Richard Nixon

== Presidency (1969–1974) ==
{{Main|Presidency of Richard Nixon}}{{for timeline|Timeline of the Richard Nixon presidency}}
[[File:Richard Nixon 1969 inauguration.png|thumb|Nixon is sworn in as the 37th President by Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]]. The new First Lady, Pat, holds the family Bible.]]

Nixon [[First inauguration of Richard Nixon|was inaugurated]] as [[President of the United States|president]] on January 20, 1969, sworn in by his onetime political rival, [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[Earl Warren]]. Pat Nixon held the family Bibles open at [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 2:4, which reads, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." In his inaugural address, which received almost uniformly positive reviews, Nixon remarked that "the greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker"{{sfn|Black|pp=567–568}}—a phrase that found a place on his gravestone.{{sfn|Frick|p=189}} He spoke about turning partisan politics into a new age of unity:
{{blockquote|In these difficult years, America has suffered from a fever of words; from inflated rhetoric that promises more than it can deliver; from angry rhetoric that fans discontents into hatreds; from bombastic rhetoric that postures instead of persuading. We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another, until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.{{sfn|UPI 1969 in Review}}
}}

=== Foreign policy ===

{{Main|Foreign policy of the Richard Nixon administration}}

==== China ====
{{Main|1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China}}
{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| align             = right
| image1            = Nixon shakes hands with Chou En-lai.jpg
| caption1          = President Nixon shakes hands with Chinese Premier [[Zhou Enlai]] upon arriving in Beijing, 1972.
| image2            = Nixon and Zhou toast.jpg
| caption2          = Nixon and Zhou Enlai toast during Nixon's 1972 visit to China.
}}

Nixon laid the groundwork for his overture to China before he became president, writing in ''[[Foreign Affairs]]'' a year before his election: "There is no place on this small planet for a billion of its potentially most able people to live in angry isolation."{{sfn|Miller Center}} Among the reasons that Nixon sought to improve relations with China was in the hope of weakening the Soviet Union and decreasing China's support to the North in the Vietnam War.<ref name="Lampton23">{{Cite book |last=Lampton |first=David M. |title=Living U.S.-China relations: From Cold War to Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1-5381-8725-8 |location=Lanham, MD |page=23 |author-link=David M. Lampton}}</ref> Nixon ultimately used the idea of gaining leverage against the Soviet Union through relations with China to obtain the support of key conservative figures including Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Minami |first=Kazushi |title=People's Diplomacy: How Americans and Chinese Transformed US-China Relations during the Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |isbn=9781501774157 |location=Ithaca, NY |pages=38}}</ref>

Assisting him in pursuing relations with China was [[Henry Kissinger]], Nixon's [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]] and future [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]]. They collaborated closely, bypassing Cabinet officials. With relations between the Soviet Union and China at a nadir—[[Sino-Soviet border conflict|border clashes between the two]] took place during Nixon's first year in office—Nixon sent private word to the Chinese that he desired closer relations. A breakthrough came in early 1971, when [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) [[Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party|chairman]] [[Mao Zedong]] invited a team of American table tennis players [[Ping-pong diplomacy|to visit China and play against top Chinese players]]. Nixon followed up by sending Kissinger to China for clandestine meetings with Chinese officials.{{sfn|Miller Center}} On July 15, 1971, with announcements from Washington and Beijing, it was learned that the President would visit China the following February.{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|p=453}} The secrecy had allowed both sets of leaders time to prepare the political climate in their countries for the visit.{{r|Goh-Small}}

In February 1972, Nixon and his wife traveled to China after Kissinger briefed Nixon for over 40&nbsp;hours in preparation.{{sfn|Black|p=778}} Upon touching down, the President and First Lady emerged from [[Air Force One]] and were greeted by Chinese Premier [[Zhou Enlai]]. Nixon made a point of shaking Zhou's hand, something which then-Secretary of State [[John Foster Dulles]] had refused to do in 1954 when the two met in Geneva.{{sfn|PBS, The Nixon Visit}} More than a hundred television journalists accompanied the president. On Nixon's orders, television was strongly favored over printed publications, as Nixon felt that the medium would capture the visit much better than print. It also gave him the opportunity to snub the print journalists he despised.{{sfn|PBS, The Nixon Visit}}

[[File:President Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|[[Mao Zedong]] and Nixon}}]]

Nixon and Kissinger immediately met for an hour with CCP Chairman [[Mao Zedong]] and Premier Zhou at Mao's official private residence, where they discussed a range of issues.{{sfn|Black|pp=780–782}} Mao later told his doctor that he had been impressed by Nixon's forthrightness, unlike the leftists and the Soviets.{{sfn|Black|pp=780–782}} He said he was suspicious of Kissinger,{{sfn|Black|pp=780–782}} though the National Security Advisor referred to their meeting as his "encounter with history".{{sfn|PBS, The Nixon Visit}} A formal banquet welcoming the presidential party was given that evening in the [[Great Hall of the People]]. The following day, Nixon met with Zhou; the [[Shanghai Communiqué|joint communique]] following this meeting recognized Taiwan as a part of China and looked forward to a peaceful solution to the problem of reunification.{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|p=516}} When not in meetings, Nixon toured architectural wonders, including the [[Forbidden City]], the [[Ming tombs]], and the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]].{{sfn|PBS, The Nixon Visit}} Americans took their first glance into everyday Chinese life through the cameras that accompanied Pat Nixon, who toured the city of Beijing and visited communes, schools, factories, and hospitals.{{sfn|PBS, The Nixon Visit}}

The visit ushered in a new era of [[China–United States relations|US–China relations]].{{sfn|Nixon Library, President}} Fearing the possibility of a US–China alliance, the Soviet Union yielded to pressure for [[détente]] with the United States.{{sfn|Dallek|p=300}} This was one component of [[triangular diplomacy]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume I Foundations of Foreign Policy, 1969-1972|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/i/21100.htm|website=2001-2009.state.gov}}</ref>

==== Vietnam War ====
{{Main|Vietnam War|Vietnamization|Role of the United States in the Vietnam War}}
[[File:NixononCambodia.jpg|thumb|left|Nixon delivers an address to the nation about the incursion in Cambodia.]]

