed political spying and dirty tricks targeting Democratic presidential candidates. Perhaps the most notorious dirty trick was a letter planted in a New Hampshire newspaper alleging that leading Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine, had referred to Americans of French-Canadian descent as "Canucks." On a snowy New Hampshire day, standing outside the offices of the newspaper, Musky gave a rambling, tearful denial. His emotional conduct, replayed on television, caused him to drop in the New Hampshire polls shortly before the presidential primary. George McGovern, considered a weaker candidate by Nixon political strategists, eventually won the 1972 Democratic nomination and lost the general election to Nixon in a landslide. In February of 1973, the U.S. Senate established a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, chaired by Sen. Sam Ervin, to investigate all of the events surrounding Watergate and other allegations of political spying and sabotage conducted on behalf of Nixon's re-election.

March and April of 1973 saw the start of the unraveling of the coverup. On March 23, one of the five burglars convicted after the Watergate break-in, James W. McCord, informed U.S. District Judge John J. Sirica that he was being pressured to remain silent. On April 20, acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned after admitting he had destroyed Watergate evidence under pressure from Nixon aides. Ten days later, four of Nixon's top officials resigned: Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman ; Domestic Affairs Assistant John Ehrlichman ; Attorney General Richard Kleindienst; and Presidential Counsel John Dean . The Senate Select Committee began televised hearings on May 17. A month later, former Presidential Counsel John Dean testified there was an ongoing White House coverup and that Nixon had been personally involved in the payment of hush money to the five burglars and two other operatives involved in planning the Watergate break-in. Three weeks later, another Nixon aide revealed the President had ordered hidden microphones installed in the Oval Office in the spring of 1971 and had recorded most conversations since then on audio tape.

The tapes then became the focus of an intensive year-long legal battle between all three branches of the U.S. government. In October of 1973, Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, who had been appointed by the Nixon administration, publicly vowed to obtain the tapes despite Nixon's strong objections. This resulted in the "Saturday Night Massacre" on October 20 in which Nixon attempted to fire Cox, but was temporarily thwarted as Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus refused Nixon's order and instead resigned. Solicitor General Robert Bork agreed to carry out the order and fired Cox. The minute-by-minute events of the "Saturday Night Massacre" were covered live by stunned reporters on network television starting about 8:30 p.m. and sent a political shockwave throughout America that led to immediate calls for impeachment. "Whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for Congress and ultimately the American people," Archibald Cox stated after his firing. Ten days later, impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives began as the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Peter Rodino, started its preliminary investigation.

Nixon responded to public outrage by initially agreeing to turn over some of the tapes. However, the White House then revealed that two of the tapes no longer existed and later revealed there was an 18 minute blank gap on a crucial recording of the President and H.R. Haldeman taped three days after the Watergate break-in. Nixon's new Chief of Staff Alexander M. Haig Jr. suggested the possibility that "some sinister force" had erased portions of the subpoenaed tape. President Nixon's personal secretary Rose Mary Woods was eventually blamed as having caused the erasure supposedly after she had been asked to prepare a summary of taped conversations for the President. In November of 1973, amid all of the controversy, Nixon made a scheduled appearance before 400 Associated Press managing editors in Florida. During a feisty question and answer period he maintained his innocence, stating, "... in all of my years in public life I have never obstructed justice...People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook.

Well, I'm not a crook." To avoid handing over all of the 42 subpoenaed tapes to the House Judiciary Committee, Nixon instead released 1,254 pages of edited transcripts of 20 tapes in the spring of 1974. But the transcripts caused a national sensation as Americans glimpsed behind closed doors for the first time at a cynical Nixon who frequently used obscene language in the Oval Office, in contrast to his carefully tailored public image. The transcripts also revealed Nixon frequently discussing Watergate including the raising of "hush money" to keep the burglars quiet. "We could get that. On the money, if you need the money you could get that. You could get a million dollars. You could get it in cash. I know where it could be gotten. It is not easy, but it could be done. But the question is, Who would handle it? Any ideas on that?" -- Nixon to John Dean, March 21, 1973. The new Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who had been appointed by the Justice Department, pursued Nixon's tapes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On July 24, 1974, the Court unanimously ruled that Nixon had to surrender the tapes. On Saturday, July 27, the House Judiciary Committee approved its first article of impeachment charging President Nixon with obstruction of justice. Six of the Committee's 17 Republicans joined all 21 Democrats in voting for the article. The following Monday the Committee approved its second article charging Nixon with abuse of power. The next day, the third and final article, contempt of Congress, was approved. Articles of Impeachment: RESOLVED, That Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment to be exhibited to the Senate: ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE NAME OF ITSELF AND OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AGAINST RICHARD M. NIXON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT OF ITS IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANOURS. Article 1: Obstruction of Justice.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice, in that: On June 17, 1972, and prior thereto, agents of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President committed unlawful entry of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, District of Columbia, for the purpose of securing political intelligence. Subsequent thereto, Richard M. Nixon, using the powers of his high office, engaged personally and through his subordinates and agents in a course of conduct or plan designed to delay, impede and obstruct investigations of such unlawful entry; to cover up, conceal and protect those responsible and to conceal the existence and scope of other unlawful covert activities.

