...Political leaders of the United States were, at one time, thought of as essential members to our society. Naturally political leaders are those who represent, satisfy, and help the needs of the people. However our trust in our the government has drastically declined. People lost faith and trust in the government as a result of national secrets hidden and scandals that occurred right under our noses. One of the biggest scandals that further caused the mistrust of the government by the people was the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandal had a great impact on public opinion. It changed the way people looked at the presidency, politics, and Congress. It also changed the media's view. Media gained a huge influence on American politics and the U.S would forever remember the first President that resigned. The Watergate scandal became one of the world's biggest controversy. Understanding the crime goes into the dynamics and results of the scandal....
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...repair the damages that were caused the Watergate scandal in the first article. From a speech President Nixon had given, it showed that there were a lot things that still needed to be done regarding the scandal. The article stated that the officials under the Watergate scandal were cheating, lying and engaging in illegal activities while in high positions of the government. The people believed that the president did not stand up to the crisis and that he had only done the bare requirements for the situation at hand. The people stongly believed that President Nixon should have done something more to eliminate the Watergate scandal as soon as it was leaked. The article had also showed that the people were not happy with President Nixon’s actions by only accepting the resignations of H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, (Genovese, 1999). He had also accepted the resignation of Attorney General Kleindienst and appointed Elliot Richardson and instructed him to handle the crisis. Finally, the President had made the correct decision by dismissing his White House Counsel John Dean. The second article portrays President Nixon as a good, moral leader. It tried to defend the President from being impeached by acknowledging his achievements. The article also showed that he was human and not perfect. The actions of the President by trying to resolve the crisis, led to speculations by the Chicago Tribune's editorial to leave office. They did not believe in President Nixon and felt...
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...Out of the events in American History that have occurred throughout the period, one of the ones that interests me the most is the Watergate Scandal. With that in mind, the book I chose to read is called Watergate: The Corruption of American Politics and the Fall of Richard Nixon by Fred Emery. Although I had a basic knowledge of the scandal, I learned much by reading this book including those behind it and the coverup itself, in greater detail than I had known before. The book starts off by giving some background information including events that were transpiring during the Nixon administration. Many of these consist with Nixon’s handling of Vietnam and other events such as the Kent State Shootings and then the Pentagon Papers. Through this...
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...Part One: How was the American public’s opinion affected by events such as the Vietnam War or Watergate? Part Two: What search engine did you use? Google What words did you type into the search engine to get your results? “american public opinion on watergate scandal” “american public opinion on vietnam war” What sources did you choose? Provide the web address and title of each source. Watergate Scandal: Nixon Resigns http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/the-american-publics-attitudes-about-nixon-post-watergate/ The American Public’s Attitudes about Richard Nixon Post-Watergate http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/the-american-publics-attitudes-about-nixon-post-watergate/ Vietnam War Protests http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-protests/...
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...On June 17, 1972, four burglars--one had served as head of security for president Nixon--broke into the Watergate office complex, which served as a headquarters for the Democratic Party (Perlstein 50). Upon interrogation, many officials testified that the Watergate burglars had received aid from inside the White House. The first to accuse Nixon of involvement in the scandal was John W. Dean. A White House counsel, Dean betrayed the president’s trust by sharing information regarding his involvement in Watergate, as well as in the disruption of Democratic campaigns from the 1972 election. (Jeffrey et al. 12) On October 23, 1973, Nixon turned over tapes of his conversations in the Oval Office, and would later disclose more in April of 1974. The second set of tapes proved not only to further incriminate President Nixon, but to have undergone heavy editing before their release. (13) Finally, the original, unedited tapes released on August 5, 1974, provided audio evidence of Nixon ordering the Central Intelligence Agency to keep the Federal Bureau of Investigation from analyzing Watergate further. On August 9, 1974, Nixon decided to resign instead of facing his inevitable impeachment. (14) In the words of Harry P. Jeffrey, a professor of history at California State University, Fullerton, “The June 23 tape was the smoking gun, and the president’s...
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...Running head: WATERGATE 1 WATERGATE DEVRY UNIVERSITY ONLINE. OCTOBER 20, 2014 WATERGATE 2 INTRODUCTION Watergate is a word that will forever be connected to the 37th President, Richard Nixon. What started out as a botched robbery at the Democratic Reelection headquarters would later become know for bringing down the Presidency. The American public would be able to see and hear firsthand what actually occurred in the Whitehouse behind closed doors, because of the national media that it created and the broadcasting of the Watergate Senate Hearings. This would bring to light the illegal activity that occurred during this time affecting many and changing politics as they were known. This paper will discuss the events that lead up to the Senate hearings and the fall of an American President. The careers that were made and the ones destroyed. The outcome and how it affected the American public and the future of politics. WATERGATE 3 WATERGATE At a time when the American population was dealing with the devastation of the Vietnam War and the loss of many loved ones a robbery at the Watergate hotel hit the papers. Many people did not know or even care what this meant, but later it would be found to affect the entire nation. On June 17, 1972 five men broke into the Democratic Reelection headquarters that was located at the Watergate hotel in Washington, DC (Watergate Info, 2012). They were caught with more...
