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Apollo 11 was the first flight to land humans on the Moon. It had been launched in Florida four days before and was under the command of Neil Armstrong. It had fulfilled the dream of the late President Kennedy who vowed that the United States would reach the Moon before the Soviets.
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Since the United States was an anti-communist country, Nixon's visit to China was historic. It was an important step to have relations between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China. Nixon felt the meetings had changed the world and a bridge had been built to make peace between the two nations.
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The Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities begins its hearings of the Watergate scandal on television. The hearings take place in Washington, D.C. and are headed by North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin. Harvard Professor Archibald Cox is sworn in as a special Watergate Prosecutor. As the public watched the hearings, Nixon's approval ratings deteriorated and articles of impeachment against the President were being submitted.
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Due to the scandal of Watergate and the threat of being impeached, Richard Nixon resigns as the 37th President of the United States. He had addressed the nation of his intentions the previous evening on television. Although he did resign, he never admitted to any criminal acts, just felt he made errors in judgement.
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At a conference held in Finland, the United States, Canada, and all the European States, with the exception of Albania and Andorra, were all in attendance. The accords were a declaration to improve relations between the Communists and the West due to Cold War tensions. It was hopeful to the Soviet Union to be seen in a more positive light.
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The 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was celebrated with a series of events and observances. The official events started on April 1 in Delaware when the American Freedom Train began its twenty one month tour of the 48 contiguous states.
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Thirteen days of secret talks had taken place at Camp David. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and President Carter were all in attendance. The peaceful meetings were an effort to demonstrate that positive relations between Arab Nations and Israel were possible.
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In an effort to protest the Soviet War in Afganistan, President Jimmy Carter issued an ultimatum that if the Soviet troops did not withdraw from the war, the U.S. would not be in the Olympic Games. The decision to boycott was very controversial and left many athletes with their dreams never becoming a realtiy.
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As soon as Ronald Reagan completed his acceptance speech after being sworn in as President of the United States, 52 American Hostages were released in Iran. The hostages were held under terrible conditions for 444 days. The Muslim student followers were angry with the United States for letting the former Shah of Iran come here for medical treatment since they wanted him to stand trial and face execution.