The means used to implement this course of conduct or plan have included one or more of the following: (1) Making or causing to be made false or misleading statements to lawfully authorized investigative officers and employes of the United States. (2) Withholding relevant and material evidence or information from lawfully authorized investigative officers and employes of the United States. (3) Approving, condoning, acquiescing in, and counseling witnesses with respect to the giving of false or misleading statements to lawfully authorized investigative officers and employes of the United States and false or misleading testimony in duly instituted judicial and congressional proceedings. (4) Interfering or endeavoring to interfere with the conduct of investigations by the Department of Justice of the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the office of Watergate Special Prosecution Force and congressional committees. (5) Approving, condoning, and acquiescing in, the surreptitious payments of substantial sums of money for the purpose of obtaining the silence or influencing the testimony of witnesses, potential witnesses or individuals who participated in such unlawful entry and other illegal activities. (6) Endeavoring to misuse the Central Intelligence Agency, an agency of the United States.

(7) Disseminating information received from officers of the Department of Justice of the United States to subjects of investigations conducted by lawfully authorized investigative officers and employes of the United States for the purpose of aiding and assisting such subjects in their attempts to avoid criminal liability. (8) Making false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States into believing that a thorough and complete investigation has been conducted with respect to allegation of misconduct on the part of personnel of the Executive Branch of the United States and personnel of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, and that there was no involvement of such personnel in such misconduct; or (9) Endeavoring to cause prospective defendants, and individuals duly tried and convicted, to expect favored treatment and consideration in return for their silence or false testimony, or rewarding individuals for their silence or false testimony. In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.

(Approved by a vote of 27-11 by the House Judiciary Committee on Saturday, July 27, 1974.) Article 2: Abuse of Power. Using the powers of the office of President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in disregard of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has repeatedly engaged in conduct violating the constitutional rights of citizens, imparting the due and proper administration of justice and the conduct of lawful inquiries, or contravening the laws governing agencies of the executive branch and the purposes of these agencies. This conduct has included one or more of the following: (1) He has, acting personally and through his subordinated and agents, endeavored to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, confidential information contained in income tax returns for purposes not authorized by law, and to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigation to be initiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner.

(2) He misused the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secret Service, and other executive personnel, in violation or disregard of the constitutional rights of citizens, by directing or authorizing such agencies or personnel to conduct or continue electronic surveillance or other investigations for purposes unrelated to national security, the enforcement of laws, or any other lawful function of his office; he did direct, authorize, or permit the use of information obtained thereby for purposes unrelated to national security, the enforcement of laws, or any other lawful function of his office; and he did direct the concealment of certain records made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of electronic surveillance. (3) He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, in violation or disregard of the constitutional rights of citizens, authorized and permitted to be maintained a secret investigative unit within the office of the President, financed in part with money derived from campaign contributions to him, which unlawfully utilized the resources of the Central Intelligence Agency, engaged in covert and unlawful activities, and attempted to prejudice the constitutional right of an accused to a fair trial.

(4) He has failed to take care that the laws were faithfully executed by failing to act when he knew or had reason to know that his close subordinates endeavored to impede and frustrate lawful inquiries by duly constituted executive; judicial and legislative entities concerning the unlawful entry into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, and the cover-up thereof, and concerning other unlawful activities including those relating to the confirmation of Richard Kleindienst as attorney general of the United States, the electronic surveillance of private citizens, the break-in into the office of Dr. Lewis Fielding, and the campaign financing practices of the Committee to Re-elect the President. (5) In disregard of the rule of law: he knowingly misused the executive power by interfering with agencies of the executive branch: including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Criminal Division and the Office of Watergate Special Prosecution Force of the Department of Justice, in violation of his duty to take care that the laws by faithfully executed. In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore Richard M.

Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office. (Approved 28-10 by the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, July 29, 1974.) Article 3: Contempt of Congress. In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, contrary to his oath faithfully to execute the office of the President of the United States, and to the best of his ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, had failed without lawful cause or excuse, to produce papers and things as directed by duly authorized subpoenas issued by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, on April 11, 1974, May 15, 1974, May 30, 1974, and June 24, 1974, and willfully disobeyed such subpoenas.

The subpoenaed papers and things were deemed necessary by the Committee in order to resolve by direct evidence fundamental, factual questions relating to Presidential direction, knowledge or approval of actions demonstrated by other evidence to be substantial grounds for impeachment of the President. In refusing to produce these papers and things, Richard M. Nixon, substituting his judgement as to what materials were necessary for the inquiry, interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, thereby assuming to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power of impeachment vested by Constitution in the House of Representatives. In all this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial and removal from office.

(Approved 21-17 by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, July 30, 1974.) Consequences: On August 5, 1974, the long sought after audio tapes provided the "smoking gun" which revealed President Nixon had been deeply involved in the coverup and had ordered Haldeman to halt the FBI investigation just six days after the Watergate break-in."...call the FBI and say that we wish, for the country, don't go any further into this case, period..." -- Nixon to Haldeman, June 23, 1972.) That revelation resulted in a complete collapse of support for Nixon in Congress. On Friday, August 9, Nixon resigned the presidency and avoided the likely prospect of losing the impeachment vote in the full House and a subsequent trial in the Senate. He thus became the only U.S. President ever to resign. Vice President Gerald R. Ford succeeded him and a month later granted Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he might have committed while President. Richard Nixon had served a total of 2,026 days as the 37th President of the United States.

