PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON - DOCUMENT SIGNED 05/26/1972 - HFSID 16895

RICHARD NIXON
Commendation to 40-year government employee Melvon O. Carter, signed by Nixon
Commendation signed: "Richard Nixon", 1p, 8¼x10¾, with gilt Great Seal of the United States at top. May 26, 1972. Certificate of Meritorious Service presented to Melvon O. Carter of the White House Residence Staff for 40 years service to the United States Government. Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994) was elected 37th President (1969-1974) of the U.S. in 1968 after representing California in the U.S. House of Representatives (1947-1951) and U.S. Senate (1951-1953) and serving two terms as Dwight D. Eisenhower's Vice President. Nixon lost (1960), then won (1968), extremely close Presidential elections (facing John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, respectively), then won re-election by a landslide against George McGovern in 1972. His re-election triumph rapidly turned sour, however, as the burgeoning Watergate scandal claimed more and more of his key aides and finally compelled his own resignation. A pragmatic conservative who gained an early reputation as an anti-Communist, Nixon would achieve diplomatic triumphs in relations with China and the Soviet Union. On January 23, 1973, he made the historic announcement that a cease-fire on January 27 would end American involvement in the long and devastating Vietnam War. At home, Nixon initiated plans to improve the environment and added four conservative justices, including Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, to the U.S. Supreme Court. The first President to employ the 25th Amendment, he chose Gerald R. Ford to replace the resigning Spiro T. Agnew as his Vice President. On August 9, 1974, eight months after Ford was sworn in (December 6, 1973), Nixon resigned his office due to the Watergate scandal. He was pardoned by his successor on September 8. Nixon's prolific writings in his retirement years helped repair his reputation and hastened his re-emergence as an elder statesman. Fine condition.