Unusual succession makes Ford president 1974
In accordance with his statement of resignation the previous evening, Richard M. Nixon
officially ends his term as the 37th president of the United States at
noon. Before departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House
lawn, he smiled farewell and enigmatically raised his arms in a victory
or peace salute. The helicopter door was then closed, and the Nixon
family began their journey home to San Clemente, California. Richard Nixon was the first U.S. president to resign from office.
Minutes later, Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th
president of the United States in the East Room of the White House.
After taking the oath of office, President Ford spoke to the nation in a
television address, declaring, “My fellow Americans, our long national
nightmare is over.”
Ford, the first president who came to the office through appointment
rather than election, had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president only
eight months before. In a political scandal independent of the Nixon
administration’s wrongdoings in the Watergate
affair, Agnew had been forced to resign in disgrace after he was
charged with income tax evasion and political corruption. In September
1974, Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in
office, explaining that he wanted to end the national divisions created
by the Watergate scandal.
(More Events on This Day in History)
-
American Revolution
- 1776 Guy Johnson predicts Indian allegiances
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Automotive
- 2000 Bridgestone/Firestone announces massive tire recall
-
Civil War
- 1862 Rebels score narrow victory at the Battle of Cedar Mountain
-
Cold War
- 1985 Arthur Walker found guilty of spying for Soviet Union
-
Crime
- 1969 Manson cult kills five people
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Disaster
- 1976 Hurricane Belle strikes Eastern Seaboard
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General Interest
- 1936 Owens wins 4th gold medal
- 2010 JetBlue flight attendant quits job via escape slide
- 378 Romans routed at Adrianople
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Hollywood
- 1969 Actress Sharon Tate found murdered
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Literary
- 1949 Mystery writer Jonathan Kellerman born
-
Music
- 1995 Jerry Garcia dies
-
Old West
- 1877 Nez Perce fight Battle of Big Hole
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Presidential
- 1974 Ford is inaugurated
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Sports
- 1988 The Great One gets traded
-
Vietnam War
- 1967 Marines launch Operation Cochise
- 1974 Nixon leaves office
-
World War I
- 1914 Walter Rathenau of AEG takes charge of German war production
-
World War II
- 1945 Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
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