When Nixon took office, about 300 American soldiers were dying each week in Vietnam,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/vietnam/vwc24.htm | title = Vietnam War Deaths and Casualties By Month | access-date = June 22, 2012 | publisher = The American War Library | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131204020044/http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/vietnam/vwc24.htm | archive-date = December 4, 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref> and the war was widely unpopular in the United States, the subject of ongoing violent protests. The Johnson administration had offered to suspend bombing unconditionally in exchange for negotiations, but to no avail. According to Walter Isaacson, Nixon concluded soon after taking office that the Vietnam War could not be won, and he was determined to end it quickly.{{sfn|Drew|p=65}} He sought an arrangement that would permit American forces to withdraw while leaving South Vietnam secure against attack.{{sfn|Black|p=569}}

Nixon approved a secret [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress|B-52]] carpet bombing campaign of North Vietnamese and [[Khmer Rouge]] positions in Cambodia beginning in March 1969 and code-named [[Operation Menu]], without the consent of Cambodian leader [[Norodom Sihanouk]].{{sfn|Black|p=591}}<ref name="Kiernan"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Clymer|first=Kenton|title=The United States and Cambodia, 1969–2000: A Troubled Relationship|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2013|isbn=978-1-134-34156-6|pages=14–16}}</ref> In mid-1969, Nixon began efforts to negotiate peace with the North Vietnamese, sending a personal letter to their leaders, and peace talks began in Paris. Initial talks did not result in an agreement,{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|pp=281–283}} and in May 1969 he publicly proposed to withdraw all American troops from South Vietnam provided North Vietnam did so, and suggesting South Vietnam hold internationally supervised elections with [[Viet Cong]] participation.<ref>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2047&st=&st1= Address to the Nation on Vietnam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043247/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2047&st=&st1= |date=March 4, 2016 }} May 14, 1969</ref>

[[File:President Richard Nixon greets a U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division Soldier.jpg|thumb|upright|Nixon visits American troops in South Vietnam, July 30, 1969.]]

In July 1969, Nixon visited [[South Vietnam]], where he met with his U.S. military commanders and President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu. Amid protests at home demanding an immediate pullout, he implemented a strategy of replacing American troops with [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam|Vietnamese troops]], known as "[[Role of United States in the Vietnam War#Vietnamization, 1969–1975|Vietnamization]]".{{sfn|Nixon Library, President}} He soon instituted phased U.S. troop withdrawals,{{sfn|''Time''|1971-04-05}} but also authorized incursions into Laos, in part to interrupt the [[Ho Chi Minh trail]] passing through Laos and Cambodia and used to supply North Vietnamese forces. In March 1970, at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge and negotiated by [[Pol Pot]]'s then-second-in-command, [[Nuon Chea]], North Vietnamese troops launched an offensive and overran much of Cambodia.<ref>{{cite book|first=Dmitry |last=Mosyakov |chapter=The Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese Communists: A History of Their Relations as Told in the Soviet Archives |editor-first=Susan E. |editor-last=Cook |title=Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda |series=Yale Genocide Studies Program Monograph Series |issue=1 |date=2004 |page=54ff |chapter-url=http://www.yale.edu/gsp/publications/Mosyakov.doc |quote=In April–May 1970, many North Vietnamese forces entered Cambodia in response to the call for help addressed to Vietnam not by Pol Pot, but by his deputy Nuon Chea. Nguyen Co Thach recalls: 'Nuon Chea has asked for help and we have liberated five provinces of Cambodia in ten days.' |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309074636/http://www.yale.edu/gsp/publications/Mosyakov.doc |archive-date=March 9, 2013}}</ref> Nixon announced the [[Cambodian campaign|ground invasion of Cambodia]] on April 30, 1970, against North Vietnamese bases in the east of the country,{{sfn|AP/''St. Peterburg Independent''}} and further protests erupted against perceived expansion of the conflict, which resulted in Ohio National Guardsmen killing four unarmed students at [[Kent State shootings|Kent State University]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gitlin|first=Todd|title=The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage|url=https://archive.org/details/sixtiesyearsofho00gitl|url-access=registration|publisher=Bantam Books|year=1987|isbn=978-0-553-37212-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/sixtiesyearsofho00gitl/page/410 410]}}</ref> Nixon's responses to protesters included [[Richard Nixon's visit to the Lincoln Memorial|an impromptu, early morning meeting with them]] at the [[Lincoln Memorial]] on May 9, 1970.{{r|Safire pp205–209}}{{sfn|UPI/''Beaver County Times''|1970-05-09}}{{sfn|Black|pp=675–676}} Nixon's campaign promise to curb the war, contrasted with the escalated bombing, led to claims that Nixon had a "[[credibility gap]]" on the issue.{{sfn|''Time''|1971-04-05}} It is estimated that between 50,000 and 150,000 people were killed during the [[Operation Freedom Deal|bombing of Cambodia]] between 1970 and 1973.<ref name="Kiernan">{{cite magazine|last1=Owen|first1=Taylor|last2=Kiernan|first2=Ben|title=Bombs Over Cambodia|magazine=The Walrus|date=October 2006|url=http://www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf|pages=32–36|access-date=January 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420220434/http://www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf|archive-date=April 20, 2016|url-status=live}} Kiernan and Owen later revised their estimate of 2.7 million tons of U.S. bombs dropped on Cambodia down to the previously accepted figure of roughly 500,000 tons: See {{cite web|authorlink1=Ben Kiernan|last1=Kiernan|first1=Ben|last2=Owen|first2=Taylor|url=http://apjjf.org/2015/13/16/Ben-Kiernan/4313.html|title=Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications|work=The Asia-Pacific Journal|date=April 26, 2015|access-date=November 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912002843/http://www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf|archive-date=September 12, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1971, excerpts from the "[[Pentagon Papers]]", which had been leaked by [[Daniel Ellsberg]], were published by ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[The Washington Post]]''. When news of the leak first appeared, Nixon was inclined to do nothing; the Papers, a history of United States' involvement in Vietnam, mostly concerned the lies of prior administrations and contained few real revelations. He was persuaded by Kissinger that the Papers were more harmful than they appeared, and the President tried to prevent publication, but the Supreme Court [[New York Times Co. v. United States|ruled in favor of]] the newspapers.{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|pp=446–448}}

