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NOTEWORTHY EVENTS FROM THE NIXON, FORD, CARTER YEARS (1969-1981)
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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.”Television viewers around the world witnessed this triumph of the Apollo program, carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Apollo 11 crew included Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., who landed with Armstrong in the Eagle -
Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to travel to China
Nixon traveled to China in February 1972. He met with Mao Zedong, the Chinese leader who had led the revolution in 1949. He spoke with Premier Zhou Enlai about international problems and ways of dealing with them. He and his wife Pat toured the Great Wall and other Chinese sights, all in front of television cameras that sent the historic pictures home. -
Televised Senate hearings on Watergate begin
The trial of the Watergate burglars began in January 1973 before Judge John J. Sirica. All the defendants either pleaded guilty or were found guilty. Meanwhile, the White House and the President himself were becoming more deeply involved. In March 1973, just before the judge handed down the sentences, Nixon personally approved the payment of “hush money” to defendant E. Howard Hunt. -
Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to resign
Ultimately, The Judiciary Committee recommended impeachment to the full House of Representatives. Rather than face trial, on August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first American President ever to resign from office. At noon on that same day, as Nixon was being flown to his retirement in California, Gerald Ford took the Oath of Office. The newly elected President granted Nixon a full pardon. -
Gerald Ford signs the Helsinki Accords on European security
On another foreign policy front, President Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, a series of agreements on European security made at a 1975 summit meeting in Finland. The United States, Canada, the Soviet Union, and about 30 European countries pledged to cooperate economically, respect existing national boundaries, and promote human rights. Ford also continued Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) with the Soviet Union, holding out hope for further limits on nuclear weapons. -
U.S. celebrates the bicentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
Americans held a nationwide birthday party to mark July 4, 1976, the bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout the summer, people in small towns and big cities across the country celebrated with parades, concerts, air shows, political speeches, and fireworks. With so many Americans discouraged by Watergate, Vietnam, and the recession, the celebrations could not have been better timed. -
Jimmy Carter negotiates the Camp David Accords to promote peace in the Middle East
Carter's commitment to finding ethical solutions to complicated problems was most visible in the Middle East. In that unstable region, Israel and the Arab nations had fought several wars, most recently in 1967 and 1973. In 1977, though, Egypt's President Anwar el-Sadat made a historic visit to Israel to begin negotiations with Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The two men had such different personalities, however, that they had trouble compromising. Carter intervened, sending Secretary of State Cyr -
American hostages held in Iran are set free
In October, out of concern for the shah's health, Carter let him enter the United States for medical treatment. Many Iranians were outraged. On November 4, 1979, angry followers of Khomeini seized the American embassy in Tehran and took Americans, mostly embassy workers, hostage.For 444 days, revolutionaries imprisoned 52 hostages in different locations. The prisoners were blindfolded and moved from place to place. Some were tied up and beaten. Others spent time in solitary confinement and face -
U.S. boycotts the Moscow summer Olympics
Carter halted American grain shipments to the Soviet Union and took other steps to show United States disapproval of Soviet aggression. Realizing that SALT II surely would be turned down, he removed the treaty from Senate consideration. (Although SALT II was never approved by the Senate, both countries followed the terms of the treaty based on its signing.) Carter also imposed a boycott on the 1980 summer Olympic Games to be held in Moscow. Eventually, some 60 other nations joined the Olympic bo
