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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.” -
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 investigation ground on. In May 1973, the Senate committee, chaired by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, began televised public hearings on Watergate. Millions of Americans watched, fascinated, as the story unfolded like a mystery thriller. The most dramatic moment came when Alexander Butterfield, a former presidential assistant, revealed the existence of a secret taping system in the President's office that recorded all meetings and telephone conversations -
Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to resign
Three days later after the tapes were released Nixon appeared on television and painfully announced that he would leave the office of President the next day. On August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned, the first President ever to do so. -
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 -
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 -
Jimmy Carter negotiates the Camp David Accords to promote peace in the Middle East
At Camp David in September 1978, Carter assumed the role of peacemaker. He practiced highly effective personal diplomacy to bridge the gap between Sadat and Begin. They finally agreed on a framework for peace that became known as the Camp David Accords. Under the resulting peace treaty, Israel would withdraw from the Sinai peninsula, which it had occupied since 1967. Egypt, in return, became the first Arab country to recognize Israel's existence as a nation. -
U.S. boycotts the Moscow summer Olympics
Carter also imposed a boycott on the 1980 summer Olympic Games to be held in Moscow. Eventually, some 60 other nations joined the Olympic boycott. Détente was effectively dead. -
American hostages held in Iran are set free
After months of secret talks, the Iranians agreed to release the 52 hostages in early 1981. Not until the day Carter left office, however, were they allowed to come home. Newly elected President Reagan sent Carter, as a private citizen, to greet the hostages as they arrived at a U.S. military base in West Germany
