1974government
Nixon tells the nation he is resigning; Ford takes over at noon tomorrow
Facing certain impeachment after the smoking gun tape, Nixon becomes the first president to quit.
Four days earlier, the release of the "smoking gun" tape had proven what Nixon spent two years denying: he knew about the Watergate cover-up almost from the start. On August 7, 1974, Republican congressional leaders told him plainly that impeachment in the House and conviction in the Senate were now certain. That evening, August 8, Nixon spoke from the Oval Office and told a national television audience he would resign at noon the next day. Gerald Ford would be sworn in as the 38th president within hours.
The White House, Washington, D.C.
The American Throughline
Nixon's resignation remains the only one in American presidential history. No other American president has faced a similarly certain impeachment and conviction, so it's unclear whether resignation would happen again.
