Levy noted that Agnew "helped recast the Republicans as a Party of 'Middle Americans' and, even in disgrace, reinforced the public's distrust of government." For Agnew himself, despite his rise from his origins in Baltimore to next in line to the presidency, "there could be little doubt that history's judgment was already upon him, the first Vice President of the United States to have resigned in disgrace. All that he achieved or sought to achieve in his public life ... had been buried in that tragic and irrefutable act". Levy sums up the "might-have-been" of Agnew's career thus: It is not a far stretch to imagine that if Agnew had contested corruption charges half as hard as Nixon denied culpability for Watergate—as Goldwater and several other stalwart conservatives wanted him to—today we might be speaking of Agnew-Democrats and Agnewnomics, and deem Agnew the father of modern conservatism. References Notes Bibliography External links FBI files on Spiro Agnew Papers of Spiro T. Agnew at the University of Maryland Libraries Prosecution's summary of the evidence against Agnew |- |- |- |- 1918 births 1968 United States vice-presidential candidates 1972 United States vice-presidential candidates 1996 deaths 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century vice presidents of the United States American government officials convicted of crimes American people convicted of tax crimes American people of Greek descent American politicians convicted of bribery Anti-Zionism in the United States Baltimore County Executives Burials at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens Deaths from cancer in Maryland Deaths from acute leukemia Disbarred American lawyers Episcopalians from Maryland Republican Party governors of Maryland Greek Protestants Johns Hopkins University alumni Lawyers from Baltimore Maryland lawyers Maryland politicians convicted of crimes Military personnel from Baltimore Nixon administration cabinet members Nixon administration controversies People from Rancho Mirage, California People from Towson, Maryland Politicians from Baltimore Republican Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Republican Party vice presidents of the United States Richard Nixon 1968 presidential campaign United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II University of Baltimore School of Law alumni Vice presidents of the United States