Richard Nixon Event Timeline

Richard Nixon (37) Event Timeline

01/20/1969 – 08/09/1974

11/05/1968

Election Day. Nixon defeats Hubert Humphrey with 43.4% of the popular vote and 55.9% of the electoral vote.

1969

01/20/1969

Inaugural Address.

01/28/1969

Off-shore drilling rig “blows out” in Santa Barbara Channel. (See also 03/21/1969).

02/23/1969 - 03/02/1969

Begins European tour with stops Brussels, London, Bonn, Berlin, Rome, Paris. At the conclusion says the trip was about “trust.”

03/04/1969

Warns that the U.S. will resume bombing in Northern Vietnam in the event of a Viet Cong offensive.

03/17/1969

Authorizes Operation Menu, the secret bombing of Cambodia by B-52 aircraft. The US targeted Cambodia because there were North Vietnamese supply strongholds scattered along its border.

03/21/1969

Remarks Following Inspection of Oil Damage at Santa Barbara Beach.

03/28/1969

Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, dies of congestive heart failure in Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. Nixon had been Vice-President under Eisenhower.

04/15/1969

Unprovoked North Korean attack on US reconnaissance aircraft over Sea of Japan. On 04/18/1969 Nixon vows to continue reconnaissance flights with armed protection.

04/30/1969

Special Message to Congress proposes the president receive power to consolidate programs of Federal aid to states and cities into overarching grants. Asks that states and cities have greater control over federal funds

05/09/1969

The New York Times reports secret US bombing of Cambodia. At Nixon’s request, the FBI wiretaps the phones of 4 journalists and 13 government officials to determine the source of the leak.

05/14/1969

Address to the Nation on Vietnam. Presents a peace plan for Vietnam. US and North Vietnam would remove troops from South Vietnam over the next year.

05/15/1969

Abe Fortas resigns from the Supreme Court under threat of impeachment. Fortas had been nominated to be Chief Justice in 1968, but was criticized for his close relationship with President Johnson and for a secret retainer paid by a former client.

05/27/1969

In Special Message, asks Congress to make the Post Office Department a public corporation.

05/29/1969

Executive Order 11472 Creates the Environmental Quality Council.

06/08/1969

Meets with the President Thieu of South Vietnam and announces a plan to Withdraw 25,000 US Troops from South Vietnam.

06/23/1969

Swearing in of Warren Burger as Chief Justice; this nomination had been opened for Nixon by the failure of the Fortas nomination under Johnson. Burger had been nominated on 05/21/1969.

07/20/1969

Apollo 11 successfully lands two astronauts on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin receive a call from President Nixon, in what has been described as the longest distance telephone call ever.

07/25/1969

In comments while visiting Guam, articulates what he called “The Nixon Doctrine. While the US will provide military and economic assistance to nations who are fighting against Communism but will not assume primary responsibility for defending Asian nations. This was the beginning of a tour taking him to countries including Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Pakistan.

07/30/1969

Visits U.S. troops and President Thieu in Vietnam. This is the only time Nixon visits Vietnam during his presidency.

08/08/1969

Address to the Nation on Domestic Programs. Discusses welfare reform, jobs training, revenue sharing.

08/11/1969

Message to Congress on Reform of Welfare. Proposes replacement of Aid to Families with Dependent Children with a minimum income program; the “Family Assistance Act.”

08/18/1969

Nominates Clement Haynsworth to the Supreme Court to replace Fortas; Haynsworth is later rejected by the Senate on 11/21/1969

09/02/1969

Former president of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, dies at age 79 from a heart attack in Hanoi.

09/25/1969

Prime Minister Golda Meir of Israel visits the White House.

10/17/1969

Address to the Nation on inflation. Calls for extending a surtax, holding down public spending, and moderating labor wage demands.

10/31/1969

In Remarks to the Inter American Press Association, declares that Latin America must be self sufficient. Pledges partnership with the United States. Warns against attempting to export revolution from one country to another.

