Final answer:
Richard Nixon was the President of the United States forced to resign to avoid impeachment hearings due to the Watergate scandal in 1974. The House Judiciary Committee recommended impeachment, but he stepped down before the full House could vote. Nixon and other presidents like Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton faced impeachment proceedings, where Johnson and Clinton were both acquitted by the Senate.
Step-by-step explanation:
President Forced to Resign
The President of the United States who was forced to resign to avoid impeachment was Richard Nixon. In 1974, Nixon faced a near-certain impeachment due to his involvement in the Watergate scandal. The House Judiciary Committee had already recommended impeachment, and bipartisan support for Nixon's removal was strong. However, before the full House could vote on the articles of impeachment, Nixon resigned from the presidency on August 8, 1974. This followed the Supreme Court's order to release tapes evidencing his involvement in the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up.
Impeachment proceedings in U.S. history have also involved other presidents, including Andrew Johnson, who was impeached but acquitted by one vote in the Senate, and Bill Clinton, who was impeached by the House but also acquitted by the Senate in the late 1990s. The impeachment process is a constitutional mechanism that allows Congress to remove a president for committing "high crimes and misdemeanors" if the Senate convicts them by a two-thirds majority.
Learn more about Watergate scandal