He left office with 2 1/2 years of his second term remaining. A total of 25 officials from his administration, including four cabinet members, were eventually convicted and imprisoned for various crimes. "...I think that the Watergate tragedy is the greatest tragedy this country has ever suffered. I used to think that the Civil War was our country's greatest tragedy, but I do remember that there were some redeeming features in the Civil War in that there was some spirit of sacrifice and heroism displayed on both sides. I see no redeeming features in Watergate." -- Senator Sam Ervin. Copyright © 2000 The History Place All Rights Reserved Presidents of the United States - President Richard Nixon - TheUSAonline.com Gerald Ford ( 1973 - 1974 ) Birth and early years Nixon was raised as an evangelical Quaker by his mother, Hannah, who hoped he would become a Quaker missionary. His upbringing is said to have been marked by such conservative Quaker observances as refraining from drinking, dancing, and swearing.

However, this is doubtful, as the evangelical sect of Quakerism known as Friends Churches, having been largely organized by itinerant Methodists, bore little resemblance to the traditional 'unprogrammed' Quaker religion, with its silent worship, avoidance of paid clergy, and strict adherence to pacifism. In any case, his father was less religious, focusing on the family business, a store that sold groceries and gasoline. There is much debate as to whether Nixon went through the expected Quaker soul-searching attendant on whether to become a conscientious objector in World War II. During the period of his political career, however, he was not a practicing Quaker. He attended Whittier College (a Quaker school), graduating second in his class, and Duke University Law School, where he received a full scholarship. He served as a noncombatant officer in the US Navy in World War II, and was a lawyer for PepsiCo. Early political career Nixon was elected to Congress in 1946, in a class of freshman war veterans that included his future rival John F. Kennedy, of Massachusetts.

Nixon climbed the ladder swiftly, making his name as an anti-Communist and a rough, no-holds-barred campaigner. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives from California in 1948 where he became a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee and was instrumental in the trial of the ex-government official Alger Hiss for perjury as a part of the accusation that he was a Soviet spy. Nixon was elected to the Senate in 1950, defeating actress/congresswoman Helen Gahagan, who Nixon accused during the campaign of having communist sympathies. Vice Presidency In 1952 was elected Vice President on Dwight Eisenhower 's ticket when he was only 39 years old. One notable event of the campaign was Nixon's innovative use of television. Nixon was found to have been financed by a slush fund provided by business supporters. He went on TV and defended himself in an emotional speech in which he stated that his wife Pat did not wear mink, but "a good Republican cloth coat" and stated that although he had been given a cocker spaniel named "Checkers", he was not going to give it back because his daughters loved it.

This broadcast resulted in a flood of support that required Eisenhower to keep Nixon on the ticket. As Vice President, Nixon journeyed to South America and was praised for his courage in facing angry mobs protesting US foreign policy. Nixon was notable among Vice Presidents in having actually stepped up to run the government three times when Eisenhower was ill: on the occasions of Eisenhower's heart attack on September 24, 1955; his ileitis in June 1956; and his stroke in November 1957. He also proved to be able to quickly think on his feet which was demonstrated on July 24 , 1959 at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow where Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had an impromptu "kitchen debate" about the merits of capitalism vs communism 1960 election and post-Vice Presidency In 1960, he ran for President on his own but lost to John F. Kennedy, ironically a friend of Nixon's (Kennedy, in fact, was one of the first to congratulate Nixon when he was chosen as Eisenhower's running mate). A crucial factor in his loss was the first televised presidential debate .

Despite his five o'clock shadow , Nixon refused television makeup and was feeling sick, having injured his knee on the way to the studio. He expected to win voters with his foreign-policy expertise, but people only saw a sickly man sweating profusely and wearing a gray suit that blended into the scenery while his rival, Kennedy, looked great. Later research showed that those who had listened to the debate on radio thought Nixon had won, but that the television audience gave the win to Kennedy. On November 7, 1962, he lost a race for Governor of California. In his concession speech, Nixon stated that it was his "last press conference" and that "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more". Presidency The defeated mood did not last. He moved to New York City and worked as a high-powered lawyer and in the election of 1968 completed a remarkable political comeback by defeating Hubert H. Humphrey to become the 37th U.S. President. Major initiatives during his presidency: Normalizing of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and partially abandoning the Republic of China on Taiwan as part of Realpolitik, a foreign policy eschewing moral considerations.

In the short term Nixon was successful in playing the "China card" against the Soviet Union and its client state North Vietnam . Establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency . Establishment of the Drug Enforcement Administration . "Vietnamization": the slow withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam while dramatically increasing the scale of bombing. Space Shuttle program started. Nixon appealed to what he claimed was the "silent majority" of moderate Americans who disliked the " hippie " counterculture and civil rights and peace demonstrators. Nixon also promised "peace with honor" by his "secret plan" to end the Vietnam War. He proposed the Nixon Doctrine to establish the strategy to turn over the fighting of the war to the Vietnamese. During the war, on July 3 , 1969, Nixon made an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and met with President Nguyen Van Thieu and with US military commanders. The war ended during Nixon's term, but only after four more years of strategic bombing and defeat on the ground, and the withdrawal of US troops, leaving the battle to the South Vietnamese army.