11/03/1969

Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam. Reveals that North Vietnam rejected peace offers. “And so tonight—to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans—I ask for your support.” He argues that "...the more divided we are at home, the less likely the enemy is to negotiate at Paris...North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that."

11/26/1969

Signs Draft Reform Bill.

12/01/1969

For the first time since World War II, there is a draft lottery held at Selective Service Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

12/15/1969

Address to the Nation on Progress toward Peace in Vietnam. Announces the withdrawal of 50,000 American troops in Vietnam over the course of the next four months.

1970

01/01/1970

Signs the National Environmental Policy Act.

01/19/1970

Nominates Harold G. Carswell to the Supreme Court. The nomination drew great controversy with the discovery of a 1948 speech in which Carswell advocated White supremacy. The Senate rejected Carswell’s nomination on 04/08/1970. This was only the second time that two successive Supreme Court nominations were rejected for any President (the other was Cleveland).

01/22/1970

Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union. Calls for “balanced growth for America.” This includes “stopping the pollution of our air, cleaning up our water, opening up our parks, continuing to explore in space.”

03/20/1970

In Press Conference opens with remarks on domestic issues including school desegregation, but includes discussion of Cambodia given the overthrow of Prince Norodom Sihanouk on March 18.

03/24/1970

Issues Statement setting forth Administration policies on Desegregation of Elementary and Secondary Schools.

04/15/1970

Special Message to Congress about Waste Disposal addresses pollution of the Great Lakes.

04/22/1970

First observance of Earth Day.

04/23/1970

Executive Order 11527 ends draft deferments for specific occupations and fathers.

04/23/1970

Special Message to Congress on Draft Reform. Proposes moving to all-volunteer armed forces, including an end to student deferments.

04/30/1970

Announces a US and South Vietnam assault into Cambodia in televised address to the Nation. "...not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam and winning the just peace we desire." This proclamation generated protests across the nation from students, professors, and political advocates.

05/04/1970

At Kent State University in Ohio, members of the National Guard shot and killed 4 student protesters and wound 9 others. In response, nearly 100,000 protesters gathered around various government buildings including the White House.

06/13/1970

The New York Times begins publishing the “Pentagon Papers,” a secret Department of Defense history of the Vietnam War.

06/24/1970

The U.S. Senate repeals the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The 1964 bill gave “the president as commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against the U.S.” Repealing the resolution meant that the president’s war time power was being limited by Congress.

07/09/1970

Special Message to Congress on Reorganizing Federal Environmental Agencies. Proposes creating the Environmental Protection Agency.

07/20/1970

Announces a Potential Vietnamese Open Election.

07/23/1970

An intrusive domestic surveillance plan, prepared at the White House (“The Huston Plan”) was circulated to Intelligence Agencies. The plan was withdrawn due to FBI objections, but became public during the Watergate investigation. It apparently inspired White-House-related actions including the Watergate break-in. [Link to “National Security Archive” report on Huston Plan.]

08/12/1970

Signs the Postal Reorganization Act.

10/07/1970

Proposes a Five-Point Peace Plan for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

12/29/1970

Signs the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970.

12/31/1970

Signs Clean Air Bill.

1971

01/04/1971

Surprises pundits by saying he is “now a Keynesian in economics.” [This statement does not appear in any White House Documents.]

01/04/1971

President Nixon announces "the end of Americans' combat role in Vietnam” is in sight.

01/19/1971

Delays Construction of Cross-Florida Barge Canal to Stop Environmental Damage.

03/30/1971

Army Lieutenant William Calley is found guilty of murder in the killing of at least 22 Vietnamese civilians in what became known as the My Lai Massacre.

05/18/1971

Signs bill extending his authority to impose wage and price controls.

06/13/1971

The New York Times Begins to Publish the “Pentagon Papers.” These documents were the secret Defense Department archives of previous White House administrations during the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers revealed that the US had been secretly participating in the Vietnam War as early as 1950, Under President Harry Truman.

