for most of his life, President Nixon was the first chief executive to
resign from office because of a scandal. Aconservative politician and
vice president to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President Nixon
was almost obsessive about world stability. To that end, he estab-
lished relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and
sought to reduce tensions with the Soviet Union. His summit meet-
ings with Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev produced a treaty to limit
strategic nuclear weapons. He pursued peace negotiations to end the
Vietnam War, and, in January 1973, he announced an accord with
North Vietnam to end American involvement in Indochina. More-
over, his secretary of state, Henry A. Kissinger, negotiated disen-
gagement agreements in 1974 between Israel and its opponents,
Egypt and Syria, arising out of the 1973 war.
After the 1972 election, the Nixon administration was embroiled in
the Watergate scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of
the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 campaign. The
break-in was traced to officials of the Committee to Reelect the Pres-
ident. Anumber of administration officials resigned; some were later
convicted of offenses connected with efforts to cover up the affair.
President Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts
forced him to yield tape recordings that indicated that he had, in fact,
tried to divert the investigation. Faced with what seemed almost cer-
tain impeachment, President Nixon announced on 8 August 1974 that
he would resign the next day to begin “that process of healing which
is so desperately needed in America.” His resignation allowed Vice
President Gerald R. Fordto assume the presidency.
NONPROLIFERATION TREATY (NPT). The NPT was an arms
controlagreement negotiated in the late 1960s to prevent the spread
of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation
in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to foster an environment
for nuclear disarmament. The NPT remains the only international
agreement committed to disarming nonnuclear states. Opened for
signature in 1968, the treaty went into force on 5 March 1970, and to
date over 185 nations have signed the pact.
The NPT provides for two categories of states. Nuclear weapons
states—the United States, Russia, the People’s Republic of China
(PRC), France, and the United Kingdom—commit themselves not to
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