The Nixon administration's massive bombing campaigns of Cambodia and its support for the overthrow of the neutralist royal government of Sihanouk by the rightist military dictator Lon Nol drove much of the peasant population of that country into the arms of the Khmer Rouge, a Maoist revolutionary movement that would kill 1.7 million Cambodians after taking power. On January 5, 1972 Nixon ordered the development of a space shuttle program. Nixon's name appears alongside former UN Secretary General U Thant 's on a special plaque that was placed on the moon's surface. On January 2, 1974 Nixon signed a bill that lowered the maximum US speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during the first OPEC oil embargo. Nixon was eventually investigated for the instigation and cover-up of the burglary of the Democratic Party offices at the Watergate office complex, one of a series of scandals involving CREEP (the Committee to Re-Elect the President), which also included the enemies list and assorted "dirty tricks." His secret recordings of White House conversations were subpoenaed, and revealed details of his complicity in the cover-up.

Nixon, however, was named by the grand jury investigating Watergate as "an unindicted co-conspirator" in the Watergate Scandal. He lost support from his own party as well as the country in the Saturday Night Massacre in which he ordered Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor in the Watergate case fired, as well as firing several of his own subordinates who objected to this move. The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opened formal and public impeachment hearings against Nixon on May 9, 1974. Rather than face impeachment by the House of Representatives and a conviction by the Senate, he resigned effective August 9, 1974. His successor, Gerald R. Ford , issued a pre-emptive pardon, ending the investigations. Nixon's presidency was frequently dogged by Nixon's personality, and the public perception of it. Editorial cartoonists and comedians had fun exaggerating Nixon's appearance and mannerisms, to the point where the line between the human president and the caricature version of him became increasingly blurred. He was usually portrayed as a sullen loner, with unshaven jowels, slumped shoulders, and a furrowed, sweaty brow.

He was, to some, especially the younger generation, the very epitome of a "square," and the personification of unpleasant adult authority. Nixon tried to shed these perceptions by staging photo-ops with young people, and even appearing on popular TV shows such as Laugh-In and Hee Haw. He also frequently brandished the two-finger "peace sign" with his hands, an act which became one of his best-known trademarks. Last Years and Death In his last years, Nixon managed to rehabiliate himself somewhat and gained respect as an elder statesman in the area of foreign affairs and was consulted by both Democratic and Republican successors to the Presidency. Further tape releases, however, removed all doubt as to Nixon's involvement, both in the Watergate cover-up and the illegal campaign finance and intrusive government surveillance that were at the heart of the scandal. In July 2003, Jeb Stuart Magruder alleged that Nixon had personally ordered the Watergate break-in by phone. Previously the only guilt that was alleged was his role in the cover up of the break in. Nixon wrote many books after his departure from politics, including a history of the Vietnam war and his own personal memoirs.

Nixon died on April 22, 1994, at the age of 81 from complications related to a stroke and was buried beside his wife Pat Nixon in the grounds of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. The Nixon Library contains only Nixon's pre and post-Presidential papers as his Presidential papers have been retained as criminal evidence. Nixon's attempts to protect his papers and gain tax advantages from them had been one of the important themes of the Watergate affair. The library is unique in that it is privately funded; other presidential libraries receive support from the National Archives.

Key appointments Spiro Agnew - Vice President (to 1973) Henry Kissinger - National Security Advisor , then Secretary of State (from 1973) James Schlesinger - Secretary of Defense (1973-1974) George Shultz - Secretary of the Treasury (1972-1974) John Mitchell - Attorney General (1969-1972) Caspar Weinberger - Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (1973-1974) Richard Helms - CIA director (to 1973) J. Edgar Hoover - FBI director (to 1972) Supreme Court appointments Warren E. Burger - Chief Justice - 1969 Harry Andrew Blackmun - 1970 Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. - 1972 William Rehnquist - 1972 Quotations "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore. Because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference." 1962 after losing race for Governor of California .

"This is the greatest week in the history of the world since the Creation, because as a result of what happened in this week, the world is bigger, infinitely." (concerning the Apollo Moon landing) On Watergate " I welcome this kind of examination because people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well I'm not a crook." November 17 , 1973 Televised press conference at Walt Disney World , Florida . "I don't give a shit what happens. I want you all to stonewall it, let them plead the Fifth Amendment, cover up or anything else, if it'll save it, save this plan. That's the whole point.