06/15/1971

Because of alleged national security concerns, Nixon argues that the New York Times needs to suspend their publishing of the “Pentagon Papers.” The New York Times receives an order to cease further production of the “Pentagon Papers” by a District Court Judge.

06/20/1971

In response to the Pentagon Papers being leaked, the Nixon administration creates a covert White House special investigations unit called The White House Plumbers. This group was tasked with preventing leaks of classified information.

06/22/1971

The US Senate passes a resolution that urged the removal of all American troops from Vietnam by the end of the year.

06/30/1971

The Supreme Court rules (by 6-3 vote in New York Times Company v. United States) against the Nixon Administration attempt to halt publication of the Pentagon Papers on grounds of national security.

07/12/1971

Signs an Emergency Employment Act.

07/15/1971

Remarks to the Nation Announcing Acceptance of Invitation to Visit the People’s Republic of China.

08/15/1971

Address to the Nation on a “New Economic Policy.” Declares a Freeze on Wages and Prices (Phase One of His Economic Program).

09/03/1971

The White House Special Investigations Unit (aka “The Plumbers”) burglarizes a psychiatrist’s office to find files on Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers. The action was authorized by White House counsel John D. Ehrlichman.

10/07/1971

Address to the Nation on Post-Freeze Economic Stabilization Program. Announcing “Phase Two” of the New Economic Policy.

12/09/1971

Vetoes Legislation Calling for Establishment of a National Day-Care System.

12/22/1971

Signs Extension of Economic Stabilization Act.

1972

01/25/1972

Address to the Nation Making Public a Plan for Peace in Vietnam.

02/21/1972

Visits Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai to engage in diplomatic relations. Nixon’s visit generates panic in North Vietnam out of concern that their ally, China, would abandon the Vietnam War. Link to White House Chronology of the trip

03/16/1972

Address to the Nation on Equal Educational Opportunities and School Busing. Courts have gone too far in demanding busing. Calls for Congress to act to end busing now.

04/03/1972

Enacts Legislation Devaluing the Dollar To Stabilize the Economy.

04/26/1972

Address to the Nation on Vietnam. Outlines progress of US troop withdrawals; dropping US casualties; reduced numbers drafted. Describes North Vietnamese invasion of the South. Announces continued “Vietnamization,” resumption of peace talks in Paris, and continued bombing.

05/08/1972

Address to the Nation on the Situation in Southeast Asia. Describes lack of progress in peace talks. Fears that US withdrawal would lead to aggression in the future. Announces mining of North Vietnamese ports and bombing of rail and transportation to cut off inflow of weapons.

05/20/1972–
06/01/1972

Visits the U.S.S.R. Visits the Soviet Union and General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev to forge diplomatic relations. Once again, Nixon’s visit generates panic in North Vietnam out of concern that their ally, the Soviet Union, would abandon the Vietnam War.

06/01/1972

Address to Joint Session of Congress on Return from Austria, Soviet Union, Iran, and Poland.

06/17/1972

Five men are arrested after they break into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate building. These men were carrying film rolls, recording devices, and over one thousand dollars in cash.

06/22/1972

Responds to the Watergate Break in and denies any involvement from the White House. He states that “White House has no involvement in this particular incident.”

08/01/1972

The Washington post reports that a check for $25,000 from Nixon’s reelection campaign was deposited into the bank account of a Watergate suspect. This was one of the first major links between Nixon and the Watergate break in.

08/23/1972

Accepts the Republican nomination for President of the United States.

08/29/1972

In a News Conference, again denies any involvement in the Watergate scandal. “. . . no one in the White House Staff, no one in this Administration, presently employed, was involved in this very bizarre incident.” He also insists that a special prosecutor would not “serve any useful purpose” for the Watergate investigation.

10/21/1972

Signs the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972, giving the EPA new authority to regulate pesticides.

11/07/1972

Election Day. In a landslide victory, Nixon defeats George McGovern with 60.7% of the popular vote and 96.7% of the electoral vote.

12/14/1972

Statement on Lift-Off of Apollo 17 Lunar Module from the Moon. The last US manned trip to the Moon.

