This Day in History August 8, 1974

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There are those of you who are reading this who lived through this date.  I was alive, but I was barely two months old.  This is the date in history when President Richard Nixon announced that he would resign the following day due to the Watergate scandal.  Don't get me wrong, I know about this, but I cannot remember it.

What exactly was the Watergate scandal?  The word itself refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.

In general, these political scandals occurred between 1972 and 1974.  The hotel housed the office of the Democratic National Committee, and it was the office that was burglarized June 17, 1972.  This burglary and cover-up is now known collectively as the Watergate Scandal.  Watergate now refers to a general misuse of power.  I don't want to bore you, my wonderful readers.  If you would like to go in depth and study this scandal in great detail, check here.

I find it very interesting that this president just two years earlier won his presidency by a landslide--he carried 49 states!  Massachusetts and D.C. were the only places he didn't carry.  Of course, he did spend an unprecedented 60 million dollar campaign.

 
Websites Used:
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/World/Nixon-Richard-13735.htmlhttp://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/August-8
http://watergate.info/background/