| An Overview of Richard Nixon's Administration
After taking office as President, Nixon won respect
for his conduct of foreign policy. He ended U.S. military
participation in the Vietnam War and eased the tension
that had existed for years between the United States and
both China and Russia. He became the first President to
visit China while in office, and he also visited Russia.
At home, Nixon was challenged by sharply rising
prices. He placed government controls on wages and prices
to halt inflation, but the controls had little effect. He
ended the military draft and created an all-volunteer
system for the U.S. armed services.
Unfortunately for Nixon, his political skills eluded
him during the investigation into the Watergate scandal, which led to
calls for his impeachment. On August 9, 1974, he became
the first (and to date only) U.S. President to resign
from office.
| |
1968
Election |
|
1972
Election |
| Place of Nominating
Convention |
Miami Beach |
|
Miami Beach |
| Ballot on Which
Nominated |
1st |
|
1st |
| Democratic Opponent |
Hubert
H. Humphrey |
|
George S. McGovern |
| American
Independent Opponent |
George
C. Wallace |
|
|
| Electoral Vote |
301 - 191 - 46 |
|
520 - 17 |
| Popular Vote |
31,710,470 - 30,898,055 -
9,446,167 |
|
46,740,323 - 28,901,598 |
| Vice-Presidents and
Cabinet |
| Vice-President |
Spiro T. Agnew
Gerald R. Ford
(1973) |
| Secretary
of State |
William
P. Rogers
Henry A. Kissinger (1973) |
| Secretary
of the Treasury |
David M. Kennedy
John B.
Connally (1971)
George P. Shultz (1972)
William E. Simon (1974) |
| Secretary
of Defense |
Melvin R. Laird
Elliot L. Richardson (1973)
James R. Schlesinger (1973) |
| Attorney
General |
John N. Mitchell
Richard G. Kleindienst (1972)
Elliot L. Richardson (1973)
William B. Saxbe (1974) |
| Postmaster
General |
Winton M. Blount |
| Secretary
of the Interior |
Walter J. Hickel
Rogers C. B. Morton (1971) |
| Secretary
of Agriculture |
Clifford M. Hardin
Earl L. Butz (1971) |
| Secretary
of Commerce |
Maurice H. Stone
Peter G. Peterson (1972)
Frederick B. Dent (1973) |
| Secretary
of Labor |
George P. Shultz
James D. Hodgson (1970)
Peter J. Brennan (1973) |
| Secretary
of Health, Education, and Welfare |
Robert H. Finch
Elliot L. Richardson (1970)
Caspar Weinberger (1973) |
| Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development |
George W. Romney
James T. Lynn (1973) |
| Secretary
of Transportation |
John A. Volpe
Claude S. Brinegar (1973) |
Major
Domestic Events of His Administration
Population in 1970: 203,235,298 |
| 1969 |
A lottery system for the
military draft was established by Congress. |
| 1970 |
The U.S. Postal Service, an
independent agency, replaced the Post Office
Department. |
| 1970 |
Congress established an
independent agency to operate a passenger train
system across the country--Amtrak. |
| 1970 |
The minimum voting age in
federal elections was lowered to 18. |
| 1970 |
The Environmental Protection
Agency was created by the President. |
| 1971 |
The 26th Amendment lowered the
voting age for all elections to 18. |
| 1971 |
Nixon established a Pay Board to
stop inflationary wage and salary increases and a
Price Commission to regulate price and rent
increases. |
| 1971 |
The Supreme Court approved
busing as a way to integrate public schools in
areas where state laws had required segregation. |
| 1972, February |
Nixon became the first President
to visit Communist China. |
| 1972, May |
Nixon visited the Soviet Union. |
| 1972 |
The State and Local Fiscal
Assistance Act provided for sharing federal tax
money with state and local governments. |
| 1973 |
Investigations into actions
surrounding the 1972 burglary of Democratic
national headquarters in the Watergate complex
began. |
| 1973 |
The military draft was ended and
the military became an all-volunteer force. |
| 1973 |
Congress refused to provide
money for continued U.S. bombing of Cambodia. |
| 1973, October 10 |
Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew
resigned. |
| 1974 |
Congress established the Federal
Energy Administration to deal with an energy
shortage. |
| 1974, July |
The House Judiciary Committee
recommended three articles
of impeachment against President Nixon. |
| 1974, August 9 |
Nixon became the first President
to resign from
office. |
| Major
World Events of His Administration |
| 1969, July 20 |
U.S. astronauts Neil
A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., became
the first men to set foot on the moon. |
| 1969 |
The United States began to
withdraw its ground combat forces from South
Vietnam. |
| 1970 |
Charles
de Gaulle, former President of France, died. |
| 1971 |
China became a member of the
United Nations. |
| 1971 |
The Pakistan Civil War ended
with the creation of the Republic
of Bangladesh. |
| 1973, January 27 |
The United States and the other
participants in the Vietnam War signed agreements
to stop fighting immediately and begin exchanging
prisoners. |
Print Source
World Book Encyclopedia Chicago: World
Book-Childcraft International, Inc., 1979
Internet Sources
Presidents of the United States www.ipl.org
The White House www.whitehouse.gov
See Also
Watergate Scandal
American
Independent Party
Hubert H.
Humphrey
George
C. Wallace
Spiro T. Agnew
Gerald R. Ford
William
P. Rogers
John B. Connally
Neil
A. Armstrong
Charles
de Gaulle
Bangladesh
Questions
or comments about this page?
|
