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Migliozzi's Nixon, Ford, and 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.” -
Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to travel to China
After extensive secret diplomacy by Kissinger, Nixon made the dramatic announcement that he planned to visit China the following year. He would be the first United States President ever to travel to that country. -
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. -
Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to resign
On August 5, after a brief delay, Nixon finally obeyed a Supreme Court ruling and released the tapes.Three days later, 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. 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. -
Jimmy Carter negotiates the Camp David Accords to promote peace in the Middle East
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.The Camp David Accords, of course, did not solve all the problems in the Middle East. -
American hostages held in Iran are set free
President Carter tried many approaches to secure the hostages' freedom. He broke diplomatic relations with Iran and froze all Iranian assets in the United States. Khomeini held out, insisting that the shah be sent back for trial. 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. -
U.S. boycotts the Moscow summer Olympics
In 1980, the United States led a 61-nation boycott of the summer Olympics held in Moscow that year. U.S. President Jimmy Carter called for the boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. But well before the invasion of Afghanistan, before the Iranian hostage crisis involving 52 American hostages, before the oil shock that sent oil prices to historic highs in 1979-80, Carter’s presidency was in shambles.
