The “Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” was signed in Paris. The agreement did not, however, actually restore peace there; rather, it only ended US military involvement in Vietnam and temporarily stopped the fighting between the North and the South. Though the agreement allowed the United States to withdraw, fighting between the Vietnamese continued until North Vietnam captured Saigon in 1975.
Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (passed January 1, 1970) to “promote efforts which will prevent or elimate damage to the environment.”
Four people were killed and nine wounded when the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of anti-war protestors at Kent State University.
Richard Nixon announced the US invasion of Cambodia. The news prompted protests and anger among the public.
Congress enacted the Controlled Substances Act, which classified all federally regulated controlled substances into five categories based on medical use, harmfulness, and potential addictiveness.
Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act of 1970, which amended federal air pollution policy and implemented sweeping environmental protections.
The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, granting the right to vote to any citizen at least eighteen years of age.
Richard Nixon became the first US president to visit the People’s Republic of China when he traveled there for one week in 1972. During his visit, Nixon met with Mao Zedong and other Chinese officials. The trip proved a success when China agreed to establish full diplomatic relations with the US.
Determined to win the 1972 presidential election, the Nixon administration sent special agents—called the “Plumbers”—to the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel. They hoped to copy documents and wiretap telephones. The Plumbers were caught by a hotel security guard. The Nixon administration managed to cover up the incident temporarily, but the scandal was revealed by reporters and Senate hearings. Nixon was eventually forced to resign.
Richard Nixon was re-elected by a margin of nearly eighteen million popular votes over Democratic anti-war candidate George McGovern.