THE '70s In 1972, the Democrats nominated Sen. George McGovern, but Nixon won re-election by a landslide. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973 under criminal investigation for graft, and he was replaced by Senate Minority Leader Gerald Ford. The Watergate scandal forced Nixon to resign in 1974 under threat of impeachment. Ford, the first president who was never elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency, lost in 1976 to Democrat Jimmy Carter, former governor of Georgia, who promised to restore moral leadership to the presidency. When Jimmy Carter began his pursuit of the presidency, most Americans had no idea who he was. [ PREVIOUS | NEXT ]