As U.S. troop withdrawals continued, [[Conscription in the United States|conscription]] was phased out by 1973, and the armed forces became all-volunteer.{{sfn|Evans}} After years of fighting, the [[Paris Peace Accords]] were signed at the beginning of 1973. The agreement implemented a cease fire and allowed for the withdrawal of remaining American troops without requiring withdrawal of the 160,000 [[North Vietnam Army]] regulars located in the South.{{sfn|Ambrose|1991|pp=53–55}} Once American combat support ended, there was a brief truce, before fighting resumed, and North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam in 1975.{{sfn|Ambrose|1991|p=473}}

==== Latin American policy ====
{{See also|U.S. intervention in Chile#1973 coup|Operation Condor}}
[[File:Gustavo Diaz Ordaz Richard Nixon San Diego.jpg|thumb|Nixon with Mexican president [[Gustavo Díaz Ordaz]] (to his right); motorcade in San Diego, California, September 1970]]

Nixon had been a firm supporter of Kennedy during the 1961 [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]] and 1962 [[Cuban Missile Crisis]]. On taking office in 1969, he stepped up covert operations against Cuba and its president, [[Fidel Castro]]. He maintained close relations with the Cuban-American exile community through his friend, [[Charles Rebozo|Bebe Rebozo]], who often suggested ways of irritating Castro. The Soviets and Cubans became concerned, fearing Nixon might attack Cuba and break the understanding between Kennedy and Khrushchev that ended the missile crisis. In August 1970, the Soviets asked Nixon to reaffirm the understanding, which he did, despite his hard line against Castro. The process was not completed before the Soviets began expanding their base at the Cuban port of [[Cienfuegos]] in October 1970. A minor confrontation ensued, the Soviets stipulated they would not use Cienfuegos for submarines bearing ballistic missiles, and the final round of diplomatic notes were exchanged in November.{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|pp=379–383}}

The election of Marxist candidate [[Salvador Allende]] as [[President of Chile]] in September 1970 spurred a vigorous campaign of covert opposition to him by Nixon and Kissinger.<ref name="The Pinochet File">{{cite book|last=Kornbluh|first=Peter|title=The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability|year=2003|publisher=The New Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-56584-936-5}}</ref>{{rp|25}} This began by trying to convince the Chilean congress to confirm [[Jorge Alessandri]] as the winner of the election, and then messages to military officers in support of a coup.<ref name="The Pinochet File"/> Other support included strikes organized against Allende and funding for Allende opponents. It was even alleged that "Nixon personally authorized" $700,000 in covert funds to print anti-Allende messages in a prominent Chilean newspaper.<ref name="The Pinochet File"/>{{rp|93}} Following an extended period of social, political, and economic unrest, General [[Augusto Pinochet]] assumed power in a violent [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|coup d'état]] on September 11, 1973; among the [[Death of Salvador Allende|dead was Allende]].{{sfn|Black|p=921}}

==== Soviet Union ====
[[File:Leonid Brezhnev and Richard Nixon talks in 1973.png|thumb|Nixon with Brezhnev during the Soviet leader's trip to the U.S., 1973]]

Nixon used the improving international environment to address the topic of nuclear peace. Following the announcement of his visit to China, the Nixon administration concluded negotiations for him to visit the Soviet Union. The President and First Lady arrived in Moscow on May 22, 1972, and met with [[Leonid Brezhnev]], the [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary of the Communist Party]]; [[Alexei Kosygin]], the [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Chairman of the Council of Ministers]]; and [[Nikolai Podgorny]], the [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]], among other leading Soviet officials.{{sfn|BBC|1972-05-22}}

Nixon engaged in intense negotiations with Brezhnev.{{sfn|BBC|1972-05-22}} Out of the summit came agreements for increased trade and two landmark arms control treaties: [[SALT I]], the first comprehensive limitation pact signed by the two superpowers,{{sfn|Nixon Library, President}} and the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]], which banned the development of systems designed to intercept incoming missiles. Nixon and Brezhnev proclaimed a new era of "peaceful coexistence". A banquet was held that evening at the [[Kremlin]].{{sfn|BBC|1972-05-22}}

Nixon and Kissinger planned to link arms control to détente and to the resolution of other urgent problems through what Nixon called "[[Linkage (policy)|linkage.]]" David Tal argues:
{{blockquote|The linkage between strategic arms limitations and outstanding issues such as the Middle East, Berlin and, foremost, Vietnam thus became central to Nixon's and Kissinger's policy of détente. Through the employment of linkage, they hoped to change the nature and course of U.S. foreign policy, including U.S. nuclear disarmament and arms control policy, and to separate them from those practiced by Nixon's predecessors. They also intended, through linkage, to make U.S. arms control policy part of détente{{nbsp}}... His policy of linkage had in fact failed. It failed mainly because it was based on flawed assumptions and false premises, the foremost of which was that the Soviet Union wanted strategic arms limitation agreement much more than the United States did.<ref>David Tal, " 'Absolutes' and 'Stages' in the Making and Application of Nixon's SALT Policy." ''Diplomatic History'' 37.5 (2013): 1090–1116, quoting pp 1091, 1092. Nixon himself later wrote, "[W]e decided to link progress in such areas of Soviet concern as strategic arms limitation and increased trade with progress in areas that were important to us—Vietnam, the Mideast, and Berlin. This concept became known as linkage." {{cite book|author=Richard Nixon|title=RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UyfcLYY9F0gC&pg=RA1-PT388|year=1978|page=346|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4767-3183-4}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>}}

