111 Facts About Nixon White House

1.

Nixon White House was succeeded by Gerald Ford, whom he had appointed vice president after Spiro Agnew became embroiled in a separate corruption scandal and was forced to resign.

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2.

Nixon White House's primary focus while in office was on foreign affairs.

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3.

Nixon White House focused on detente with the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, easing Cold War tensions with both countries.

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4.

Nixon White House promulgated the Nixon White House Doctrine, which called for indirect assistance by the United States rather than direct US commitments as seen in the ongoing Vietnam War.

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5.

In domestic affairs, Nixon White House advocated a policy of "New Federalism, " in which federal powers and responsibilities would be shifted to the states.

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6.

Nixon White House's proposed reform of federal welfare programs did not pass Congress, but Congress did adopt one aspect of his proposal in the form of Supplemental Security Income, which provides aid to low-income individuals who are aged or disabled.

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7.

The Nixon White House administration adopted a "low profile" on school desegregation, but the administration enforced court desegregation orders and implemented the first affirmative action plan in the United States.

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8.

Nixon White House presided over the creation of Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of major environmental laws like the Clean Water Act, although that law was vetoed by Nixon White House and passed by override.

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9.

Economically, the Nixon White House years saw the start of a period of "stagflation" that would continue into the 1970s.

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10.

Nixon White House was far ahead in the polls in the 1972 presidential election, but during the campaign, Nixon White House operatives conducted several illegal operations designed to undermine the opposition.

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11.

Nixon denied any involvement in the break in, but, after a tape emerged revealing that Nixon had known about the White House connection to the Watergate burglaries shortly after they occurred, the House of Representatives initiated impeachment proceedings.

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12.

Richard Nixon had served as vice president from 1953 to 1961, and had been defeated in the 1960 presidential election by John F Kennedy.

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13.

Nixon White House entered the race for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination confident that, with the Democrats torn apart over the war in Vietnam, a Republican had a good chance of winning the presidency in November, although he expected the election to be as close as in 1960.

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14.

Nixon White House established himself as the clear front-runner after a series of early primary victories.

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15.

Nixon White House selected Governor Spiro Agnew of Maryland as his running mate, a choice which Nixon believed would unite the party by appealing to both Northern moderates and Southerners disaffected with the Democrats.

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16.

Nixon White House appealed to what he later called the "silent majority" of socially conservative Americans who disliked the 1960s counterculture and the anti-war demonstrators.

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17.

Nixon White House waged a prominent television advertising campaign, meeting with supporters in front of cameras.

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18.

Nixon White House promised "peace with honor" in the Vietnam War but did not release specifics of how he would accomplish this goal, resulting in media intimations that he must have a "secret plan".

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19.

Johnson sought to conclude a peace agreement with North Vietnam in the week before the election; controversy remains over whether the Nixon White House campaign interfered with any ongoing negotiations between the Johnson administration and the South Vietnamese by engaging Anna Chennault, a prominent Chinese-American fundraiser for the Republican party.

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20.

Whether or not Nixon White House had any involvement, the peace talks collapsed shortly before the election, blunting Humphrey's momentum.

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21.

Nixon White House secured 301 electoral votes to Humphrey's 191 and 46 for Wallace.

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22.

Major decisions of his presidency, Nixon White House relied on the Executive Office of the President rather than his Cabinet.

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23.

In foreign affairs, Nixon White House enhanced the importance of the National Security Council, which was led by National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger.

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24.

Nixon White House created the Domestic Council, an organization charged with coordinating and formulating domestic policy.

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25.

Nixon White House did not appoint any female or African American cabinet officials, although Nixon White House did offer a cabinet position to civil rights leader Whitney Young.

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26.

Nixon White House attempted to recruit a prominent Democrat like Humphrey or Sargent Shriver into his administration, but was unsuccessful until early 1971, when former Governor John Connally of Texas became Secretary of the Treasury.

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27.

