August 9, 1974: Richard Nixon resigns as President of the United States, due to the crimes he committed that fell under the umbrella term "Watergate."We may never know for sure if Nixon authorized the break-in of the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate hotel and office complex on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. What we do know, thanks to the audiotaping system he had in the Oval Office at the White House, is that, on June 23, 6 days after the break-in, he told his White House Chief of Staff, H.R. "Bob" Haldeman, to tell the FBI to back off on their investigation of the break-in.
That was obstruction of justice. On July 27, 1974, the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives approved an Article of Impeachment against Nixon, on the charge of obstruction of justice. On July 29, they approved another, on the charge of abuse of power. On July 30, they approved a third, for contempt of congress.
On August 5, in United States v. Nixon, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Nixon had to turn over all the tapes. This 8-0 vote included 3 of the 4 Justices that Nixon himself had appointed: Chief Justice Warren Burger, Harry Blackmun and Lewis Powell. Nixon had also appointed William Rehnquist, who recused himself, because he had worked in the U.S. Department of Justice for the 1st 3 years of the Nixon Administration.
And the tape of the June 23, 1972 order from Nixon to Haldeman was made public. It became known as "the Smoking Gun Tape." On August 7, Republican Congressional leaders visited Nixon at the White House, and told him they didn't have the votes to save from from being impeached by the House, or convicted in a trial by the Senate. He would be removed from office, unless he did it by himself, by resigning.
On August 8, at 9:01 PM Eastern Time, he addressed the nation in prime time, and spoke for 16 minutes, telling the nation what it was more than ready to hear:
I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of America first.
America needs a full-time President and a full-time Congress, particularly at this time with problems we face, at home and abroad.
To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home.
Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.
The next day, at 9:00 AM Eastern, Nixon gave a tearful Farewell Address to his staff in the East Room of the White House. After it, the President and First Lady Pat Nixon were escorted to a waiting helicopter, Marine One, by Vice President Ford and his wife Betty. Mrs. Nixon got in. Mr. Nixon got to the top step, gave a wave to his staff, and did one more "V for Victory" salute before boarding.
At 11:35 AM, a letter arrived at the office of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, reading, in its entirety: "Dear Mr. Secretary: I hereby resign the office of President of the United States. Sincerely, Richard Nixon." As soon as Nixon received it, officially, Nixon was no longer in office, and Vice President Gerald Ford was now the President, regardless of whether there was an actual swearing-in.
At 12:05 PM, in the East Room, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States by Chief Justice Warren Burger. He told the nation, "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws, and not of men. Here, the people rule."
Nixon had been nominated at 5 different Republican Conventions: In 1952 and 1956 for Vice President; and in 1960, 1968 and 1972 for President. After 1972, he could never attend another. It would take until 2004, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, for a speaker at a Republican Convention, to even mention him again, so toxic was his name considered to be, even in his own Party.
By 2004, of course, the Republicans had lurched so far to the right that, not only was it possible for Nixon's name to be both spoken aloud and cheered at a Republican Convention, but for people in the Republican Party to come to a consensus that Nixon did nothing wrong, except get caught.
UPDATE: It took me until 2024 to think of this, but the 1970s were Schrödinger's Decade. There was too much Republican competence, and too much crimefighting; and, at the same time, not enough of either of those things.
Nixon's Presidential Library was built adjacent to his birthplace in Yorba Linda, California, 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Yorba Linda also has a Richard M. Nixon Parkway and a Richard M. Nixon Elementary School.
The Nixon Library opened on July 19, 1990, and its opening was attended by the 5 men then living who had been President: Nixon, Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and the incumbent, George H.W. Bush. Nixon died on April 22, 1994. Four days later, he was laid to rest at the Library, and his funeral was attended by the 5 men then living who had been President: Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and the incumbent, Bill Clinton; and also their wives. Both of Nixon's Vice Presidents, Ford and Spiro Agnew, attended. It was Agnew's last public appearance.
Comedians David Frye and Rich Little became famous for their impersonations of Nixon, among other political figures. Frye leaned on the phrase, "Let me just say this," while Little preferred, "Let me make this perfectly clear." Dan Aykroyd played Nixon as a bitter former President on Saturday Night Live, although he refused to shave the mustache he had at the time.