Seeking to foster better relations with the United States, China and the Soviet Union both cut back on their diplomatic support for North Vietnam and advised Hanoi to come to terms militarily.{{sfn|Gaddis|pp=294, 299}} Nixon later described his strategy:
{{blockquote|I had long believed that an indispensable element of any successful peace initiative in Vietnam was to enlist, if possible, the help of the Soviets and the Chinese. Though rapprochement with China and détente with the Soviet Union were ends in themselves, I also considered them possible means to hasten the end of the war. At worst, Hanoi was bound to feel less confident if Washington was dealing with Moscow and Beijing. At best, if the two major Communist powers decided that they had bigger fish to fry, Hanoi would be pressured into negotiating a settlement we could accept.{{sfn|Nixon|1985|pp=105–106}}
}}
In 1973, Nixon encouraged the [[Export–Import Bank of the United States|Export-Import Bank]] to finance in part a trade deal with the Soviet Union in which [[Armand Hammer]]'s [[Occidental Petroleum]] would export [[phosphate]] from Florida to the Soviet Union, and import Soviet [[ammonia]]. The deal, valued at $20 billion over 20 years, involved the construction of two major Soviet port facilities at [[Odessa]] and [[Ventspils]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Hedrick|date=June 29, 1974|title=OCCIDENTAL SIGNS DEAL WITH SOVIET|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/29/archives/occidental-signs-deal-with-soviet-4-contracts-are-activated-in-a.html|access-date=December 6, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news|date=November 29, 1981|title=THE RIDDLE OF ARMAND HAMMER|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/29/magazine/the-riddle-of-armand-hammer.html|access-date=December 6, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Rich">{{cite news|last=Rich|first=Spencer|date=October 4, 1979|title=Soviets Dumping Ammonia, ITC Says|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1979/10/04/soviets-dumping-ammonia-itc-says/4d53c7fa-6c89-470b-b8f0-5aced1b92513/|access-date=December 7, 2021|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and a pipeline connecting four ammonia plants in the greater [[Volga]] region to the port at Odessa.<ref name="Rich"/> In 1973, Nixon announced his administration was committed to seeking [[most favored nation]] trade status with the USSR,<ref>{{cite news|date=October 5, 1973|title=NIXON IN APPEAL ON SOVIET TRADE|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/05/archives/nixon-in-appeal-on-soviet-trade-urges-congress-to-include.html|access-date=December 7, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> which was challenged by Congress in the [[Jackson–Vanik amendment|Jackson-Vanik Amendment]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Herring|first=George C.|url=https://archive.org/details/fromcolonytosupe00herr|title=From Colony to Superpower; U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-507822-0|pages=804}}</ref>

During the previous two years, Nixon had made considerable progress in U.S.–Soviet relations, and he embarked on a second trip to the Soviet Union in 1974.{{sfn|Black|p=963}} He arrived in Moscow on June 27 to a welcome ceremony, cheering crowds, and a state dinner at the [[Grand Kremlin Palace]] that evening.{{sfn|Black|p=963}} Nixon and Brezhnev met in [[Yalta]], where they discussed a proposed mutual defense pact, détente, and [[MIRV]]s. Nixon considered proposing a comprehensive test-ban treaty, but he felt he would not have time to complete it during his presidency.{{sfn|Black|p=963}} There were no significant breakthroughs in these negotiations.{{sfn|Black|p=963}}

==== Middle Eastern policy ==== 
{{anchor|Middle East policy}}
[[File:Dan Hadani collection (990045274210205171).jpg|thumb|alt=Nixon with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, June 1974. |Nixon with Israeli Prime Minister [[Golda Meir]], June 1974]]
[[File:Nixon Sadat.jpg|thumb|Nixon with President [[Anwar Sadat]] of Egypt, June 1974]]

As part of the [[Nixon Doctrine]], the U.S. avoided giving direct combat assistance to its allies and instead gave them assistance to defend themselves. During the Nixon administration, the U.S. greatly increased arms sales to the Middle East, particularly Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia.{{r|Hanhimäki-Small}} The Nixon administration strongly supported Israel, an American ally in the Middle East, but the support was not unconditional. Nixon believed Israel should make peace with its Arab neighbors and that the U.S. should encourage it. The president believed that—except during the [[Suez Crisis]]—the U.S. had failed to intervene with Israel, and should use the leverage of the large U.S. military aid to Israel to urge the parties to the negotiating table. The Arab-Israeli conflict was not a major focus of Nixon's attention during his first term—for one thing, he felt that no matter what he did, American Jews would oppose his reelection.{{efn|name=Jewish vote}}

On October 6, 1973, an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria, supported with arms and materiel by the Soviet Union, attacked Israel in the [[Yom Kippur War]]. Israel suffered heavy losses and Nixon ordered an airlift to resupply Israeli losses, cutting through inter-departmental squabbles and bureaucracy and taking personal responsibility for any response by Arab nations. More than a week later, by the time the U.S. and Soviet Union began [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 338|negotiating a truce]], Israel had penetrated deep into enemy territory. The truce negotiations rapidly escalated into a superpower crisis; when Israel gained the upper hand, Egyptian President Sadat requested a joint U.S.–USSR peacekeeping mission, which the U.S. refused. When Soviet Premier Brezhnev threatened to unilaterally enforce any peacekeeping mission militarily, Nixon ordered the U.S. military to [[DEFCON]]3,<ref name="fas-defcon">{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/defcon.htm|title=DEFCON DEFense CONdition|work=fas.org|access-date=June 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617123557/https://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/defcon.htm|archive-date=June 17, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> placing all U.S. military personnel and bases on alert for nuclear war. This was the closest the world had come to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Brezhnev backed down as a result of Nixon's actions.{{sfn|Nixon|1978|pp=938–940}}

Because Israel's victory was largely due to U.S. support, the Arab OPEC nations retaliated by refusing to sell crude oil to the U.S., resulting in the [[1973 oil crisis]].{{sfn|Black|pp=923–928}} The embargo caused gasoline shortages and rationing in the United States in late 1973, and was eventually ended by the oil-producing nations as peace in the Middle East took hold.{{sfn|Ambrose|1991|p=311}}

After the war, and under Nixon's presidency, the U.S. reestablished relations with Egypt for the first time since 1967. Nixon used the Middle East crisis to restart [[List of Middle East peace proposals|the stalled Middle East Peace Negotiations]]; he wrote in a confidential memo to Kissinger on October 20:
<blockquote>I believe that, beyond a doubt, we are now facing the best opportunity we have had in 15 years to build a lasting peace in the Middle East. I am convinced history will hold us responsible if we let this opportunity slip by&nbsp;... I now consider a permanent Middle East settlement to be the most important final goal to which we must devote ourselves.<ref>Tyler, Patrick (2010), p. 161</ref></blockquote>

