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Nixon, Ford, Carter
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The U.S. Achieves the First Moon Landing
On July 20, 1969, at 10:56 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Armstrong descended from the Eagle lunar landing craft and set foot on the moon’s surface. Armstrong radioed back the famous message: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The Eagle and its crew stayed on the moon for 21 hours and 36 minutes before lifting off to rejoin Collins for the return trip. Then the astronauts were quarantined for 18 days to ensure that they had not picked up any unknown lunar microbes. -
Nixon Becomes the First U.S. President to Travel to China
His foreign policy initiatives were largely successful: his groundbreaking visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972 opened diplomatic relations between the two nations, and he initiated détente and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. -
Televised Senate Hearings on Watergate Begin
In May 1973, the special Senate committee began televised proceedings on the Watergate affair. During the Senate hearings, former White House legal counsel John Dean testified that the Watergate break-in had been approved by former Attorney General John Mitchell with the knowledge of chief White House advisers John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman, and that President Nixon had been aware of the cover-up. -
Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to Resign
In the face of likely impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal,[4] Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. He was later controversially pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, for any federal crimes he may have committed while in office. -
Gerald Ford Signs the Helsinki Accords on European Security
In July 1975, President Gerald Ford traveled to Helsinki to attend a summit meeting of thirty-five nations and signed an accord that recognized Europe's boundaries as inviolable and provided vaguely for improvement of human rights, such as emigration and access to information, even in communist bloc countries. Read more: Nuclear arms limitation treaties - Treaties http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/O-W/Treaties-Nuclear-arms-limitation-treaties.html#ixzz1LP5CHJad -
U.S. Celebrates the Bicentennial of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. -
Jimmy Carter Negotiates the Camp David Acfords to Promote Peace in the Middle East
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David.[1] The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter. -
U.S. Boycotts the Moscow Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott of the Moscow Olympics was a part of a package of actions initiated by the United States to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan. It preceded the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott carried out by the Soviet Union and other Communist friendly countries. -
American Hostages Held in Iran Are Set Free
On November 2, the Iranian parliament finally set forth formal conditions for the hostages' release and eight days later Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher arrived in Algiers with the first US reply setting off a slow motion diplomatic shuffle between Washington, Algiers and Tehran.[106] Algerian diplomat Abdulkarim Ghuraib's mediation in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran resulted in the "Algiers Accords"[107] of January 19, 1981