There appear to be only 2 statues of Nixon in the entire world. One is in the "Presidential City" display in Rapid City, South Dakota. The other is in Wakefield, on the Australian island of Tasmania, ordered by a local fan of his.
Rapid City
Nixon frequently features in time-travel and alternate-history pieces. These include Robert Wisdom as an alternate-history 5th-term Nixon in 1985 in the superhero film Watchmen in 2009, Stuart Milligan on Doctor Who in 2011, John H. Tobin in Transformers: Dark of the Moon the same year, Mark Camacho in X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014, and Paul Ganus on DC's Legends of Tomorrow in 2019. Two films have been made about Nixon's 1970 meeting with Elvis Presley: He was played by Bob Gunton in Elvis Meets Nixon in 1997, and Kevin Spacey in Elvis & Nixon in 2016.
Among the other actors to play Nixon have been Rip Torn in Blind Ambition (based on the memoir of John Dean) in 1979, Philip Baker Hall in Secret Honor in 1984, Lane Smith in The Final Days in 1989, Anthony Hopkins in Oliver Stone's film Nixon in 1995, Dan Hedaya in the comedy Dick in 1999, Frank Langella reprising his Tony Award-winning Broadway role in Frost/Nixon in 2008, and John Cusack in The Butler in 2013.
Ford is the only President whose Presidential Library and Presidential Museum are in 2 different locations: The former opened on April 27, 1981 at his Alma Mater, the University of Michigan; while the latter is in his hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan, opening on September 18, 1981. He has a statue in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, and a House of Representatives Office Building is named for him, due to his service as House Minority Leader.
Ford Statue, U.S. Capitol Building
Ford was born in Nebraska, but represented Michigan. He remains the only President with a significant connection to either of those States.
Despite looking and sounding nothing like Ford, Chevy Chase played him on Saturday Night Live. He was also played by Dick Crockett in The Pink Panther Strikes Again in 1976, Josef Sommer in The Betty Ford Story in 1987, Larry Lindsay in Hot Shots! Part Deux in 1993, Drew Snyder in Dark Skies in 1997, Jeffrey Ventimilia in That '70s Show in 1998, Corbin Bernsen in The Commission in 2003, and Bill Camp in Vice (about Ford's former Chief of Staff, Dick Cheney) in 2018.
The State where he was born, Nebraska, and the State where he grew up, Michigan, both have a Gerald R. Ford Freeway, and Interstate 70 in Eagle County in Colorado is the Gerald Ford Memorial Highway. In 2017, the USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, CVN-78, was launched, and is the largest warship ever built.
So far, despite also having served in the Navy during World War II, Nixon doesn't have a ship named for him. Maybe he'll get a pirate ship.
As of August 9, 2022, Kissinger is the last surviving member of Nixon's Cabinet. (UPDATE: He lived until November 29, 2023, age 100.)
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August 9, 1974 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played on this historic day:
* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 7-1 at Anaheim Stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim, California. The ballpark is now named Angel Stadium of Anaheim. George "Doc" Medich was knocked out of the box in the 3rd inning, and Frank Tanana shut the Yankees down, other than Elliott Maddox and Lou Piniella, who each had 2 hits.
* The New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1 at Shea Stadium. Bob Apodaca outpitched Fred Norman. Don Hahn hit a home run for the Mets. For the Reds, Pete Rose went 0-for-3 with a walk, and Johnny Bench went 1-for-4, his hit a homer for the Reds' only run.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Veterans Stadium. Darrell Evans drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning. Hank Aaron did not start the game, but appeared as a pinch-hitter and drew a walk. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 7-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell went 2-for-5. Rennie Stennett hit a home run. Dave Winfield went 2-for-4 for the Padres.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 5-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Dick Allen, Pat Kelly and Jorge Orta homered for the South Siders, and Stan Bahnsen outpitched Gaylord Perry.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Jim Barr pitched a 6-hit shutout, and was backed by home runs from Gary Mathews Sr. and Dave Kingman.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Rod Carew went 2-for-4. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3, but did draw a walk.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 13-3 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. It was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Mike Hargrove singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning.
* And the Boston Red Sox beat Oakland Athletics, 6-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4, but Rico Petrocelli hit a home run. Joe Rudi hit a home run, and Reggie Jackson went 2-for-4. But Bill Lee outpitched Ken Holtzman.
And basketball star Derek Fisher was born.
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