Nixon made one of his final international visits as president to the Middle East in June 1974, and became the first President to visit Israel.{{sfn|Black|pp=951–952, 959}}

=== Domestic policy ===
==== Economy ====
{{further|Nixon shock|1970s energy crisis}}
[[File:Nixon Opening Day 1969 Two.jpg|thumb|Nixon at the [[History of the Texas Rangers (baseball)#Washington Senators: 1961–1971|Washington Senators]]' 1969 Opening Day with team owner [[Bob Short]] (arms folded) and Baseball Commissioner [[Bowie Kuhn]] (hand on mouth). Nixon's [[Aide-de-camp#United States|aide]], Major [[Jack Brennan]], sits behind them in uniform.]]
At the time Nixon took office in 1969, inflation was at 4.7&nbsp;percent—its highest rate since the Korean War. The [[Great Society]] had been enacted under Johnson, which, together with the Vietnam War costs, was causing large budget deficits. Unemployment was low, but interest rates were at their highest in a century.{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|pp=225–226}} Nixon's major economic goal was to reduce inflation; the most obvious means of doing so was to end the war.{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|pp=225–226}} This could not be accomplished overnight, and the U.S. economy continued to struggle through 1970, contributing to a lackluster Republican performance in the midterm congressional elections (Democrats controlled both Houses of Congress throughout Nixon's presidency).{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|pp=431–432}} According to political economist Nigel Bowles in his 2011 study of Nixon's economic record, the new president did little to alter Johnson's policies through the first year of his presidency.{{r|Bowles-Small}}

Nixon was far more interested in foreign affairs than domestic policies, but he believed that voters tend to focus on their own financial condition and that economic conditions were a threat to his reelection. As part of his "[[New Federalism]]" views, he proposed grants to the states, but these proposals were for the most part lost in the congressional budget process. However, Nixon gained political credit for advocating them.{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|pp=431–432}} In 1970, Congress had granted the president the power to impose wage and price freezes, though the Democratic majorities, knowing Nixon had opposed such controls throughout his career, did not expect Nixon to actually use the authority.{{r|Bowles-Small}} With inflation unresolved by August 1971, and an election year looming, Nixon convened a summit of his economic advisers at [[Camp David]]. Nixon's options were to limit fiscal and monetary expansionist policies that reduced unemployment or end the dollar's fixed exchange rate; Nixon's dilemma has been cited as an example of the [[Impossible trinity]] in international economics.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last=Oatley|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4GJoDwAAQBAJ|title=International Political Economy: Sixth Edition|date=2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-03464-7|pages=351–352}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gowa|first=Joanne|title=Closing the Gold Window|date=1983|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctvr7f40n|publisher=Cornell University Press |jstor=10.7591/j.ctvr7f40n|isbn=978-0-8014-1622-4}}</ref> He then announced temporary wage and price controls, allowed the dollar to float against other currencies, and ended the convertibility of the dollar into gold.{{sfn|Aitken|pp=399–400}} Bowles points out,
<blockquote>by identifying himself with a policy whose purpose was inflation's defeat, Nixon made it difficult for Democratic opponents&nbsp;... to criticize him. His opponents could offer no alternative policy that was either plausible or believable since the one they favored was one they had designed but which the president had appropriated for himself.{{r|Bowles-Small}}</blockquote>

Nixon's policies dampened inflation through 1972, although their aftereffects contributed to inflation during his second term and into the Ford administration.{{sfn|Aitken|pp=399–400}} Nixon's decision to end the gold standard in the United States led to the collapse of the [[Bretton Woods system]]. According to Thomas Oatley, "the Bretton Woods system collapsed so that Nixon might win the 1972 presidential election."<ref name=":1"/>

After Nixon won re-election, inflation was returning.{{sfn|Hetzel|p=92}} He reimposed price controls in June 1973. The price controls became unpopular with the public and businesspeople, who saw powerful labor unions as preferable to the price board bureaucracy.{{sfn|Hetzel|p=92}} The controls produced [[Economic shortage|food shortages]], as meat disappeared from grocery stores and farmers drowned chickens rather than sell them at a loss.{{sfn|Hetzel|p=92}} Despite the failure to control inflation, controls were slowly ended, and on April 30, 1974, their statutory authorization lapsed.{{sfn|Hetzel|p=92}}

==== Governmental initiatives and organization ====
[[File:State of the Union Speech in the US Capitol - NARA - 194346.tif|thumb|upright|Nixon gives the 1971 [[State of the Union Address]].]]
[[File:Richard Nixon - Presidential portrait.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Official Nixon portrait by [[James Anthony Wills]], {{circa|1984}}]]
[[File:US incarceration rate timeline.gif|thumb|upright|Graph of increases in [[Incarceration in the United States|U.S. incarceration rate]]]]
Nixon advocated a "[[New Federalism]]", which would devolve power to state and local elected officials, though Congress was hostile to these ideas and enacted few of them.{{sfn|Aitken|p=395}} He eliminated the Cabinet-level [[United States Post Office Department]], which in 1971 became the government-run [[United States Postal Service]].{{sfn|USPS, Periodicals postage}}

Nixon was a late supporter of the [[conservation movement]]. Environmental policy had not been a significant issue in the 1968 election, and the candidates were rarely asked for their views on the subject. Nixon broke new ground by discussing environmental policy in his [[State of the Union speech]] in 1970. He saw that the first [[Earth Day]] in April 1970 presaged a wave of voter interest on the subject, and sought to use that to his benefit; in June he announced the formation of the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA).{{sfn|Aitken|pp=397–398}} He relied on his domestic advisor [[John Ehrlichman]], who favored protection of natural resources, to keep him "out of trouble on environmental issues."<ref name="Distillations"/> Other initiatives supported by Nixon included the [[Clean Air Act of 1970]] and the [[Occupational Safety and Health Administration]] (OSHA), and the [[National Environmental Policy Act]] required [[environmental impact statement]]s for many Federal projects.<ref name="Distillations">{{cite magazine|last1=Rinde|first1=Meir|title=Richard Nixon and the Rise of American Environmentalism|magazine=Distillations|date=2017|volume=3|issue=1|pages=16–29|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/richard-nixon-and-the-rise-of-american-environmentalism|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405024821/https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/richard-nixon-and-the-rise-of-american-environmentalism|archive-date=April 5, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Aitken|pp=397–398}} Nixon vetoed the [[Clean Water Act]] of 1972—objecting not to the policy goals of the legislation but to the amount of money to be spent on them, which he deemed excessive. After Congress overrode his veto, Nixon [[impoundment of appropriated funds|impounded]] the funds he deemed unjustifiable.{{sfn|Aitken|p=396}}