1973

01/08/1973

The trial begins for the Watergate burglars overseen by Judge John Sirica..

01/11/1973

Special Message to Congress Announcing Phase Three of the Economic Plan.

01/20/1973

Inaugural Address.

01/23/1973

Address to the Nation Announcing Conclusion of an Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace to Vietnam.

01/27/1973

The U.S., North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the Viet Cong sign the Paris Peace Accords. Under this agreement, the US was to immediately stop all military activities and remove their remaining military personnel from Vietnam within 60 days. The North Vietnamese agreed to release all American prisoners of war within 60 days. However, North Vietnamese military forces would remain in South Vietnam, under the protection of an agreed upon cease-fire between North and South Vietnam. [Link to pdf of the treaty.]

01/30/1973

G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord Jr are convicted on charges of burglary, wiretapping, and conspiracy in connection with the illegal entry into the Democratic National Committee headquarters, 06/17/1972. [Link to New York Times story.]

02/11/1973

Statement on the Return of the First Group of American Prisoners of War from Southeast Asia.

03/23/1973

James McCord, one of the burglars in the Watergate scandal, writes a letter confessing that he and other defendants had committed perjury. McCord revealed that there was pressure from the White House to perjure themselves.

03/29/1973

Address to the Nation About Vietnam and Domestic Problems. “For the first time in 12 years, no American military forces are in Vietnam.” Praises “the overwhelming majority” who supported his approach to Vietnam. Discusses inflation and announces price freeze on meat.

04/30/1973

Address to the Nation about the Watergate Investigations. Announces the resignations of two White House aides, John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman, and his counsel, John Dean. Says that he has personally assumed responsibility for coordinating inquiries into the matter. First learned about the seriousness of Watergate in March.

05/22/1973

Issues detailed statement addressing Watergate charges.

06/13/1973

Address to the Nation Announcing Price Control Measures. The controls were implemented on the same day via Executive Order 11723.

06/16/1973

Former Appointments Secretary, Alexander Butterfield, testifies before the Senate Water Gate Committee and reveals that Nixon had a recording device in his office. Butterfield alleges that Nixon used this device to record all conversations held in office. This recording device would have had more incriminating evidence for Nixon and his involvement in the Watergate scandal.

06/13/1973

Declares a Sixty-Day Price Freeze.

06/25/1973

At the conclusion of a visit by Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, June 18-25, the leaders issued a Joint Communique reviewing their discussions and announcing an Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War.

07/18/1973

Phase Four of the Economic Plan is Announced.

07/23/1973

Refuses to Turn Over Subpoenaed Tapes to the Senate Watergate Committee.

08/15/1973

Address to the Nation About the Watergate Investigations. “I had no prior knowledge of the Watergate break-in; I neither took part in nor knew about any of the subsequent coverup activities; I neither authorized nor encouraged subordinates to engage in illegal or improper campaign tactics.”

10/06/1973

Start of Yom Kippur War.

10/10/1973

Letter to Vice President Spiro Agnew on his decision to resign amidst bribery and income-tax evasion charges, unrelated to the Watergate break-in.

10/12/1973

Nominates Gerald Ford as Vice President. Ford was a long-time Michigan Congressman and House Minority Leader. First invocation of the 25^th Amendment.

10/19/1973

Outlines negotiations over access to the tapes involving himself, Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Nixon’s proposal was to provide Watergate-related summaries of the tapes which would be verified by Senator John Stennis who would have access to the tapes. This proposal has been rejected by Cox, but Nixon will proceed along these lines anyway. “I have felt it necessary to direct him [Cox], as an employee of the executive branch, to make no further attempts by judicial process to obtain tapes, notes, or memoranda of Presidential conversation.”

10/20/1973

Nixon directs Acting Attorney General Robert Bork to “discharge Mr. Cox immediately.” Bork did so. Nixon had earlier that day accepted the resignation of Attorney General Richardson who had pledged in confirmation hearings that he would “not countermand or interfere with the Special Prosecutor’s decisions or actions.” Richardson’s Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus also resigned rather than follow Nixon’s order to dismiss Cox. This came to be called the “Saturday Night Massacre.”

