Nixon tried to block the judicial process, which led the public to call for the president to be impeached for obstruction of justice. In 1974, in United States v. Richard M. Nixon, the Supreme Court ruled that the president had to surrender the so-called Watergate tapes. Nixon resigned to avoid being impeached. Nixon had begun his presidency hoping to heal America, to “bring people together.” He left the presidency having deeply wounded the nation. The credibility gap between the presidency and the public that had developed under Lyndon B. Johnson had become a chasm under Nixon, as the Watergate revelations fueled a widespread cynicism about the integrity of politics and politicians.