We're going to protect our people if we can." (to Haldemann, tapes ordered released for the trial of Haldeman , Ehrlichman and Mitchell ) "I recognize that this additional material I am now furnishing may further damage my case," (after the ordered release of the White House tapes August 5 , 1974 ) "When the President does it, that means that it's not illegal." (explaining his interpretation of Executive Privilege) "I was under medication when I made the decision not to burn the tapes." "Well, I screwed it up real good, didn't I?" On Peace "Any nation that decides the only way to achieve peace is through peaceful means is a nation that will soon be a piece of another nation." (from his book No More Vietnams ) "The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker." (From his 1969 innagural; later used as Nixon's epitaph ) Misc "Sock it to me ?" (said by Nixon on the television comedy series Laugh-In ) "I don't know a lot about politics, but I do know a lot about baseball." "Solutions are not the answer." "I would have made

 a good Pope ." "Let me say this about that." Nixon in the media Richard Nixon has appeared as a character, both major and minor, in a variety of movies and productions: Born Again Unusual succession makes Ford president - Aug 09, 1974 - HISTORY.com This Day In History: 08/09/1974 - For Becomes President President Richard Nixon resigns, Henry David Thoreau published Walden Pond, Jesse Owens wins his 4th gold medal in the Summer Olympics, and the first Hispanic is named as Secretary of Education in This Day in History video.

The date is August 9th. Adolph Hitler opened up this Berlin Summer Olympic. Lead Story Unusual succession makes Ford president Share this: Unusual succession makes Ford president Author Unusual succession makes Ford president URL Publisher A+E Networks In accordance with his statement of resignation the previous evening, Richard M. Nixon officially ends his term as the 37th president of the United States at noon. Before departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn, he smiled farewell and enigmatically raised his arms in a victory or peace salute. The helicopter door was then closed, and the Nixon family began their journey home to San Clemente, California. Richard Nixon was the first U.S. president to resign from office. Minutes later, Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States in the East Room of the White House. After taking the oath of office, President Ford spoke to the nation in a television address, declaring, “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” Ford, the first president who came to the office through appointment rather than election, had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president only eight months before.

In a political scandal independent of the Nixon administration’s wrongdoings in the Watergate affair, Agnew had been forced to resign in disgrace after he was charged with income tax evasion and political corruption. In September 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in office, explaining that he wanted to end the national divisions created by the Watergate scandal. Related Videos Richard Nixon's Birthplace--Presidents: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary Steve Greene for Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum Richard Nixon’s term as the 37th president of the United States was a roller-coaster ride of success and failure, of triumph and defeat. Born into modest circumstances in this small frame house, he won election as president in 1968 in a remarkable comeback from his defeat in the 1960 presidential election and the loss of his bid for governor of California two years later. His margin of victory in the 1972 presidential election when he ran for a second term is one of the widest on record. President Nixon ended the draft and oversaw the withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam.

He reached out to China, meeting personally with Mao Zedong, and reduced tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. His administration ended in scandal in 1974, however. The expanding investigation of a bungled burglary at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC ultimately forced Nixon to resign to avoid almost certain impeachment. In the years before his death in 1994, he gained praise as an elder statesman. His restored birthplace home is now part of a nine-acre museum complex that includes gardens and exhibit galleries. Richard Milhous Nixon was born in this modest house on January 9, 1913. His father, Frank Nixon, used a kit to build the house in a small grove of trees on his eight-acre citrus farm. The one and one-half story, white clapboard siding house has a low-pitched gable roof. A long dormer on the north side lights a small second-floor bedroom. The front elevation features a projecting gable-roofed entry. There is a small flat-roofed addition on the back. Nixon’s parents were members of the Quaker community in Yorba Linda and active in civic life.

They taught their four sons patience, courage, and determination, qualities that Nixon drew strength from during trying times. He later recalled that he gained his first taste for politics during debates around the family dinner table and described friendly pillow fights with his three brothers in the small upstairs bedroom they shared. The family lived here until 1922, when they moved to the nearby community of Whittier. Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School, in North Carolina. He opened his law practice in Whittier and became involved in local politics as a Republican. In 1940, he married Thelma Catherine Ryan, universally known as “Pat.” He served 14 months on active duty in the Pacific during World War II. Nixon ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1946, defeating a long-term Democratic incumbent. He won national recognition, and controversy, as an anti-communist crusader on the Un-American Activities Committee. Reelected to the House in 1948, he easily won a seat in the United States Senate two years later in an extremely bitter campaign. In 1952, Republican presidential candidate, Dwight D.

Eisenhower chose Nixon, only 39 years old, as his running mate. During the campaign, accusations of using political contributions for personal purposes threatened Nixon’s place on the ticket. He saved his candidacy in one of the first live, nationwide political television broadcasts—the famous "Checkers" speech. Nixon was an active and visible vice president and had no trouble gaining the nomination to succeed Eisenhower in 1960. His extremely narrow loss to John F. Kennedy was the first defeat in his career. Returning to California, he ran for governor two years later and lost again. He thought his political career was over, telling reporters, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore . . . This is my last press conference.” Nixon remained active in Republican politics during these “wilderness years,” however, and in 1968, he again sought the presidential nomination. He won the general election, defeating Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey and third-party candidate George Wallace. Reelected in 1972, Nixon won the largest number of popular votes in the nation's history, defeating Democrat George McGovern in the Electoral College by 520 to 71.