10/24/1973

Vetoes the War Powers Resolution. He calls it “clearly unconstitutional.”

11/01/1973

Acting Attorney-General Bork announces the appointment of Leon Jaworski as Director of the Office of Watergate Special Prosecution Force. [Link to New York Times Obituary of Jaworski, who died in 1982.]

11/07/1973

Addresses Nation on About Policies to Deal with the Energy Shortages. Directs a series of actions including preventing utilities converting from coal to oil; rationing of fuel for aircraft and home heating; speedup of nuclear licensing and construction. Calls on Congress to take actions.

11/07/1973

White House comments on Congressional override of Nixon’s veto (House: 284-135; Senate 75-18) of the War Powers Resolution (H.J. Res 542). The Resolution requires a report within 48 hours of introducing US forces into hostilities and requires withdrawing them within 60 days unless Congress authorizes further involvement. Overall, Nixon vetoed 43 bills and was overridden on only six.

11/12/1973

Statement Announcing Procedures for Providing Presidential Tape Recordings and Documents to the United States District Court. “. . . there are no missing tapes.” Nixon recounts his history with the tapes.

11/16/1973

Signs Bill authorizing the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline.

11/17/1973

Question and Answer Session with Newspaper Editors. In discussing his personal finances says: “. . . people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I am not a crook. I have earned everything I have got.”

12/06/1973

Gerald Ford sworn in as Vice President; first to take office under the terms of the 25^th Amendment.

12/08/1973

Issues Statement about Financial Affairs During Tenure as President. Addresses real estate ownership and presidential papers.

12/28/1973

Signs the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Act is intended to conserve the ecosystems upon which endangered species depend, and to conserve those species.

1974

01/04/1974

Responds to Senate Watergate Committee Subpoenas of White House Tapes.

01/30/1974

Gives State of the Union Address.

02/06/1974

Letter to US District Court about refusal to provide recordings to the court. “. . . the issue before this Court constitutes a non-justiciable political question.”

03/01/1974

Indictments are handed down for the “Watergate Seven,” including John Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. The grand jury names Nixon as an “unindicted co-conspirator.” [Link to New York Times account.]

04/03/1974

Issues Statement about his Income Taxes in response to a staff analysis by the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation concluding that he could not claim a charitable donation for his presidential papers.  [Link to pdf of the Staff Report.]

04/08/1974

Signs the Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1974 increasing the minimum wage and extending minimum wage coverage.

04/29/1974

Address to the Nation Announcing Answer to the House Judiciary Committee Subpoena for Additional Presidential Tape Recordings. Discusses 18 ½ minute gap and rejects notion that in that gap he and H. R. Haldeman “cooked up some sort of a Watergate coverup scheme. . . “

06/10/1974 – 06/19/1974

Travels to the Middle East, with stops in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel, Jordan.

07/24/1974

Supreme Court Orders Nixon to Turn Over Tapes to Senate Watergate Committee.  The case, decided unanimously, is United States v. Nixon.

07/27/1974

Articles of Impeachment Are Brought Against Nixon by the House Judiciary Committee. The three proposed charges against President Nixon include: obstruction of justice, misuse of power and contempt of Congress.

08/05/1974

Announces availability of additional transcripts of Presidential tape recordings. Mentions problematic conversations on June 23, 1972, acknowledging that his prior statements about these meetings were incomplete. “This was a serious act of omission for which I take full responsibility and which I deeply regret.”

08/08/1974

Address to the Nation Announcing Decision to Resign.

08/09/1974

Letter Resigning the Office of President of the United States.

08/09/1974

Remarks on Departure from the White House. “. . . we leave proud of the people who have stood buy us and worked for us and served this country. . ..Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.”

09/08/1974

President Gerald Ford pardons Richard Nixon for any offenses he may have committed against the United States during his presidency.