August 8

On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon announced his resignation, effective August 9, 1974.

Nixon was facing impeachment hearings in the Senate, based on various charges from the Watergate break in and related incidents. According to the Constitution, a President may be removed for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". "High" in this context means against the state. Since the Watergate scandal was about manipulating elections, his crimes qualified.

The process of impeachment is complex. It begins in the House of Representatives, with a petition by a Member. It may also be asked for by a special prosecutor, by petition, or by other parties qualified to do so. This request then goes to (typically) the House Judiciary Committee. In the case of President Nixon, the Articles of Impeachment did come out of the Judiciary Committee. The charges were obstruction of justice, later followed by abuse of power and contempt of Congress. This occurred on July 27, 29 and 30th of 1974.

The next step is the charges are recommended to the full House and are voted on whether to proceed further. The charges are voted on individually and may be modified before passed on to the Senate. In Richard Nixon's case, he resigned before this process.

"Managers", elected by the House, present the case to the Senate. The Senate then votes on the Articles of Impeachment. Conviction requires a 2/3 majority. If the Senate decides guilty, the official is immediately removed from office. A President may not pardon an impeached individual. If the impeachment proceedings are of a President, the Chief Justice presides.

While Nixon resigned before the House vote, Bill Clinton did not. The House voted on Articles of Impeachment, only to have Clinton acquitted by the Senate. Likewise Andrew Jackson was impeached by the House, only to be acquitted by the Senate.