1973: VP Agnew resigned

On this day in 1973, VP Agnew resigned.    

Spiro Agnew was elected governor of Maryland in the mid-1960′s.   

In 1968, Richard Nixon shocked the world by selecting him as VP.  

A few months later,  they won a very close election in 1968 but Governor Agnew did not deliver Maryland that year.

During Nixon’s first term, VP Agnew spoke around the country against anti-war demonstrators and the media.   He became very popular with “The silent majority” as President Nixon referred to people who worked, paid taxes and loved their country.

The Nixon-Agnew ticket was reelected in 1972.     

The Nixon-Agnew relationship was never close but that’s not unusual for a president and vice-president.

In 1973, we began to read stories of corruption.    First, the Justice Department uncovered widespread evidence of political corruption.    Secondly, there were stories of bribes into his tenure as Vice President.

It all happened very quickly.    Within days, he resigned and was eventually replaced by VP Ford in December.    Later, he wrote a book presenting his defense but I don’t think that it sold well.

The Agnew story was a bit of a shock.  Many of us heard the news during the baseball game or the Mets playing the Reds in the NLCS.     

Mr. Agnew wrote a book a few years later.   It was about a Vice President titled “The Canfield Decision“.