In 1971, Nixon proposed health insurance reform—a private health insurance employer mandate,{{efn|name=voluntary|voluntary for employees}} federalization of [[Medicaid]] for poor families with dependent minor children,{{sfn|NHI: CQ Almanac 1971}} and support for [[health maintenance organization]]s (HMOs).{{sfn|HMO: CQ Almanac 1973}} A limited HMO bill was enacted in 1973.{{sfn|HMO: CQ Almanac 1973}} In 1974, Nixon proposed more comprehensive health insurance reform—a private health insurance employer mandate{{efn|name=voluntary|voluntary for employees}} and replacement of Medicaid by state-run health insurance plans available to all, with income-based premiums and [[cost sharing]].{{sfn|NHI: CQ Almanac 1974}}

Nixon was concerned about the prevalence of domestic drug use in addition to drug use among American soldiers in Vietnam. He called for a [[war on drugs]] and pledged to cut off sources of supply abroad. He also increased funds for education and for rehabilitation facilities.{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|p=418}}

As one policy initiative, Nixon called for more money for [[sickle-cell disease|sickle-cell]] research, treatment, and education in February 1971{{sfn|Office of the Federal Register|pp=179–182}} and signed the National Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act on May 16, 1972.{{sfn|The American Presidency Project}}{{sfn|National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute|p=2}}{{efn|see especially page 2 (after introductory material) in which a bar graph displays NHLBI funding for sickle cell research from FY 1972 through FY 2001, totaling $923 million for these thirty years, starting at $10 million for 1972, then about $15 million a year through 1976, about $20 million for 1977, etc}} While Nixon called for increased spending on such high-profile items as sickle-cell disease and for a [[war on cancer]], at the same time he sought to reduce overall spending at the [[National Institutes of Health]].{{sfn|Wailoo|pp=165, 170}}

==== Civil rights ====
The Nixon presidency witnessed the first large-scale [[racial integration|integration]] of public schools in the South.{{sfn|Boger|p=6}} Nixon sought a middle way between the segregationist Wallace and liberal Democrats, whose support of integration was alienating some Southern whites.{{sfn|Sabia}} Hopeful of doing well in the South in 1972, he sought to dispose of desegregation as a political issue before then. Soon after his inauguration, he appointed Vice President Agnew to lead a task force, which worked with local leaders—both white and black—to determine how to [[School integration in the United States|integrate]] local schools. Agnew had little interest in the work, and most of it was done by Labor Secretary [[George Shultz]]. Federal aid was available, and a meeting with President Nixon was a possible reward for compliant committees. By September 1970, less than ten percent of black children were attending segregated schools. By 1971, however, tensions over desegregation surfaced in Northern cities, with angry protests over the [[Desegregation busing in the United States|busing]] of children to schools outside their neighborhood to achieve racial balance. Nixon opposed busing personally but enforced court orders requiring its use.{{sfn|Parmet|pp=595–597, 603}}

Some scholars, such as James Morton Turner and John Isenberg, believe that Nixon, who had advocated for civil rights in his 1960 campaign, slowed down [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]] as president, appealing to the racial conservatism of Southern whites, who were angered by the [[civil rights movement]]. This, he hoped, would boost his election chances in 1972.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674979970|title=The Republican Reversal—James Morton Turner, Andrew C. Isenberg {{!}} Harvard University Press|via=www.hup.harvard.edu|date=November 12, 2018 |page=36|publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674979970 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108151027/http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674979970|archive-date=January 8, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=July 31, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo8212972.html|title=The Partisan Sort|series=Chicago Studies in American Politics |pages=24|publisher=University of Chicago Press |access-date=July 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731184243/https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo8212972.html|archive-date=July 31, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to desegregating public schools, Nixon implemented the [[Philadelphia Plan]] in 1970—the first significant federal [[affirmative action]] program.{{sfn|Delaney|1970-07-20}} He also endorsed the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] after it passed both houses of Congress in 1972 and went to the states for ratification.{{sfn|Frum|p=246}} He also pushed for African American civil rights and economic equity through a concept known as black capitalism.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Harambee City: Congress of Racial Equality in Cleveland and the Rise of Black Power Populism.|last=Frazier|first=Nishani|publisher=University of Arkansas Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1-68226-018-0|pages=184–207}}</ref> Nixon had campaigned as an ERA supporter in 1968, though feminists criticized him for doing little to help the ERA or their cause after his election. Nevertheless, he appointed more women to administration positions than Lyndon Johnson had.{{sfn|PBS, Nixon, Domestic Politics}}

=== Space policy ===
{{further|Space policy of the United States}}
[[File:President Nixon welcomes the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the U.S.S. Hornet.jpg|thumb|Nixon visiting the [[Apollo 11]] astronauts in quarantine aboard the aircraft carrier [[USS Hornet (CV-12)|USS ''Hornet'']]]]
After a [[Apollo program|nearly decade-long national effort]], the United States won the race to land astronauts on the Moon on July 20, 1969, with the flight of [[Apollo 11]]. Nixon spoke with [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] during their moonwalk. He called the conversation "the most historic phone call ever made from the White House".{{sfn|Parmet|p=563}}