The Nixon Presidential Library & Museum Steve Greene for Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum President Nixon’s domestic achievements included revenue sharing, new anticrime laws, a broad environmental program, and the end of the military draft. Concerned about rising inflation, he instituted mandatory wage and price controls. On July 19, 1969, Nixon spoke with the American astronauts who had made the first Moon landing in a long-distance telephone call. Working with his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Nixon pursued a vigorous foreign policy. His first priority was the conflict in Vietnam. The invasion of Cambodia and expanded bombing in North Vietnam triggered violent protests in 1970. A student protest at Kent State University met with police violence that left four students dead. More than 4 million students participated in the following nationwide strike. In January 1973, Nixon announced an accord with North Vietnam ending American military involvement in Southeast Asia. By March, he reduced the number of United States military forces in Vietnam to zero, from 543,000 in April 1969. One of President Nixon’s proudest achievements was opening official contact between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

He was the first American president to visit China during his term of office. His talks with Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai led to a new spirit of amity between the two countries. On a trip to the Soviet Union, he met with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev, preparing the ground for the signing of the first treaty to limit nuclear arms. The series of revelations that led to Nixon's resignation began with a June 1971 burglary at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC. Newspaper accounts eventually traced the break-in, virtually ignored during the election campaign, to the president’s special reelection committee. The investigation of the “Watergate Affair” eventually led to the conviction and imprisonment of a number of senior administration officials. Nixon himself denied any personal involvement in Watergate. He tried to use executive privilege to protect audio tapes of conversations at the White House, but the Supreme Court overruled his efforts. When the tapes indicated that he had tried to divert the investigation, his support with the public and in Congress eroded.

Late in July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee recommended his impeachment on counts of obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. Republican leaders urged Nixon to step down. On August 8, 1974, he announced his decision to resign, saying that he wished to begin the “process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.” His resignation was effective at noon on August 9. Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon as president. Ford, who had been majority leader of the House of Representatives, became vice president in December 1973 after Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in October 1973 amid a bribery scandal. In retirement, Nixon represented the United States on a number of trips abroad, gaining unusual access to major political leaders because of his status as an elder statesman. He also maintained a busy speaking schedule and wrote 10 books. He played an active role in planning his presidential library in Yorba Linda, and he and his wife were present at its dedication in 1990. Richard Nixon suffered a stroke in April 1994 at his home in New Jersey, dying a few days later.

His grave and that of his wife, who died in 1993, lie near the birthplace on the grounds of the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. The Richard Nixon birthplace home changed hands a number of times after the Nixons moved out in 1922. Frank Nixon, the president's father, sold parts of the property between 1922 and 1925, when the Yorba Linda School District bought five and one-half acres of the land to build a school. In 1948, the school district purchased the remaining land, including the birthplace, and installed the school's caretaker in the home. Nixon formed the private nonprofit Richard Nixon Library Foundation for the purpose of building his presidential library in 1969, after he became president. Work on the library did not begin until after he left office, but fundraising continued. In 1978, a group of businessmen purchased the birthplace on behalf of the Foundation. The City of Yorba Linda deeded the whole nine and one-half-acre site over to the Nixon Library Foundation ten years later.

In anticipation of the Nixon Library's opening in 1990, the home was carefully restored with many of its original furnishings, including the bedstead in which President Nixon was born. The private Nixon Library was transferred to the Federal Government's National Archives and Records Administration on July 11, 2007. The home remains under the Foundation's administration and is open to visitors. Plan your visit The Richard M. Nixon Birthplace in Yorba Linda, CA, has been designated a National Historic Landmark . Click here for the National Historic Landmark registration file: text and photos . It is open daily from 10:00am to 5:00pm, Sundays 11:00am to 5:00pm. It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. An admission fee is charged. Tickets must be purchased at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, located at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd, Yorba Linda. Regular admission includes the gardens, the birthplace home and the galleries. Docents are available to give tours at the Birthplace. Museum visitors begin their tour by viewing a 27-minute movie about Nixon's career.

Visit the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Foundation website or call 714-993-5075. For moreinformation, visit the National Archives Nixon Presidential Library and Museum website, or call 714-983-9120. The website contains additional information on the birthplace and the museum. Visitors to the website can also hear Nixon describing his childhood memories of his birthplace. Newsela | Presidential Profile: Richard M. Nixon Presidential Profile: Richard M. Nixon The 37th President of the United States 1969 – 1974 By White House Historical Association, adapted by Newsela staff Word Count 846 When Richard Nixon was elected president in 1968, he declared that his goal was “to bring the American people together.” The nation was painfully divided, with problems in American cities and war overseas. During his presidency, Nixon succeeded in helping the United States ease tensions with several Communist countries. He ended American fighting in Vietnam, although it took four years, and he improved relations with China and the Soviet Union. He also took part in the unlawful Watergate scandal.

Both incidents added new division to the country and ultimately led to him resigning as president. Presidency Just Within Reach Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California, on Jan. 9, 1913. The second of five boys in his family, he was a top student at both Whittier College and Duke University Law School and he became a lawyer. In 1940, he married Patricia Ryan. The couple had two daughters, Tricia and Julie. During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific. After leaving the military, Nixon was elected to Congress from his district in California. In 1950, he won a Senate seat. Two years later, General Dwight Eisenhower selected the 39-year-old Nixon to be his vice presidential running mate. Richard Nixon served under President Eisenhower for the next eight years. Nixon was nominated for president in 1960 by his Republican Party. However, he lost by a small number of votes to the charismatic Democrat, John F. Kennedy. Privately, Nixon wondered whether the election had been stolen from him.

