History of the United States II / Unit 15 USH2 2158 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
From Landslide to Resignation
The idea
In nineteen seventy-two Nixon won reelection with five hundred twenty electoral votes; George McGovern carried only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. McGovern's campaign looked disorganised after he dropped his running mate, Thomas Eagleton, and voters, the anchor says, favoured Nixon's Vietnam policy two to one. The break-in had come five months before the vote. Less than two years after the landslide, Nixon resigned.
In practice
A near-sweep of the electoral map, and a president leaving office before impeachment.
Where people slip
The misreading assumes a president so strongly endorsed could not be forced out. The landslide gave Nixon no protection once the tapes existed: the courts ordered them released, the House Judiciary Committee voted articles of impeachment, and the Yawp says no scandal did more to unravel public trust. Two facts belong in one entry: the largest victory of Nixon's career, and the only presidential resignation.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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