President Nixon’s second term was one of the most eventful times in American history. Within two days of his inauguration on 1/20/1973, the last of the former presidents died (LBJ) and the famous Roe vs. Wade decision was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, granting women access to abortions. Nixon also declared a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam; within weeks he had withdrawn all American troops. These events were quickly overshadowed by the continuing revelations about the Watergate affair. The U.S. Senate appointed a committee to investigate the “third rate burglary” and called witnesses. President Nixon intimated that the Watergate matter dealt with national security which would preclude his aides from testifying. As the story unfolded, officials in Maryland filed charges against VP Agnew for wrongdoing while serving as Governor. He resigned from office on 10/10/1973 (becoming the second VP to resign from office; John C. Calhoun had resigned in 1832). President Nixon nominated U.S. Rep. Gerald R. Ford of Michigan for vice president, and he was confirmed by Congress in 1973. After Agnew’s resignation, Nixon’s troubles mounted. He fired his special prosecutor for trying to obtain the White House taped conversations. The Attorney General resigned in protest. Nixon’s new Attorney General was William B. Saxbe of Ohio. Meanwhile Congress’ attempt to subpoena the White House tapes succeeded when the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Nixon to hand them over.

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President Nixon’s second term was one of the most eventful times in American history. Within two days of his inauguration on 1/20/1973, the last of the former presidents died (LBJ) and the famous Roe vs. Wade decision was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, granting women access to abortions. Nixon also declared a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam; within weeks he had withdrawn all American troops. These events were quickly overshadowed by the continuing revelations about the Watergate affair. The U.S. Senate appointed a committee to investigate the “third rate burglary” and called witnesses. President Nixon intimated that the Watergate matter dealt with national security which would preclude his aides from testifying. As the story unfolded, officials in Maryland filed charges against VP Agnew for wrongdoing while serving as Governor. He resigned from office on 10/10/1973 (becoming the second VP to resign from office; John C. Calhoun had resigned in 1832). President Nixon nominated U.S. Rep. Gerald R. Ford of Michigan for vice president, and he was confirmed by Congress in 1973. After Agnew’s resignation, Nixon’s troubles mounted. He fired his special prosecutor for trying to obtain the White House taped conversations. The Attorney General resigned in protest. Nixon’s new Attorney General was William B. Saxbe of Ohio. Meanwhile Congress’ attempt to subpoena the White House tapes succeeded when the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Nixon to hand them over. The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted 27–11 to recommend the impeachment of Nixon. Three of Nixon’s supporters in the U.S. Senate went to the White House on 8/7/1974 and told him that he should not expect more than 15 votes in the U.S. Senate if the House impeached him. Nixon faced the seriousness of his situation and resigned the next day. Gerald Ford took office on 8/9/1974. He was the first man to serve as President who had not been elected in the prior national election to either the Presidency or the Vice Presidency. Ford’s honesty brought the public to respect him, but his pardon of Nixon’s alleged acts disappointed the populace. The midterm elections brought huge Democratic gains: five Senators and 43 Representatives (among the new Democratic U.S. Senators was John H. Glenn Jr. of Ohio.) With the vice presidency once again vacant, Pres. Ford offered the name of Nelson Rockefeller of New York to Congress. Rockefeller was confirmed by the House by a vote of 287–128, and both the President and Vice President were men who had not even been candidates in the previous election. Overview of Eugene McCarthy Campaign: http://www.ourcampaigns.com/NewsDetail.html?NewsID=35030

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