After a failed attempt in 1962 to become governor of California, Nixon defeated Vice President Hubert Humphrey and a third-party candidate, Alabama Governor George Wallace, for the White House in the 1968 presidential election. Productive First Term In Office Nixon had various accomplishments while in office. He improved how the federal government shared tax earnings with state and local governments. He ended the military draft, which was calling on men to join the military even if they had not volunteered. He also enforced new anti-crime and desegregation laws, as well as signed a broad environmental program into law. As promised, Nixon appointed justices with conservative, more traditional viewpoints to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1969, he welcomed back to Earth the Apollo 11 astronauts who had made the first moon landing. In 1972, Nixon made a historic trip to Beijing, China. He met with China's leader Mao Zedong to improve relations between their two countries. In a meeting with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, Nixon produced a treaty to limit deadly nuclear weapons. In January 1973, Nixon announced an agreement with North Vietnam that ended American involvement in the war there.

Huge Win, Then A Big Bust After his first four years, South Dakota's Democratic Senator George McGovern ran against Nixon in the 1972 presidential election. Nixon had called his opponent an extreme liberal who wanted far too much social change. Indeed, Nixon won the election by an overwhelming majority of votes. Yet within a few months, his administration was divided over what was soon called the Watergate scandal, named after the office building of the Democratic National Committee at which a break-in occurred during the 1972 presidential campaign. The scandal took place when Nixon's campaign officials broke into the Democratic National Committee building, which was where his opponent, McGovern, was making election plans. The campaign officials wanted to make sure that Nixon had the edge on the election by spying on the Democrats. Nixon denied any personal involvement with the break-in. The courts forced him to turn over tape recordings of his private Oval Office conversations. Nixon was found guilty of trying to delay the investigation into the Watergate break-in, making the legal process more difficult. Nixon Resigns So The Nation Can Heal Meanwhile, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973.

His departure was the result of wrongdoings unrelated to the Watergate scandal. Nixon then nominated, and Congress approved, Republican House Minority Leader Gerald Ford as vice president. Nixon knew he would most certainly face impeachment for his recent unlawful activities and could be formally removed from office. He did not wish to be remembered for committing a crime and so he announced on Aug. 8, 1974, that he would resign the office of president the following day. Only then, he said, could there begin “that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.” Vice President Gerald Ford would take over the presidency, as directed by the U.S. Constitution. As president, Ford publicly pardoned Nixon, a controversial decision that spared the former president a criminal trial and possible prison sentence. Nixon spent the next 20 years before his death in 1994 trying to restore his reputation through books and speeches. "Peacemaker" At Nixon’s request, his gravestone in Yorba Linda, California, bears a quotation from his first inaugural address.

Nixon hoped the nation would accept these words in final memory of him: “The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker.” Adapted from the Presidents of the United States of America, 18th edition, published by the White House Historical Association, 2009. Sign up for a free account to read the full article. UH OH! There was a problem submitting. Are you still signed in? 3 Anchor 5: Text Structure Which of the following sentences from the article develops the idea that Nixon should be remembered as a peacemaker? A He ended the military draft, which was calling on men to join the military even if they had not volunteered. B In 1969, he welcomed back to Earth the Apollo 11 astronauts who had made the first moon landing. C In January 1973, Nixon announced an agreement with North Vietnam that ended American involvement in the war there. D Only then, he said, could there begin “that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.” You must be a registered user to submit quizzes.

Gerald Ford | president of the United States | Britannica.com president of the United States Written By: Alternative Titles: Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr., Leslie Lynch King, Jr. Gerald Ford President of the United States Also known as Henry A. Kissinger Gerald Ford, in full Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr., original name Leslie Lynch King, Jr. (born July 14, 1913, Omaha , Nebraska , U.S.—died December 26, 2006, Rancho Mirage, California ), 38th president of the United States (1974–77), who, as 40th vice president, succeeded to the presidency on the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon under the process decreed by the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution and thereby became the country’s only chief executive who was not elected as either president or vice president. His first act upon assuming office was to grant his predecessor “a full, free, and absolute pardon.” (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America .) Gerald R. Ford. Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Library Key events in the life of Gerald R. Ford.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. While Gerald Ford was still an infant, his parents were divorced, and his mother moved to Grand Rapids , Michigan , where she married Gerald R. Ford, Sr., who adopted the boy and gave him his name. After graduating from the University of Michigan (1935), where he was a star gridiron-football player, Ford worked as an assistant coach while he earned a law degree from Yale University (1941). He joined the navy during World War II and served in the South Pacific, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander and nearly losing his life in 1944 during a deadly typhoon that killed hundreds. In 1948, the year he won his first elective office, as Republican congressman from Michigan, he married Elizabeth Anne Bloomer ( Betty Ford ), with whom he had four children—three sons (Michael, John, and Steven) and one daughter (Susan). Gerald Ford as a member of the University of Michigan’s football team, 1933. Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Library Ford served in Congress for 25 years.

