June 17 - Break-in at the Watergate
Security Officer’s Log of the Watergate Office Building Showing Entry for June 17, 1972
During the early hours of June 17, 1972, Frank Wills was the security guard on duty at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC. This log shows that at 1:47 a.m. he called the police, who arrested five burglars inside the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. Investigation into the break-in exposed a trail of abuses that led to the highest levels of the Nixon administration and ultimately to the President himself.
(via ourpresidents)
Dinner Diplomacy Thaws the Cold War
Sometimes sharing a good meal is the best way to resolve the differences you may have with another. For the United States and China, this strategy helped normalize relations during a peak of the Cold War. Read more
Images from Nixon’s culinary travels through China:
Banquet place settings (cigarettes included); Chinese people having lunch outdoors; President Nixon using chopsticks; Pat Nixon samples cuisine in the Peking Hotel kitchen; Menu from Banquet given by Prime Minister Chou in honor of President Nixon. February, 1972.
Ballet scene at the Great Hall of the People attended by President and Mrs. Nixon during their trip to Peking, China. 02/22/1972.
From the Nixon White House Photos.
Ping Pong Diplomacy
President Richard Nixon’s trip to China in 1972 ended 25 years of isolation between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China. During the week of February 21-29, the President traveled to Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai - thawing relations with a country that had long been closed to the West.
Forty years later, Our Presidents will be revisiting the iconic events of Nixon in China. Stay tuned for behind-the-scenes details about this landmark trip.
Listen to White House phone calls and meetings discussing Nixon’s Visit to China on iTunesU.
Photos: President and Mrs. Nixon’s arrival in Peking, China. Nixon reviews troops at the airport; Air Force One in Peking, 02/21/1972.
-from the Nixon Library
R.I.P. Elvis Presley
This photograph of Richard Nixon shaking hands with Elvis Presley in the Oval Office was taken on December 21, 1970. Elvis died on August 16, 1977.
“That amendment, as you know, provides for the right to vote of all of our young people between 18 and 21, 11 million new voters as a result of this amendment…”
-President Nixon speaking at the Twenty-sixty Amendment Certification Ceremony. July 5th, 1971
The Twenty-sixty Amendment to the Constitution lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years of age. President Nixon certified this addition to the Constitution 40 years ago today, and you can watch a clip of the ceremony here.
Our education specialist at the Nixon Presidential Library has created an interactive exhibit on the Twenty-sixth Amendment where you can explore documents, video, and correspondences related to the voting age in America. We think it’s pretty interesting, and you can check it out through the Presidential Timeline.
Government Exhibit Number 60: Uher 5000 Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder
This tape recorder was operated by President Richard Nixon’s White House secretary Rosemary Wood as part of the Nixon White House taping system. Wood used this recorder to create the tape of June 20, 1970, containing the infamous “18 1/2 minute gap.”
Government Exhibit One: Photograph of the Watergate Complex
During the night of June 17, 1972, five burglars broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC. This photograph was used as an exhibit in the trial of Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy.
