The most powerful man in the world resigned the presidency with a single sentence.
“I hereby resign the Office of President of the United States.”
That’s it. No explanation, no apology, no reference to Watergate. Richard Nixon’s resignation letter, dated August 9th, 1974, contained exactly one sentence. That letter now sits at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, where this image was captured.
But look closely at the photograph. In the upper left corner, you’ll see a handwritten initial and a timestamp: H.K., 11:35 a.m. That’s Henry Kissinger, and his initials aren’t there by accident.
Under U.S. law, a president’s resignation only becomes official when the Secretary of State receives the letter and records the moment of receipt. Kissinger, serving in that role in 1974, had to formally accept the document on behalf of the U.S. government. When he put his initials on it at 11:35 a.m. on August 9th, 1974, Richard Nixon ceased to be President of the United States.
Here’s how that final morning unfolded.
Nixon had announced his resignation in a televised address from the Oval Office on the evening of August 8th, telling the country he would step down the following day. The next morning, he woke at the White House for the last time. At 9:30 a.m., he delivered an emotional and largely unrehearsed farewell to his cabinet and White House staff in the East Room. He spoke about his mother, his father, and Theodore Roosevelt. Staff members wept. It lasted about 20 minutes.
At 10:00 a.m., Nixon and his family walked from the White House across the South Lawn. At the steps of the presidential helicopter, he paused, turned back toward the building, raised both arms, and flashed his signature double V-sign. It remains one of the most striking images in American political history.
The helicopter lifted off the South Lawn, designated Army One for the very last time. Nixon flew to Andrews Air Force Base and boarded Air Force One bound for his home in San Clemente, California. The plane lost its call sign mid-flight: under Air Force protocol, it stopped being “Air Force One” the moment Nixon stopped being president, which happened at noon over Missouri.
At 11:35 a.m., while Nixon was still in the air, Kissinger put his initials on the letter at the State Department. At noon, Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th President in the same East Room where Nixon had said goodbye just two hours before.
The whole thing was set in motion by a single sentence. You can see the original resignation letter at the National Archives building at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.