Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, resigned from office in 1974, after the Watergate Scandal exposed the engagement of his administration in a broad array of illegal activities. These “dirty tricks” included burglary, political sabotage, wiretapping, and the obstruction of justice. Despite Nixon’s infamous claim that he was “not a crook,” the release of secret White House tapes revealed his direct involvement in Watergate and the ensuing cover-up. Facing near-certain impeachment, Nixon chose to resign before he was pushed on August 8th, 1974.   Early Life and Career Election poster for Nixon’s 1946 campaign for Congress, Source: Wikimedia Commons   Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 13th, 1913, into a Quaker family in the small Californian town of Yorba Linda. His parents ran a lemon farm that failed in 1922, leading the Nixons to move to Whittier, California, where they opened a gas station and grocery store.    After attending Whittier College and Duke University School of Law, Nixon passed the California bar exam in 1937. After applying to the FBI – and receiving no response – he went on to join a local law firm. During World War II he served in the US Navy in the South Pacific before retiring from active duty in 1946.    Nixon’s political career officially began when his military career came to an end. In 1946, he was elected to the US Congress, where he gained early recognition as a prominent member of the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1950, Nixon was elected to the Senate, and in 1953, he became the 36th Vice President of the United States under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.    Nixon In Power Richard Nixon’s official White House portrait. Source: National Archives   Richard Nixon first ran for President in 1960 but was narrowly defeated by John F. Kennedy. After a failed bid to become Governor of California in 1962, he mounted a remarkable political comeback to become President of the United States in 1968.    As president, Nixon achieved several significant foreign policy achievements. Alongside his influential National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, Nixon opened diplomatic relations with China and pursued a policy of detente with the Soviet Union. He initially escalated the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos, before shifting the burden of fighting onto South Vietnamese forces and gradually withdrawing US troops.    Domestically, Nixon’s policies mixed progressive and conservative politics. He created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and signed the Clean Air Act of 1970. In 1971, he inaugurated the “War on Drugs” and declared drug abuse to be “public enemy number one.”   The Watergate Scandal An aerial view of the Watergate complex, where the Democratic National Committee headquarters was burglarized on June 17, 1972. Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)   The Watergate scandal began on 17th June 1972, when five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC. The men were linked to Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign, specifically a group called the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP). It soon transpired that the breaking was part of a wider pattern of the Nixon administration’s political misdeeds and illegal activities.    Initially, Nixon’s administration successfully covered up its involvement in the burglary and Nixon was re-elected by a landslide in November 1972. However, owing to a combination of investigative journalism and whistle-blowing within the FBI, a fuller picture of the administration’s illegal activities was uncovered.     The most explosive revelation for the president came with the discovery that he had secretly recorded his conversations in the Oval Office. The so-called “Watergate Tapes” provided direct evidence that Nixon had been involved in attempts to cover up the break-in, authorized the payment of hush money to the burglars, and pressured the FBI to stop the investigation.    Nixon’s Resignation President Nixon during the Watergate Scandal. Source: Wikimedia Commons   President Nixon initially tried to contain the fallout from Watergate. In a televised address to the nation on April 30th, 1973, he claimed to be innocent, blamed his aides for keeping him in the dark, and infamously declared that he was “not a crook.” Nixon vowed to take personal charge of the investigation and discover the truth. However, the ongoing investigation by the Senate Watergate Committee continued to expose serious abuses of power. Televised hearings featured key witnesses, including White House Counsel, John Dean, who implicated Nixon in the cover-up.    The release of the so-called “Nixon Tapes” from the Oval Office in 1974 inflicted the final blow. They proved that the president had lied to the public and had been directly involved in a plot to obstruct the Watergate investigation. Facing almost certain impeachment by Congress and a catastrophic loss of political support from his own party, Richard Nixon announced his resignation on August 8th, 1974. In doing so he became the first and only president to resign in US history.

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is apparently getting increasingly desperate -- so desperate, in fact, he's looking to throw President Joe Biden under the bus. In an ad cut by Casey, one of several vulnerable Democrats going into this cycle, a Pennsylvania couple who happen to be married to each...

It's a case of Madame Vice President and Mrs. Hyde. Some days, Kamala Harris has been running a campaign straight out of the "joy and vibes" playbook -- inconsequential, facile, stupid, but happy and cool. And then there's other days -- like during her interview with Fox News this week,...

Joy and vibes or division and hatred: Pick one. No, I'm not talking about the two major-party tickets this year, although you'd be forgiven for thinking that if you were former President Barack Obama. Instead, it's the messaging. Which party will the Democrats be today? Will they be running on...

If you want to see what it looks like for a man to compete against women at the collegiate level, well, here's your chance. Blaire Fleming of San Jose State University is the reason why five teams in the Mountain West Conference refuse to play against the Spartans women's volleyball...

Financial expert Dave Ramsey has made it clear to his audience who his choice is for president. In a clip from "The Dave Ramsey Show" posted to the show's YouTube account on Wednesday, Ramsey spoke to his audience about the upcoming election. While the show is usually about achieving financial...

The Prince Of Darkness has spoken, and it was brief

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On average, only about 1 in 5,000 people in the world live to see their 100th birthday. The odds of both becoming famous and reaching 100 are astronomical. This list highlights ten remarkable individuals who achieved fame in their respective fields and also made it to 100 years old. The centenarians on this list include […] The post The 20th Century’s 10 Most Famous Centenarians appeared first on Listverse.

Politicians have never been known as the most trustworthy bunch. Despite the fact that their personal lives are often closely followed, quite often, they find themselves in a bit of a compromising position. The so-called “Leader of the Free World” is no exception. Many U.S. presidents have been accused of cheating on their wives before, […] The post 10 U.S. Presidents Who Cheated on Their Wives appeared first on Listverse.