Nixon's resignation and pardon
Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, marked a significant moment in U.S. history, prompted by the Watergate scandal that began with a break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters in June 1972. Although Nixon was not directly involved in the break-in, he was implicated in efforts to cover it up, which included discussions about misleading the FBI and paying hush money to the burglars. As evidence emerged, including recorded conversations that confirmed his involvement in obstructing justice, impeachment became imminent. Acknowledging the inevitable outcome, Nixon resigned, making him the first U.S. president to do so.
Following Nixon's resignation, Gerald Ford assumed the presidency and faced the challenge of healing a nation shaken by the scandal. On September 8, 1974, Ford granted Nixon a full pardon for any offenses committed during his presidency, which was a controversial decision that raised questions about accountability and justice. Nixon's acceptance of the pardon was seen as an admission of guilt. The Watergate scandal not only revealed the vulnerability of high-ranking officials to legal consequences but also underscored the resilience of American governance, demonstrating that the constitutional system could endure significant challenges.
Nixon's resignation and pardon
The Event Richard Nixon resigns the presidency and subsequently is pardoned by his successor, Gerald R. Ford
Date August 9 to September 8, 1974
Nixon, facing impeachment, becomes the only U.S. president to resign from office. His successor, Gerald Ford, must decide whether to pardon him.
November 7, 1972, should have been a happy day for President Richard Nixon. He had just won election to his second term as president of the United States, scoring a landslide victory over George McGovern. Nixon took 60.7 percent of the popular vote and carried every state except Massachusetts. As members of his administration celebrated, however, Nixon brooded because he realized that he was being drawn irrevocably into the quickly developing Watergate scandal.
The president had no direct involvement in the break-in at Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate office complex in June, 1972. He first learned of the event the morning after it happened. His guilt was in trying to cover up the crime that involved some of his aides who were active in the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP).
Grounds for Impeachment
The burglars were indicted on September 15, 1972, and received bribes from the president’s CRP funds in exchange for taking the blame. The decision to pay bribes was reached a week after the break-in. In a meeting in the Oval Office with his aide H. R. Haldeman on June 23, Nixon accepted Haldeman’s suggestion to mislead the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by making the break-in look like a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operation. Haldeman recommended paying the legal fees and living expenses of the Watergate defendants in return for their support of the story that Haldeman was concocting.
The June 23 conversation was captured on a recording system that Nixon had installed in the Oval Office in 1970. It was not until July 16, 1973, however, that the deputy assistant to Nixon, Alexander Butterfield, revealed to the Watergate investigators the existence of the recording system and the damning tapes that eventually destroyed Nixon’s presidency.
Nixon fought to withhold these tapes from the Senate Watergate Committee, but on July 24, 1974, the Supreme Court voted 8-0 that the tapes be turned over. On August 5, Nixon had to provide a transcript of the most incriminating tape, his June 23, 1972, conversation with Haldeman, often called the “smoking gun.” The tape demonstrated that the president participated in obstructing justice. Ten days earlier, the House Judiciary Committee had approved, by a 27-11 vote, going forward with the first article of impeachment, obstruction of justice.
Having lost what support he had before releasing the smoking gun transcript, Nixon, acknowledging that impeachment was inevitable and conviction a strong possibility, submitted his resignation as president effective at noon on August 9, 1974.
On August 9, Gerald R. Ford became the thirty-eighth president of the United States. Ford was the only vice president who had not won election to the office—he was appointed by Nixon after Vice President Spiro T. Agnew was forced to resign following his nolo contendere (no contest) plea to charges of tax evasion in October, 1973.
The Aftermath
The Watergate scandal demoralized the nation. An electorate that gave Nixon a landslide victory became cynical about government. Ford’s most pressing task initially was to heal a nation torn asunder by the events precipitating Nixon’s resignation.
White House chief of staff Alexander Haig served as intermediary between Nixon and Ford shortly before the resignation, suggesting that Ford might consider pardoning Nixon to avoid litigation that could drag on for years. Despite what some cynics assumed, however, no deal had been struck between Nixon and Ford before Nixon appointed him to the vice presidency, nor did Nixon approach Ford when resignation seemed unavoidable.
Several members of Nixon’s cabinet hoped that a pardon would be offered. Ford, on the day he assumed office, however, had not reached a decision about granting one. He sought professional advice regarding the legality of pardoning Nixon and was assured that it was within his power. Ford realized the risk he could run in pardoning Nixon. He knew that collusion would be suspected, although none had occurred. Nevertheless, he was convinced that the legitimate business of government would be impeded if the Nixon prosecution dragged on. Therefore, on September 8, 1974, he pardoned Nixon.
In part his proclamation read
I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, . . . have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969, through August 9, 1974.
Nixon’s acceptance of the pardon clearly constituted an admission of guilt.
Impact
The Watergate debacle established that high crimes and misdemeanors, even when committed by a public figure as powerful as the U.S. president, will be punished. This outcome demonstrated that the federal government can continue to function even in the face of an upheaval caused by such cataclysmic events as the resignations of both the president and the vice president.
The nation, although seriously demoralized by the Watergate scandal, tried to emerge from it with a renewed strength. The constitutional form of government on which the United States was founded had survived this most difficult of challenges.
Bibliography
Cannon, James. Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Penetrating insight into Ford’s relationship with Nixon.
Emery, Fred. Watergate: The Corruption of American Politics and the Fall of Richard Nixon. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. A thorough investigation of the Watergate scandal.
Greene, John Robert. The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995. A compassionate account of Ford’s agonizing decision to pardon Nixon.
Marquez, Heron. Richard M. Nixon. Minneapolis: Lerner, 2003. Detailed account of the Watergate scandal written for young adult readers.