Richard M. Nixon J. Anthony Wills, 1984 White House Historical Association

Richard Nixon's political achievements, such as strengthening the role of the vice-president, instituting an affirmative action program and developing a strong foreign affairs policy with China, have been eradicated by the Watergate scandal. It was this very scandal that made Nixon the first president to resign from office. His letter of resignation briefly said: "Dear Mr. Secretary: I hereby resign the office of the President of the United States. Sincerely, Richard M. Nixon." The Watergate scandal came from the discovery that Nixon aides stole from and wire-tapped the Democratic headquarters in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, a federal investigation committee found that Nixon had set up a recording system at the White House and all of his dialogues in the Oval Office were recorded; some of the tapes were revealed to the public. This, and other related events, eventually led to him giving up his office. Faced with impeachment, Nixon announced his resignation in 1974. During the Watergate scandal, Nixon aides say he spent a lot of time alone, pondering. His favorite room was the Lincoln sitting room, where he did most of his speech writing and paperwork, preferring it to the Oval Office, which was used for more formal occasions. It was in the Lincoln sitting room that Edward Cox proposed to Nixon's daughter Tricia, and where National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger delivered the historic invitation for Nixon's visit to China. Although President Richard Nixon was generally cold to the press, he had the White House swimming pool filled in to give reporters more room when covering White House events. Nixon's wife, Patricia Nixon, an active volunteer, arranged nondenominational Sunday services in the East Room for thousands of families and was responsible for adding 600 paintings and antiques to the White House Collection.