RICHARD M. NIXON . 1969-1974

During his presidency, Richard Milhous Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Viet Nam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation.

Born in Yorba Linda, California, on January 9, 1913, Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. In World War II, he served as a navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific. On leaving the service, he was elected to Congress from his California district. In 1950, he won a Senate seat. Two years later, General Eisenhower selected Nixon, age 39, to be his running mate.

Nominated for president by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968 he won the election. His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing.

During 1972 visits to Beijing and Moscow, Nixon reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev produced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In 1973, he announced an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina. His secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria in 1974.

In his 1972 bid for office, Nixon won by one of the widest margins on record. But within a few months, his administration was embattled over the "Watergate" scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee traced to officials of the Committee to Re-elect the President. Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts forced him to yield tape recordings which indicated that he had, in fact, tried to divert the investigation.

As a result of unrelated scandals in Maryland, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in 1973. Nixon nominated, and Congress approved, House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford as vice president. Then, on August 8, 1974, faced with impeachment, Nixon announced that he would resign.

In his last years, Nixon gained praise as an elder statesman. By the time of his death on April 22, 1994, he had written numerous books on his experiences in public life and on foreign policy.

GERALD R. FORD . 1974-1977

Taking the oath of office on August 9, 1974, Gerald R. Ford declared, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances…This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts." It was indeed an unprecedented time. He had been the first vice president chosen under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, and he succeeded the first president ever to resign.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 14, 1913, Ford grew up in Michigan. He went to Yale and earned a law degree. During World War II he was a lieutenant commander in the navy. After the war he returned to Grand Rapids, where he entered Republican politics and was elected to Congress in 1948. He served there for 25 years, earning a reputation for integrity and openness. From 1965 to 1973, he was House minority leader.

As president, Ford tried to calm earlier controversies by granting former President Nixon a full pardon. Gradually, he selected a cabinet of his own and began to confront the almost insuperable challenges facing his administration. Ford’s first goal was to curb inflation. Then, when recession became a serious domestic problem, he shifted to measures aimed at stimulating the economy. Still fearing inflation, Ford vetoed a number of nonmilitary appropriations bills that would have further increased the already heavy budgetary deficit. During his first 14 months as president he vetoed 39 measures. His vetoes were usually sustained.

A domestic goal was to help business operate more freely by reducing taxes upon it and easing the controls exercised by regulatory agencies. "We …declared our independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper shufflers and computers," he said. In foreign affairs Ford acted vigorously to maintain U. S. power and prestige after the collapse of Cambodia and South Viet Nam. Preventing a new war in the Middle East remained a major objective. By providing aid to both Israel and Egypt, the Ford Administration helped persuade the two countries to accept an interim truce agreement. Détente with the Soviet Union continued. President Ford and Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev set new limitations upon nuclear weapons.

In 1976, President Ford won the Republican nomination for the presidency, but lost the election to his Democratic opponent, former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia.

On Inauguration Day, President Carter began his speech: "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land." A grateful people concurred.

JIMMY CARTER . 1977-1981

Jimmy Carter aspired to make Government "competent and compassionate." His achievements were notable, but in an era of rising energy costs, inflation and continuing tensions, it was impossible for his administration to meet these high expectations.

Carter was born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. Peanut farming, politics, and devotion to the Baptist faith were mainstays of his upbringing. After graduating in 1946 from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, he served seven years as a naval officer. In 1962 he entered Georgia politics, and eight years later was elected governor. He emphasized ecology, efficiency in government, and the removal of racial barriers. Carter announced his candidacy for president in December 1974 and began a two-year campaign. At the Democratic Convention, he was nominated on the first ballot. Campaigning hard against President Gerald R. Ford, he won the 1976 election.

As president, Carter combated the continuing woes of inflation and unemployment. By the end of his administration, he could claim an increase of nearly eight million jobs and a decrease in the budget deficit. Unfortunately, inflation and interest rates were at near record highs, and efforts to reduce them caused a short recession. Domestically, Carter dealt adeptly with the energy shortage, prompted civil service reform, and deregulated the trucking and airline industries. His expansion of the national park system included protection of 103 million acres of Alaskan lands. He also created the Department of Education, bolstered the Social Security system, and appointed record numbers of women, blacks, and Hispanics to government jobs.

In foreign affairs, Carter’s championing of human rights was coldly received by the Soviet Union and some other nations. Through the Camp David agreement of 1978, he helped bring amity between Egypt and Israel. He obtained ratification of the Panama Canal treaties. Building upon the work of predecessors, he established full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and completed negotiation of the SALT II nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union.

But there were setbacks. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the suspension of plans for ratification of the SALT II pact. News of the hostage seizure of the U.S. embassy staff in Iran dominated the administration’s last 14 months. The consequences of Iran's holding Americans captive, along with continuing inflation at home, contributed to Carter's defeat in 1980. Even then, he continued the difficult negotiations over the hostages. Iran finally released the 52 Americans the same day Carter left office.