Nixon was unwilling to keep funding for the [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA) at the high level seen during the 1960s as NASA prepared to send men to the Moon. NASA Administrator [[Thomas O. Paine]] drew up ambitious plans for the establishment of a permanent base on the Moon by the end of the 1970s and the launch of a crewed expedition to Mars as early as 1981. Nixon rejected both proposals due to the expense.{{sfn|Handlin}} Nixon also canceled the Air Force [[Manned Orbital Laboratory]] program in 1969, because uncrewed [[spy satellite]]s were a more cost-effective way to achieve the same reconnaissance objective.{{sfn|Hepplewhite|pp=204–205|loc=ch. 5}} NASA cancelled the last three planned Apollo lunar missions to place [[Skylab]] in orbit more efficiently and free money up for the design and construction of the [[Space Shuttle]].<ref name="MIT_notes">{{cite web | url=http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/aeronautics-and-astronautics/16-885j-aircraft-systems-engineering-fall-2005/video-lectures/logsdn_lec_notes.pdf | title=MIT lecture notes in "Aircraft Systems Engineering," fall 2005, on early Space Shuttle policy | publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology | date=Fall 2005 | pages=7 | access-date=August 22, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120157/http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/aeronautics-and-astronautics/16-885j-aircraft-systems-engineering-fall-2005/video-lectures/logsdn_lec_notes.pdf | archive-date=August 26, 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 24, 1972, Nixon approved a five-year cooperative program between NASA and the [[Soviet space program]], culminating in the 1975 [[Apollo–Soyuz Test Project|joint mission of an American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft]] linking in space.{{sfn|Ezell|p=192|loc=ch. 6–11}}

=== Reelection, Watergate scandal, and resignation ===

==== 1972 presidential campaign ====
{{main|1972 United States presidential election}}
[[File:ElectoralCollege1972.svg|thumb|1972 electoral vote results]]
Nixon believed his rise to power had peaked at a moment of [[political realignment]]. The Democratic "[[Solid South]]" had long been a source of frustration to Republican ambitions. Goldwater had won several Southern states by opposing the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] but had alienated more moderate Southerners. Nixon's efforts to gain Southern support in 1968 were diluted by Wallace's candidacy. Through his first term, he pursued a [[Southern Strategy]] with policies, such as his desegregation plans, that would be broadly acceptable among Southern whites, encouraging them to realign with the Republicans in the aftermath of the [[civil rights movement]]. He nominated two Southern conservatives, [[Clement Haynsworth]] and [[G. Harrold Carswell]], to the Supreme Court, but neither was confirmed by the Senate.{{r|Mason-Small}}

Nixon entered his name on the New Hampshire primary ballot on January 5, 1972, effectively announcing his candidacy for reelection.{{sfn|Black|p=766}} Virtually assured the Republican nomination,{{sfn|Black|p=795}} the President had initially expected his Democratic opponent to be [[Massachusetts]] Senator [[Ted Kennedy|Edward M. Kennedy]] (brother of the [[John F. Kennedy|late President]]), who was largely removed from contention after the July 1969 [[Chappaquiddick incident]].{{sfn|Black|p=617}} Instead, [[Maine]] Senator [[Edmund Muskie]] became the front runner, with [[South Dakota]] Senator [[George McGovern]] in a close second place.{{sfn|Black|p=766}}

On June 10, McGovern won the California primary and secured the Democratic nomination.{{sfn|Black|p=816}} The following month, Nixon was renominated at the [[1972 Republican National Convention]]. He dismissed the Democratic platform as cowardly and divisive.{{sfn|Black|p=834}} McGovern intended to sharply reduce defense spending{{sfn|White|p=123}} and supported amnesty for draft evaders as well as [[abortion rights]]. With some of his supporters believed to be in favor of drug legalization, McGovern was perceived as standing for "amnesty, abortion and acid". McGovern was also damaged by his vacillating support for his original running mate, [[Missouri]] Senator [[Thomas Eagleton]], dumped from the ticket following revelations that he had received [[Electroconvulsive therapy|electroshock treatment]] for [[Major depressive disorder|depression]].{{sfn|''Time''|1972-08-14}}{{sfn|''Time''|1970-11-20}} Nixon was ahead in most polls for the entire election cycle, and was reelected on November 7, 1972, in [[List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin|one of the largest landslide election victories in American history]]. He defeated McGovern with over 60&nbsp;percent of the popular vote, losing only in Massachusetts and D.C.{{sfn|Parmet|p=629}}

==== Watergate ====
{{Main|Watergate scandal|Impeachment process against Richard Nixon}}
[[File:Richard M. Nixon press conference - NARA - 194551.tif|thumb|Nixon takes questions at 1973 press conference]]

The term ''Watergate'' has come to encompass an array of clandestine and often illegal activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration. Those activities included "dirty tricks", such as bugging the offices of political opponents, and the harassment of activist groups and political figures. The activities were brought to light after five men were caught breaking into the Democratic party headquarters at the [[Watergate complex]] in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972. ''[[The Washington Post]]'' picked up on the story; reporters [[Carl Bernstein]] and [[Bob Woodward]] relied on an informant known as "[[Deep Throat (Watergate)|Deep Throat]]"—later revealed to be [[W. Mark Felt|Mark Felt]], associate director at the [[FBI]]—to link the men to the Nixon administration. Nixon downplayed the scandal as mere politics, calling news articles biased and misleading. A series of revelations made it clear that the [[Committee for the Re-Election of the President|Committee to Re-elect President Nixon]], and later the White House, were involved in attempts to sabotage the Democrats. Senior aides such as [[White House Counsel]] [[John Dean]] faced prosecution; in total 48 officials were convicted of wrongdoing.{{sfn|Nixon Library, President}}{{sfn|''The Washington Post'', The Post Investigates}}{{sfn|''The Washington Post'', The Government Acts}}

[[File:Impeach Nixon retouched.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Demonstrator demands [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeachment]], October 1973]]
[[File:Richard Nixon - "I'm not a crook.".oga|thumb|right|On November 17, 1973, President Nixon held a press conference at [[Disney's Contemporary Resort#Richard Nixon's 1973 press conference|Disney's Contemporary Resort]] and famously said "I'm not a crook"]]
In July 1973, White House aide [[Alexander Butterfield]] testified [[Perjury|under oath]] to Congress that Nixon had a secret taping system and recorded his conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office. [[Nixon White House tapes|These tapes]] were [[subpoena]]ed by Watergate Special Counsel [[Archibald Cox]]; Nixon provided transcripts of the conversations but not the actual tapes, citing [[executive privilege]]. With the White House and Cox at loggerheads, Nixon had Cox fired in October in the "[[Saturday Night Massacre]]"; he was replaced by [[Leon Jaworski]]. In November, Nixon's lawyers revealed that a tape of conversations held in the White House on June 20, 1972, had an {{frac|18|1|2}}{{nbsp}}minute gap.{{sfn|''The Washington Post'', The Government Acts}} [[Rose Mary Woods]], the President's personal secretary, claimed responsibility for the gap, saying that she had accidentally wiped the section while transcribing the tape, but her story was widely mocked. The gap, while not conclusive proof of wrongdoing by the President, cast doubt on Nixon's statement that he had been unaware of the cover-up.{{sfn|Aitken|pp=511–512}}

