Those words were spoken by newly inaugurated President Gerald Ford on August 9th, 1974, forty years ago this week.
PRESIDENT GERALD R. FORD SWEARING-IN CEREMONYThe "long national nightmare" Ford was referring to was a series of incredible and unprecedented events that took place in the harsh light of the American media for the better part of the preceding two years, starting with the strange case of five men who were caught breaking into the Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972, a story that was picked up by the Washington Post and ultimately led to the conviction of 48 officials, culminating in the resignation of President Richard Nixon on August 9th, 1974.
The "nightmare" also included the resignation of then-Vice President Spiro Agnew on October 10, 1973 for tax evasion charges related to bribery allegations stemming from his tenure as Governor of Maryland.
Over the course of the two years from the break in at the Watergate to the swearing in of Gerald Ford, the public was held rapt by the seemingly endless succession of revelations, resignations, and salacious details of the goings on in the Oval Office. That public interest led to a veritable industry of Watergate-related souvenirs, including items both disparaging and supporting the embattled President Nixon.
This week's new listings features items from this era, one of the most tumultuous and divisive in our recent political history.
