Skip to main content

Vice President Ford Becomes President

1974

In 1972, five burglars are arrested while breaking into the offices of the National Democratic Committee located at the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. Newspaper accounts soon link President Richard Nixon to the incident. The Senate holds a lengthy investigation that uncovers evidence that links Nixon to the burglary and subsequent cover-up. As the House Judiciary Committee moves toward recommending Nixon’s impeachment, he resigns the Presidency. Vice President Gerald Ford is then sworn in as President.