In 1974, the U.S. was consumed by the controversial matter of then-President Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. Pressure was coming from both sides of the political aisle for him to leave office, along with the media and many Americans. Nixon, facing the distinct possibility of becoming the first President to be impeached and removed from office, stepped down on Aug. 9. Gerald Ford, his Vice-President, included this famous line in his swearing-in speech, “Our long national nightmare is over.”