In 1973, as the Watergate scandal came to light, Nixon White House accepted the resignations of Haldeman, Erlichman, and Mitchell's successor as Attorney General, Richard Kleindienst.

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28.

Nixon White House was accused of accepting kickbacks in exchange for contracts while serving as Baltimore County Executive, then when he was Governor of Maryland and Vice President.

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29.

Nixon White House used his authority under the 25th Amendment to nominate Gerald Ford for vice president.

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30.

Nixon White House made four successful appointments to the Supreme Court while in office, shifting the Court in a more conservative direction following the era of the liberal Warren Court.

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31.

Nixon White House took office with one pending vacancy, as the Senate had rejected President Johnson's nomination of Associate Justice Abe Fortas to succeed retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.

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32.

Months after taking office, Nixon nominated federal appellate judge Warren E Burger to succeed Warren, and the Senate quickly confirmed Burger.

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33.

Nixon White House then nominated federal appellate judge Harry Blackmun, who was confirmed by the Senate in 1970.

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34.

When Nixon White House took office in January 1969, the inflation rate had reached 4.

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35.

In February 1970, as a part of the effort to keep federal spending down, Nixon White House delayed pay raises to federal employees by six months.

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36.

In 1970, Congress granted the president the power to impose wage and price controls, though the Democratic congressional leadership, knowing Nixon White House had opposed such controls through his career, did not expect Nixon White House to actually use the authority.

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37.

Nixon White House then announced temporary wage and price controls, allowed the dollar to float against other currencies, and ended the convertibility of the dollar into gold.

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38.

Nixon White House believed that this system negatively affected the US balance of trade; the US had experienced its first negative balance of trade of the 20th century in 1971.

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39.

Nixon White House re-imposed price controls in June 1973, echoing his 1971 plan, as food prices rose; this time, he focused on agricultural exports and limited the freeze to 60 days.

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40.

On taking office, Nixon White House established the Council of Urban Affairs, under the leadership of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, to develop a welfare reform proposal.

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41.

Nixon White House became closely involved in the proposal and, despite opposition from Arthur Burns and other conservatives, adopted Moynihan's plan as the central legislative proposal of his first year in office.

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42.

Nixon White House advocated a "New Federalism", which would devolve power to state and local elected officials, but Congress was hostile to these ideas and enacted only a few of them.

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43.

In February 1971, Nixon White House proposed a more limited package of health care reform, consisting of an employee mandate to offer private health insurance if employees volunteered to pay 25 percent of premiums, the federalization of Medicaid for poor families with dependent minor children, and support for health maintenance organizations.

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44.

In October 1972, Nixon White House signed the Social Security Amendments of 1972, extending Medicare to those under 65 who had been severely disabled for over two years or had end stage renal disease and gradually raising the Medicare Part A payroll tax.

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45.

Nixon White House was largely uninterested in environmental policy, but he did not oppose the goals of the environmental movement.

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46.

Nixon White House signed the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the primary law for protecting imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation".

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47.

Additionally, he vetoed the Clean Water Act of 1972, and after Congress overrode the veto, Nixon White House impounded the funds Congress had authorized to implement it.

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48.

Nixon White House, mired in Watergate, signed the legislation in July 1974.

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49.

Nixon White House years witnessed the first large-scale efforts to desegregate the nation's public schools.

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50.

Nixon White House pursued this policy by allowing the courts to receive the criticism for desegregation orders, which Nixon's Justice Department would then enforce.

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51.

Nixon White House established the Office of Minority Business Enterprise to promote the encourage the establishment of minority-owned businesses.

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52.

In 1970, Nixon White House extended the Philadelphia Plan to encompass all federal contracts worth more than $50,000, and in 1971 he expanded the plan to encompass women as well as racial minorities.

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53.

Nixon White House introduced anti-crime measures like the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and the District of Columbia Crime Control Bill, which included no-knock warrants and other provisions that concerned many civil libertarians.

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54.