Though Nixon lost much popular support, even from his own party, he rejected accusations of wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office.{{sfn|''The Washington Post'', The Government Acts}} He admitted he had made mistakes but insisted he had no prior knowledge of the burglary, did not break any laws, and did not learn of the cover-up until early 1973.{{sfn|''The Washington Post'', Nixon Resigns}} On October 10, 1973, Vice President Agnew resigned for reasons unrelated to Watergate: he was convicted on charges of bribery, tax evasion and money laundering during his tenure as governor of Maryland. Believing his first choice, [[John Connally]], would not be confirmed by Congress,{{sfn|Aitken|p=555}} Nixon chose [[Gerald Ford]], [[Minority leader of the United States House of Representatives|Minority Leader of the House of Representatives]], to replace Agnew.{{sfn|Ambrose|1989|pp=231–232, 239}} One researcher suggests Nixon effectively disengaged from his own administration after Ford was sworn in as vice president on December 6, 1973.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Beckmann|first=Matthew N.|date=April 1, 2017|title=Did Nixon quit before he resigned?|journal=Research & Politics|volume=4|issue=2|pages=2053168017704800|doi=10.1177/2053168017704800|doi-access=free|issn=2053-1680}}</ref>

On November 17, 1973, during a televised question-and-answer session{{sfn|Frum|p=26}} with 400 [[Associated Press]] [[managing editor]]s, Nixon said, "People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got."{{sfn|Kilpatrick|1973-11-18}}

[[File:Nixon edited transcripts.jpg|thumb|Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of the Watergate tapes, April 29, 1974]]

The legal battle over the tapes continued through early 1974, and in April Nixon announced the release of 1,200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between himself and his aides. The [[U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] opened [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeachment]] hearings against the President on May 9, 1974, which were televised on the major TV networks. These hearings culminated in votes for impeachment.{{sfn|''The Washington Post'', Nixon Resigns}} On July 24, the Supreme Court [[United States v. Nixon|ruled unanimously]] that the full tapes, not just selected transcripts, must be released.{{sfn|Ambrose|1991|pp=394–395}}

The scandal grew to involve a slew of additional allegations against the President, ranging from the improper use of government agencies to accepting gifts in office and his personal finances and taxes; Nixon repeatedly stated his willingness to pay any outstanding taxes due, and later paid $465,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|.465|1974|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation-year|US}}) in back taxes in 1974.{{sfn|Samson}}

[[File:Nixon Oval Office meeting with H.R. Haldeman "Smoking Gun" Conversation June 23, 1972.wav|thumb|Nixon Oval Office meeting with H. R. Haldeman: the "Smoking Gun" Conversation, June 23, 1972 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160729063732/https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forresearchers/find/tapes/watergate/trial/exhibit_01.pdf Full Transcript])]]

Even with support diminished by the continuing series of revelations, Nixon hoped to fight the charges. But one of the new tapes, recorded soon after the break-in, demonstrated that Nixon had been told of the White House connection to the Watergate burglaries soon after they took place, and had approved plans to thwart the investigation. In a statement accompanying the release of what became known as [[Watergate tapes#"Smoking Gun" tape|the "Smoking Gun Tape"]] on August 5, 1974, Nixon accepted blame for misleading the country about when he had been told of White House involvement, stating that he had had a lapse of memory.{{sfn|Ambrose|1991|pp=414–416}} Senate Minority Leader [[Hugh Scott]], Senator [[Barry Goldwater]], and House Minority Leader [[John Jacob Rhodes]] met with Nixon soon after. Rhodes told Nixon he faced certain impeachment in the House. Scott and Goldwater told the president that he had, at most, only 15 votes in his favor in the Senate, far fewer than the 34 needed to avoid removal from office.{{sfn|Black|p=978}}

==== Resignation ====
[[File:President Richard Nixon Departing the White House on the Presidential Helicopter for the Last Time as President.jpg|thumb|upright|Nixon leaving the [[White House]] on [[Marine One]] shortly before his resignation became effective, August 9, 1974]]

In light of his loss of political support and the near-certainty that he would be impeached and removed from office, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974, after [[Richard Nixon's resignation speech|addressing the nation on television the previous evening]].{{sfn|''The Washington Post'', Nixon Resigns}} The resignation speech was delivered from the Oval Office and was carried live on radio and television. Nixon said he was resigning for the good of the country and asked the nation to support the new president, Gerald Ford. Nixon went on to review the accomplishments of his presidency, especially in foreign policy.{{sfn|Ambrose|1991|pp=435–436}} He defended his record as president, quoting from [[Theodore Roosevelt]]'s 1910 speech ''[[Citizenship in a Republic]]'':
{{blockquote|Sometimes I have succeeded and sometimes I have failed, but always I have taken heart from what Theodore Roosevelt once said about the man in the arena, "whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again because there is not effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievements and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly".{{sfn|PBS, Resignation Speech}}
}}
[[File:Nixon resignation audio with buzz removed.ogg|thumb|President Nixon's resignation speech]]
Nixon's speech received generally favorable initial responses from network commentators, with only [[Roger Mudd]] of [[CBS]] stating that Nixon had not admitted wrongdoing.{{sfn|Ambrose|1991|p=437}} It was termed "a masterpiece" by [[Conrad Black]], one of his biographers. Black opined that "What was intended to be an unprecedented humiliation for any American president, Nixon converted into a virtual parliamentary acknowledgement of almost blameless insufficiency of legislative support to continue. He left while devoting half his address to a recitation of his accomplishments in office."{{sfn|Black|p=983}}