Richard Nixon became the thirty-seventh President of the United States on January 20, 1969.
Burger Replaces Warren as Chief Justice
Chief Justice Earl Warren retired from the Supreme Court in June of 1969. President Nixon appointed Warren E. Burger as his replacement.
Moon Walk
On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong, commander of the Apollo 11 moon expedition, became the first man to walk on the moon.
First Steps Toward "Vietnamization"
President Nixon's solution to ending the United States' involvement in Vietnam was to build up the South Vietnamese army with weapons and supplies while simultaneously phasing out the American troops stationed there, a process he called "Vietnamization". In June of 1969 President Nixon announced that he would reduce the number of American troops stationed in Vietnam by 25,000. In September he announced the withdrawal of 35,000 more soldiers.
President Nixon Launches Cambodia Campaign
In May of 1970 President Nixon announced his intentions to begin bombing Vietcong supply bases in Cambodia, which had been up until this point neutral in the war. The Cambodia campaign did very little damage to the North's ability to wage war, but deepened the commitment of the United States in South East Asia, and re-ignited opposition to the war at home. After years of pressure, President Nixon finally ordered a stop to the bombing of Cambodia on August 15, 1973.
Kent State
President Nixon's announcement that the United States would begin bombing Cambodia re-ignited protests on college campuses around the nation. On May 4, 1970 four students were shot and killed at Kent State University when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd of protesters. Days later two African American students were shot by policemen during a protest at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
China Summit
In February of 1972 President Nixon became the first American President to travel to China since that nation had come under communist rule in 1949. At the China Summit in Beijing President Nixon agreed to support China's admission into the United Nations, and both nations agreed to pursue programs of economic cooperation and cultural exchange.
Soviet Summit
President Nixon traveled to Moscow for a summit meeting with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in May of 1972. The Moscow meeting resulted in a treaty which put limitations on the production of nuclear missiles, and several other treaties which reestablished trade relations with the Soviet Union.
Legislation
Draft Lottery
Early in 1969 Congress instituted a lottery system for the draft. The measure was in response to criticism that the selective service system was biased in terms of race and class.
Safeguard Two
In domestic affairs, the Nixon Administration championed an antiballistic
missile defense system known as Safeguard. Two bases for the establishment of
Safeguard were approved by Congress in August of 1969.
Twenty-fifth Amendment
Congress ratified the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1967. The Twenty-fifth Amendment gave the president the authority to appoint a vice-president in the event of a vacancy. The president's appointment, however, had to be ratified by Congress before the candidate could take office.
Environmental Protection Agency
Congress established the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.
Price and Wage Freeze
In 1970 Congress passed a law giving the president authority to regulate prices and wages in order to combat inflation. On August 15, 1971 President Nixon made use of the new law, announcing a 90 day price and wage freeze. President Nixon established a commission with power to regulate price and wage increases for when the freeze was over.
Twenty-sixth Amendment
Ratified in 1971 the Twenty-sixth Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
Equal Rights Amendment
In March of 1972 Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) making discrimination on the basis of sex illegal.
SALT
At the Soviet Summit in May of 1972 the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT). Under SALT both nations agreed to cease the production of nuclear ballistic missiles, and to limit the number of antiballistic missiles each one possessed to 200.
Consumer Product Safety Act
The law creating the Consumer Product Safety Commission was passed by Congress in 1972. The Consumer Product Safety Commission was responsible for setting industry wide standards of product safety, and for banning those product it deemed unsafe from the marketplace.
Richard Milhous Nixon 1973-1974 (Resigned, 1974)
Second Term
Events
Inauguration
President Nixon delivered his second inaugural address on January 20, 1973.
Washington Summit
Soviet Premiere Leonid Brezhnev traveled to Washington D.C. in June of 1973
for a summit meeting with President Nixon.
Vice President Spiro Agnew Resigns, Replaced by Gerald Ford
Shortly after President Nixon's second inauguration, a federal investigation into the affairs of Vice President Spiro Agnew revealed that he had taken bribes during his term as governor of Maryland. The Vice President pleaded "no contest" to charges of graft and resigned from the Nixon Administration on October 10, 1973. President Nixon appointed Republican Senate Minority leader Gerald R. Ford of Michigan to the Vice Presidency on December 6, 1973.
President Nixon Accused of Tax Evasion
In the fall of 1973 an IRS investigation revealed that President Nixon owed back income taxes on the over half million dollars he had made during his first term as President. It was in weathering the fall out of the IRS scandal that Nixon uttered the words "I am not a crook."
Watergate
Early in 1973, a break in at the Democratic national headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C., which had taken place on June 17, 1972, began to snowball into a major scandal implicating top White House officials, including President Nixon. The White House dismissed the Watergate break in as a small-time burglary, but when the five men who had been arrested in the break in were identified as members of the Committee to Reelect the President, a special Senate investigative committee was established. On July 16, 1973, a former White House employee, Alexander Butterfield, testified that the President kept an audio tape recording of all conversations which took place in the Oval Office. President Nixon refused the Senate's request to hand-over the tapes, claiming Executive Privilege, but did offer to submit a written summary. His offer was rejected as summaries were not admissible as evidence in a court of law. When special investigator Archibald Cox continued to insist that President Nixon turn the Oval Office tapes over to the Senate, President Nixon ordered his attorney general, Elliot Richardson, to fire him. Richardson and his assistant, William Ruckleshaustes, both resigned rather than fire Cox. The job of firing Cox was carried out by assistant to the assistant attorney general, Robert Bork. Congress forced President Nixon to name another prosecutor, and Nixon appointed Texas attorney Leon Jaworski. Under Jaworski, Congress unanimously ordered that President Nixon deliver the tapes or face an impeachment trial. President Nixon finally turned over the tapes on August 5, 1974. The Oval Office tapes proved that Nixon had ordered a cover-up operation into affect only six days after the burglary. Transcripts of the tapes were published in the American papers. The transcripts revealed the President behaving in a manner which unhinged what little remaining public support he had. Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency on August 9, 1974.
Legislation
Paris Agreement
President Nixon gave National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger the task of trying to diplomatically mediate a peace between North and South Vietnam. In January 1973 President Nixon signed the Kissinger-negotiated Paris Agreement which ended the direct involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War in exchange for the release of war prisoners. As part of the treaty's negotiations, President Nixon made a secret promise to South Vietnam President Nguyen Va Thieu that the United States would not let his regime fall to the communist forces of North Vietnam. Because of strict Congressional laws limiting United States involvement in the affairs of South East Asia, this secret agreement was not honored by President Ford when North Vietnamese forces invaded and conquered the South in 1975.
Inflation Crisis
In the fall of 1973 President Nixon lifted all federal controls on prices and wages causing prices to skyrocket. The situation was worsened by an ill-timed Arab oil embargo, and a national wheat shortage brought about by a large sale of American wheat to the U.S.S.R.
President Nixon Impounds Federal Funds
To combat the inflation crisis President Nixon sought to curtail federal spending. He cut numerous social welfare programs, and impounded federal funds already earmarked for programs he disapproved of.
Roe v. Wade
In 1973 a single pregnant woman from Texas, dubbed "Jane Roe" to protect her identity, sued Dallas district attorney Henry Wade to prevent him from enforcing a state law prohibiting abortion. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of "Jane Roe" and in doing so made it illegal for any state to interfere with a woman's right to an abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy had already advanced into its third trimester.
War Powers Resolution
Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973 over President Nixon's veto. The War Powers Resolution reaffirmed Congress' sole right to wage war.
Federal Energy Administration
Congress established the Federal Energy Administration in 1974.
