Timeline of the Richard Nixon presidency
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The presidency of Richard Nixon began on January 20, 1969, when
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
was
inaugurated In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...
as the 37th
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
, and ended on August 9, 1974, when, in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office, he resigned the presidency (the first U.S. president ever to do so).


1969


1970


1971


1972

* January 2 – President Nixon explains his ordering of bombing within North Vietnam was due to a violation of a 1968 understanding that ceased bombing by the US during a nationally televised interview. * January 3 – Jack Anderson claims that
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
complained about President Nixon giving him "hell every half hour" in regards to the India-Pakistan conflict and that Kissinger said this during a December 3, 1971 strategy session. * January 4 – President Nixon pledges the US will become the leading maritime country in the world while speaking at a shipbuilding yard in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. * January 11 – President Nixon signs an executive order alongside issuing a memoranda setting ordering pay increases to over 118,000 federal blue collar workers. * January 13 – President Nixon announces the withdrawal of 70,000 American troops over the course of the next three months in a statement during the White House press briefing. * January 20 – President Nixon delivers the 1972 State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress. * January 28 – President Nixon announces the creation of an Office of Drug Law Enforcement within the Justice Department for the overseeing of jailing of illicit drug dealers. * January 29 – A White House source discloses that President Nixon was known as "Quarterback" in messages sent to Secretary of State Kissinger during negotiations with North Vietnam. * January 30 –
United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...
Melvin Laird Melvin Robert Laird Jr. (September 1, 1922 – November 16, 2016) was an American politician, writer and statesman. He was a U.S. congressman from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 before serving as Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973 under Presi ...
says a draft call will not take place until at least April during a televised interview. * February 21 –
1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China The 1972 visit by United States President Richard Nixon to the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's resumption of harmonious relations betwe ...
* May 22 – President Nixon visits the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. * October 18 – Clean Water Act * November 7 – President Nixon wins re-election against Senator George McGovern from
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...
, the Democratic candidate. * December 1 – The White House discloses that Treasury Secretary Schultz will remain in his position during the second term of President Nixon with expanded responsibilities. * December 2 – Interior Secretary Morton strips the supervision rights of the three men involved in Indian affairs alongside announcing his taking of personal command of the endeavor. * December 4 – The government announces the withholding of 689 million in federal welfare payments as part of an effort to dislocate those not needing the program from those eligible. * December 26 – Former President
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
dies


1973

* January 1 – The Labor Department states its choice to raise guidelines on income for the determining of who is eligible for federal programs and specifies the raise as US$193 higher. * January 2 – The Pentagon states American bombers possibly damaged a North Vietnam hospital and the a civilian airport in Hanoi following the Hanoi-Haiphong area bombing. * January 3 – Press Secretary
Ronald Ziegler Ronald Louis Ziegler (May 12, 1939 – February 10, 2003) was the 13th White House Press Secretary and Assistant to the President, serving during United States President Richard Nixon's administration. Early life Ziegler was born to Louis Daniel ...
states members of Congress should consider the possibility of convincing the North Vietnamese of their interest in acting against peace efforts. * January 4 – President Nixon holds a meeting with military and diplomatic advisors in the Oval Office for discussions on Vietnam and the upcoming Paris peace talks. * January 5 – President Nixon meets with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders for a breakfast to inform them the US should know whether a quick settlement in Vietnam is possible after the Paris peace talks. * January 6 – The House and Senate jointly officiate the re-election of President Nixon and Vice President
Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...
to a second term during a ceremony. * January 8 –
United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...
Melvin R. Laird says 5,000 men will be drafted between March 1 and July 1 during an appearance before Congress. * January 9 – The Defense Department denies allegations made in a Saigon report that the US had resumed preemptive reaction air strikes over North Vietnam. The White House announces President Nixon's acceptance of the resignation of Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission Miles Kirkpatrick. * January 11 – President Nixon reveals Phase 3 in a message to Congress which eliminates a majority of wage and price controls. * January 12 – The White House says Cabinet members will resume testifying before Congress and their upcoming appearances will be at convenience. * January 14 – President Nixon sends United States Army General
Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these ...
to meet with
President of South Vietnam This is a list of leaders of South Vietnam, since the establishment of the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina in 1946, and the division of Vietnam in 1954 until the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975, and the reunification of Vietnam in 19 ...
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (; 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (RVNAF), becam ...
. * January 16 – White House Press Secretary
Ronald Ziegler Ronald Louis Ziegler (May 12, 1939 – February 10, 2003) was the 13th White House Press Secretary and Assistant to the President, serving during United States President Richard Nixon's administration. Early life Ziegler was born to Louis Daniel ...
says
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
will not return to the Paris peace talks ahead of the following week. South Vietnamese sources state President Nixon intends to declare a unilateral Vietnam cease-fire to start on the eve of his second inauguration. * January 17 – White House sources rebuke claims of an imminent cease-fire, citing earlier statements that President Nixon would not address peace negotiations during the week. * January 18 – The Florida White House announces Secretary of State Kissinger will return to the Paris peace talks for a completion of "the text of an agreement". * January 19 – Defense Secretary Laird says he cannot confirm the use of a cease-fire being effective in ending the Southeast Asia conflict during a Pentagon press conference. Press Secretary Ziegler states President Nixon will have more press conference beginning with his second term. * January 20 – Nixon is sworn into his second term as President of the United States by Supreme Court Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul Colleg ...
. * January 22 – Former President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
dies * January 27 – Paris Peace Accords * June 22 – Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War * July 18 – The White House Taping system is disconnected for the final time, after its public revelation in testimony by White House Aide Alexander Butterfield * October 6 – The
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...
begins, which sparked the 1973 oil crisis, leading to the
1970s energy crisis The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period wer ...
. * October 10 –
Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...
resigns as Vice President. * October 12 – Nixon nominates House minority leader Gerald Ford for Vice President. * November 5 – The term "
Shuttle diplomacy In diplomacy and international relations, shuttle diplomacy is the action of an outside party in serving as an intermediary between (or among) principals in a dispute, without direct principal-to-principal contact. Originally and usually, the proce ...
" is first used to describe the efforts of Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
to facilitate the cessation of hostilities following the Yom Kippur War. * December 4–5 –
President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indi ...
Nicolae Ceausescu Nicolae may refer to: * Nicolae (name), a Romanian name * ''Nicolae'' (novel), a 1997 novel See also *Nicolai (disambiguation) *Nicolao Nicolao is an Italian given name and a surname. It may refer to the following: Given name *Nicolao Civitali ...
meets with President Nixon for discussions on the development of economic relations between Romania and the United States. * December 4 – President Nixon delivers an address in a formal welcome of President Ceausescu to the White House on the South Lawn during the morning. * December 6 – Following congressional approval, Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 40th vice president of the United States. President Nixon signs H.R. 9474, a veterans disability and death pension bill, during an Oval Office ceremony.352 – Statement on Signing a Veterans Disability and Death Pension Bill. (December 6, 1973)
/ref>


1974


See also

* Timeline of the Lyndon B. Johnson presidency, for his predecessor *
Timeline of the Gerald Ford presidency Gerald Ford, a Republican from Michigan, was inaugurated as the nation's 38th president on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United ...
, for his successor


References


External links


Miller Center Nixon Presidential Timeline
{{US Presidential Administrations 1969 in the United States 1970 in the United States 1971 in the United States 1972 in the United States 1973 in the United States 1974 in the United States Nixon, Richard Presidency of Richard Nixon *