Richard Nixon was, first and foremost, one of the worst presidents in United States history. Ever. His presidency will forever be a black blotch in American history. What made Nixon’s name associated with infamy is his notorious Watergate Scandal. Journalist Hunter Thompson described Nixon as the man who “represents that dark, venal and incurably violent side of the American character that almost every country in the world has learned to fear and despise.” Serving from 1969 - 1974, Nixon was the only president to resign from office midway through his second term. Prior to becoming president, Richard Nixon was a lieutenant commander in the navy in World War Two and was a Republican congressman and senator. Serving as vice president under …show more content…
However, when Nixon ran for reelection, things got messy. On June 17, 1972, operatives of his campaign broke into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. Located in the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C., burglars were caught stealing documents and wiretapping phones. They were connected to Nixon’s reelection campaign, yet Nixon consistently denied his knowledge of the break-in. There was a second burglary because the first wiretaps did not work. These thieves were caught too, and Nixon supposedly bribed them to keep his involvement a secret. Desperately trying to cover up his tracks, the president made a speech in August where he swore that he and the White House had no part in the Watergate …show more content…
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives was voting to impeach the President for abuse of power, obstruction of justice, criminal cover up, and multiple violations of the Constitution. On August 5, 1974, all of the tapes were released. These provided undeniable facts that Nixon was involved in the Watergate Scandal. In fear of being impeached, Richard Nixon became the first and only president to resign on August 8, 1974. (Prior to this, Nixon’s original vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned just before Nixon.) Shortly after, Richard Nixon’s newly appointed vice president, Gerald Ford, took over as president and pardoned