Richard Milhous Nixon was the
President of the United States from January 20, 1969 until he resigned on August 9, 1974, the first and only president to do so, as of 2016. Nixon took office after the passage of
Lyndon Johnson's
Great Society programs and did not make a major effort to repeal them, though he did advocate a "
New Federalism" program that would devolve powers to state and local governments. Nixon instead concentrated on foreign affairs, and his
Nixon Doctrine called for indirect assistance to American allies in the
Cold War, with the "
Vietnamization" of the
Vietnam War being the most notable example of his doctrine. Nixon
pursued a
detente with the
People's Republic of China, taking advantage of the
Sino-Soviet split and significantly altering the nature of the Cold War. The Nixon presidency also saw the creation of the
EPA,
integration of Southern public schools, and the
Apollo program successfully land Americans on the
Moon during Nixon's presidency. Nixon's accomplishments were largely overshadowed by the scandals of the administration, and both Nixon and Vice President
Spiro Agnew stepped down from office during Nixon's second term. In 1974, Nixon was succeeded by
Gerald Ford, who Nixon had
chosen to succeed Agnew in 1973.