Well-liked and ideologically flexible, he won the role of House minority leader in 1965 and held this position until Nixon named him vice president in 1973. During his time in Congress, he had developed a reputation for honesty and openness. When Nixon’s vice president, Spiro T. Agnew , was forced to resign from office in disgrace, the president had no choice but to nominate the only Republican whom the Democratic leadership of Congress would approve, the affable Jerry Ford. In 1974, when it became clear that Nixon would face criminal charges for his role in the Watergate Scandal and three articles of impeachment had been passed by the House Judiciary Committee, Nixon resigned, effective August 9. On that day, Ford took the oath of office and became president, stating, “Our long national nightmare is over.” He retained the foreign and domestic policy staffs of the Nixon administration, including Secretary of State Henry Kissinger . Cabinet of President Gerald R.

Ford August 9, 1974-January 20, 1977 State EU Considers Rules For Robots One of Ford’s early acts as president was the announcement of a conditional amnesty program for those who had evaded the draft or deserted during the Vietnam War . The most attention-getting act of his years in office, and the move that for many destroyed his credibility, followed in the next month. On September 8, 1974, declaring that in the end “it is not the ultimate fate of Richard Nixon that most concerns me” but rather “the immediate future of this great country,” Ford pardoned Nixon “for all offenses against the United States” that he had committed “or may have committed” while in office. The pardon, later alleged to have been the result of blackmail (that if Ford did not pardon him, Nixon would blacken the new president’s reputation by publicly claiming that Ford had promised a pardon in exchange for the presidency), effectively squelched any criminal prosecutions to which Nixon might have been liable. Afterward Ford voluntarily appeared before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives on October 17 to explain his reasoning—the first time a standing president had formally testified before a committee of Congress.

In another startling move, Ford annoyed members of his own party by naming Nelson A. Rockefeller , both a party liberal and a representative of the so-called “Eastern establishment,” as his vice president. President Gerald R. Ford defending the pardon of Richard Nixon at a White House press conference, … © Archive Photos USA Facts Ford’s administration attempted to cope with the high rate of inflation , which he inherited from the Nixon administration, by slowing down the economy. The result was a very severe recession in 1974–75, which succeeded in lowering inflation but at the cost of an unemployment rate that rose to nearly 9 percent. Despite his WIN (Whip Inflation Now) program, he could do little to stop the country’s economic problems. Ford’s relations with the Democrat-controlled Congress were perhaps typified by his more than 50 vetoes of legislation by the end of 1976; more than 40 were sustained. Legislative gridlock set in. Gerald R. Ford at his desk in the Oval Office, Washington, D.C., 1975. Marion S. Trikosko/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital. id.

ppmsca.08467) Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies During the final days of the Vietnam War, in March 1975, Ford ordered an airlift of some 237,000 anticommunist Vietnamese refugees from Da Nang , most of whom were taken to the United States. Two months later, after the seizure by Cambodia of the American cargo ship Mayaguez, Ford declared the event an “act of piracy” and sent the Marines to seize the ship. They succeeded, but the rescue operation to save the 39-member crew resulted in the loss of 41 American lives and the wounding of 50 others. Twice in September 1975, Ford was the target of assassination attempts. In the first instance, Secret Service agents intervened before shots were fired; in the second, the would-be assassin fired one shot at Ford but missed by several feet. In October he initially refused to consider loans to the city of New York , then on the brink of fiscal collapse, and thereby prompted the newspaper headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” As the larger implications became clear, he retreated from his earlier position.

In a close contest at the Republican convention in August 1976 , Ford won his party’s nomination, despite a serious challenge by Ronald Reagan , the former governor of California. That fall Ford became the first incumbent president to agree to public debates with a challenger— Jimmy Carter , the Democratic nominee. Ford ran substantially behind from the beginning of the campaign, owing in large part to negative fallout from the Nixon pardon but also to the general public’s perception of his ineptitude . His decisions in office had often seemed to be those of Kissinger and the others left over from the Nixon administration; sometimes, as those made during the Mayaguez incident, they seemed simply ill-considered. He misspoke on many occasions, notably declaring in a debate with Jimmy Carter, “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe” and “I don’t believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union,” which journalist William F. Buckley, Jr., called “the ultimate Polish joke.” Even his physical pratfalls, such as hitting his head while deplaning, were well documented for the public.

As journalist John Osborne summarized the situation, Ford was seen as a loser, a bumbler, a misfit President who for some reason or other…was prone to slip on airplane ramps, bump his head on helicopter entrances, entangle himself in the leashes of his family dogs, and fall from skis in front of television cameras that showed him asprawl in snow. Jimmy Carter (left) and U.S. President Gerald Ford meeting in the first of three televised debates … AP Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Ford was defeated in the November 1976 election by a popular vote of 40.8 million to 39.1 million and an electoral vote of 297 to 240. When, during the race that ultimately ousted President Carter in 1980, Ford was offered the vice presidential role by candidate Ronald Reagan , whom Ford held responsible for dissipating Republican support for his 1976 campaign, he refused. After leaving the White House , Ford happily retired from public life, golfed and skied at his leisure, and ultimately joined the boards of directors of numerous corporations. His autobiography, A Time to Heal, was published in 1979.

Results of the American presidential election, 1976… Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Question: Who succeeded Richard Nixon in 1974 as US President?
Answer: GERALD FORD