A stunned American nation learned this week in 1974 that President Richard Nixon had chosen to resign the office of President of the United States of America. In doing so, Nixon was the first chief executive in the nation’s history to step down.
Nixon’s first vice president, Spiro Agnew, had resigned the previous December after pleading no contest to a charge of evading income taxes. He was replaced by Gerald Ford, who would be sworn in as the 38th president.
Nixon’s decision to quit rather than face a certain House impeachment was a move that captivated the American public for months. Democrat North Dakota Senator Quinten Burdick and Republican Representative Mark Andrews offered their speculations to the Fargo Forum newspaper. Both lawmakers indicated that the State of North Dakota would most likely see little difference in an incoming administration under a Gerald Ford administration.
Burdick said, “I doubt there would be much difference in the general tenor of the administration. Ford generally supported the Nixon policies, so it would be pretty much the same.”
Andrews, who would later be elected one of North Dakota’s senators, observed that Ford was in favor of solving problems closer to home rather than by big government in Washington DC, saying “I would see little change, if any. Gerry Ford is committed to the movement of our grain and the export market to use our food as a weapon for peace overseas. Of course, this is the way we feel in North Dakota.”
For weeks following the resignation, newspapers, television and radio were flooded with reaction, opinion and commentary about one of America’s most significant events.
Dakota Datebook by Steve Stark
Source:
The Fargo Forum August 8, 1974
