Presidency of Richard Nixon civil libertarians. In response to growing drug-related crime, Nixon became the first president to emphasize drug control, and he presided over the establishment of the Drug Enforcement Administration. After a nearly decade-long national effort, the United States won the race to land astronauts on the moon on July 20, 1969, with the flight of Apollo 11. Nixon spoke with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their moonwalk. He called the conversation "the most historic phone call ever made from the White House". Nixon, however, was unwilling to keep funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the high
Pardon of Richard Nixon Pardon of Richard Nixon A presidential pardon of Richard Nixon () was issued on September 8, 1974, by President Gerald Ford, which granted his predecessor Richard Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president. In particular, this covered the time of the Watergate scandal. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford, who succeeded to the presidency upon Nixon's resignation, explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that the Nixon family's situation was "a tragedy in which we all have played