Nixon White House was unwilling to keep funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the high level seen through the 1960s, and rejected NASA Administrator Thomas O Paine's ambitious plans for the establishment of a permanent base on the moon by the end of the 1970s and the launch of a crewed expedition to Mars in the 1980s.

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55.

On May 24,1972, Nixon White House approved a five-year cooperative program between NASA and the Soviet space program, culminating in the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, a joint mission of an American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1975.

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56.

Nixon White House submitted two significant medical research initiatives to Congress in February 1971.

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57.

Nixon White House proposed reducing the number of government departments to eight.

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58.

Nixon White House supported passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

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59.

Nixon White House sent a letter to Congress supporting a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age, and Congress quickly moved forward with a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing the 18 year-old vote.

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60.

Nixon White House had campaigned as an ERA supporter in 1968, though feminists criticized him for doing little to help the ERA or their cause after his election.

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61.

At the time Nixon White House took office, there were over 500,000 American soldiers in Southeast Asia.

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62.

Conversely, Black argues that Nixon White House sincerely believed he could intimidate North Vietnam through the Madman theory.

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63.

Regardless of his opinion of the war, Nixon White House wanted to end the American role in it without the appearance of an American defeat, which he feared would badly damage his presidency and precipitate a return to isolationism.

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64.

Nixon White House sought some arrangement which would permit American forces to withdraw, while leaving South Vietnam secure against attack.

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65.

In mid-1969, Nixon White House began efforts to negotiate peace with the North Vietnamese, but negotiators were unable to reach an agreement.

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66.

In early 1970, Nixon White House sent US and South Vietnamese soldiers into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese bases, expanding the ground war out of Vietnam for the first time.

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67.

Nixon White House had previously approved a secret B-52 carpet bombing campaign of North Vietnamese positions in Cambodia in March 1969, without the consent of Cambodian leader Norodom Sihanouk.

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68.

In 1971, Nixon White House ordered incursions into Laos to attack North Vietnamese bases, provoking further domestic unrest.

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69.

When news of the leak first appeared, Nixon White House was inclined to do nothing, but Kissinger persuaded him to try to prevent their publication.

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70.

In reaction to the Easter Offensive, Nixon White House ordered a massive bombing campaign in North Vietnam known as Operation Linebacker.

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71.

In December 1972, Nixon White House ordered another massive bombing campaign, Operation Linebacker II; domestic criticism of the operation convinced Nixon White House of the necessity to quickly reach a final agreement with North Vietnam.

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72.

Nixon White House took office in the midst of the Cold War, a sustained period of geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.

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73.

The visit was carefully choreographed by both governments, and major events were broadcast live during prime time to reach the widest possible television audience in the US When not in meetings, Nixon White House toured architectural wonders such as the Forbidden City, Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall, giving many Americans received their first glimpse into Chinese life.

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74.

Nixon White House recognized Taiwan as part of China, while the Chinese agreed to pursue a peaceful settlement in the dispute with the ROC.

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75.

Nixon White House made detente, the easing of tensions with the Soviet Union, one of his top priorities.

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76.

Nixon White House believed that expanding trade with the Soviet Union would help the US economy and could allow both countries to devote fewer resources to defense spending.

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77.

In May 1972, Nixon White House met with Leonid Brezhnev and other leading Soviet officials at the 1972 Moscow Summit.

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78.

Nixon White House would embark on a second trip to the Soviet Union in 1974, meeting with Brezhnev in Yalta.

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79.

Nixon White House shifted away from the neutral stance which his predecessors had taken towards India-Pakistan hostilities.

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80.

Nixon White House established a very close relationship with Pakistan, aiding it militarily and economically, as India, now under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, was leaning towards Soviet Union.

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81.

Nixon White House considered Pakistan as a very important ally to counter Soviet influence in the Indian subcontinent and establish ties with China, with whom Pakistan was very close.

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82.

Nixon White House had been a firm supporter of Kennedy in the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion and 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis; on taking office he stepped up covert operations against Cuba and its president, Fidel Castro.

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83.

Nixon White House maintained close relations with the Cuban-American exile community through his friend, Bebe Rebozo, who often suggested ways of irritating Castro.

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84.

Nixon White House pursued a vigorous campaign of covert resistance to Allende, intended to first prevent Allende from taking office, called Track I, and then when that failed, to provide a "military solution", called Track II.

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85.

Early in his first term, Nixon White House pressured Israel over its nuclear program, and his administration developed a peace plan in which Israel would withdraw from the territories it conquered in the Six-Day War.

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86.

Nixon White House met with British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in London and French President Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

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87.

Nixon White House made groundbreaking trips to several Eastern European nations, including Romania, Yugoslavia, and Poland.

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88.

Nixon White House made fifteen international trips to 30 different countries during his presidency.

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89.

Nixon White House explored the possibility of establishing a new center-right party and running on a ticket with John Connally, but he ultimately chose to seek re-election as a Republican.

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90.

Nixon White House was challenged in the primaries by two congressmen: anti-war candidate Pete McCloskey and detente opponent John Ashbrook.

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91.

Nixon White House virtually assured his nomination by winning the New Hampshire primary with a comfortable 67.

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92.

Nixon White House was re-nominated at the August 1972 Republican National Convention, receiving 1,347 of the 1,348 votes.

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93.

Nixon White House initially expected his Democratic opponent to be Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, but the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident effectively removed Kennedy from contention.

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94.

Nonetheless, Nixon ordered constant surveillance of Kennedy by E Howard Hunt.

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95.

Nixon White House feared the effect of another independent candidacy by George Wallace, and worked to defeat Wallace's 1970 gubernatorial campaign by contributing $400,000 to the unsuccessful campaign of Albert Brewer.

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96.

Nixon White House was further damaged by the widespread perception that he mismanaged his campaign, chiefly due to the incident with Eagleton.

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97.

McGovern claimed that the "Nixon White House Administration is the most corrupt administration in our national history, " but his attacks had little effect.

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98.

Nixon White House, meanwhile, appealed to many working class Democrats who were repelled by the Democratic Party's positions on racial and cultural issues.

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99.

Nixon White House was elected to a second term on November 7,1972 in one of the largest landslide election victories in American history.

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100.

Nixon White House was not informed about the details of each CRP undertaking, but he approved of the overall operation.

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101.

The break-in was foiled by the police, and the Nixon White House administration denied any involvement in the incident.

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102.

Nixon White House attempted to discredit the hearings as a partisan witch hunt, but some Republican senators took an active role in the investigations.

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103.

Cox and the Senate Watergate Committee both asked Nixon White House to turn over the tapes, but Nixon White House refused, citing executive privilege and national security concerns.

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104.

That same month, during an hour-long televised question-and-answer session with the press, Nixon White House insisted that he had made mistakes, but had no prior knowledge of the burglary, did not break any laws, and did not learn of the cover-up until early 1973.

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105.

The White House refused both subpoenas, citing executive privilege once more.

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106.

However, one of the newly released tapes, the "smoking gun" tape, recorded just a few days after the break-in, demonstrated that Nixon had been told of the White House connection to the Watergate burglaries soon after they took place, and had approved plans to thwart the investigation.

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107.

Nixon White House stated that he was resigning for the good of the country as he had lost the political support in Congress necessary to govern effectively, and asked the nation to support the new president, Gerald Ford.

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108.

Nixon White House went on to review the accomplishments of his presidency, especially in foreign policy, and concluded by invoking Theodore Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" speech.

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109.

In foreign and domestic policy, Nixon White House's inclinations were conservative, but he assumed the presidency at the end of the 1960s, liberalism's postwar peak.

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110.

Nixon White House saw his policies on Vietnam, China, and the Soviet Union as central to his place in history.

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111.

Historian Keith W Olson has written that Nixon left a legacy of fundamental mistrust of government, rooted in Vietnam and Watergate.

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