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...Modern American History: 1950 to the 21st Century (HIST101) Colorado Technical University For this project I am going to discuss two different articles about President Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. The first article is “The Washington Post Editorial Watergate: The unfinished business.” The other article that I will be discussing and comparing is one written by Dean Burch. “In Defense of Richard Nixon.” I will provide a brief summary of the two arguments as well as describe how the Watergate events changed American views in politics and politicians. I will also speculate how the events could have been different if the media and population during the Watergate scandal had today’s technology, an example being smart phones, and social media. Editorial: Watergate: The Unfinished Business In this Washington Post Editorial its opening sentence describes Nixon’s speech and actions as “far-reaching as they where in impact and effect” (1973, May 1). The editorial goes on to talk about how the President wants to turn the Watergate scandal over to the courts and let them sort it out. The writer then states that the President removed and added members of his cabinet, some of which were directly related to the Watergate scandal, and for the most part it was not a decision that the public supported. The article then goes on and makes the remark “But the remaking of the Nixon presidency will also depend on his willingness and capacity to bring not just new men, or even...
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...1950 to the 21st Century Phase 4 IP American History 1992-2000 Professor Justine James 21 April 2014 The period from 1992 to 2000 is one of the most interesting in American History. Select two of the events listed and discuss the impact that these events had on America. Be sure to include information and descriptions of the principle individuals involved. Compare and contrast their impact on America, be specific and detailed. Use APA style requirements. * NAFTA * H. Ross Perot * Rodney King * Immigration * Clinton’s Scandals * Wal-Mart * “Contract With America” * The technological divide * Disputed Election of 2000 The Clinton Recovery When President Nixon resigned in August of 1974, then Vice President Gerald Ford took over as President. President Nixon’s resignation was the first in Presidential history due to a scandal that is still considered controversial to this day. Termed “Watergate,” the break-ins at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was orchestrated by a group of President Nixon’s aides who eventually were caught and indicted for their involvement. The group was part of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP) whose “plan was to burglarize, use electronic surveillance, kidnapping, and prostitution to gather information.” (Editorial Board, 2012) The CRP made four attempts to break into the DNC. On the third attempt they were able to get wire taps planted in the offices of the DNC Chairman and Executive...
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...Richard Nixon was the first President to be impeached in America but the legal system was also on trial. The political fiasco put the legal profession in a bad light. Some of the lawyers pleaded guilty. It seemed like it was hard to keep a secret if there were lots of people that were involved in this secret plan. The Watergate scandal rocked the whole nation of America, and to a great extent it also shocked the world. The center of this controversy Richard Nixon was the most powerful man in the world. The president of the most powerful nation on earth was under trial here. Nixon’s aides were charged with different crimes in connection with the break- in at the Watergate building. President Nixon had resigned from his office while insisting on his innocence of the crime being attributed to him. Investigators couldn’t find the “smoking gun” that would point to the president as the mastermind or as a part of a grand conspiracy in the break-in. It is also an important to note that the public’s access to this information and their following reaction that really helped to understand the real issue. The question as to how did the Watergate scandal changed America? There are...
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...Watergate Written for Submission to Term Paper Warehouse Author Note: This paper was prepared for HIST 101 Type Classes Abstract The “Watergate Scandal” was a very important event that occurred in American history that occurred on 17 June 1972. This event surrounded the FBI, CIA, Democratic and Republican parties, and the resignation of the President of the United States of America. 69 top government officials were charged with crimes such as perjury, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, illegal campaigning, wiretapping, and even burglary. The nature of the activities behind the event-raised flags in areas never considered before and forced a lot of dedicated US citizens to lose faith in their government. Many of the details about this crime that happened over 40 years ago have since surfaced and have been brought into the light. Although, the main reason why it even occurred at all is still a mystery. The outcomes behind this mystery are as numerous as the stars in the sky. The Watergate Scandal When did it happen? On 17 June 1972, 5 men were arrested for burglarizing the Watergate offices of the Democratic National Committee in Washington D.C. The five men were Bernard L. Barker, Virgilio R. Gonzales, James W. McCord, Eugenio R. Martinez, and Frank A. Sturgis. All five of these men were known to be Anti-Castro supporters, and to have worked with the C.I.A before in their lives. At the time of the break-in, Deep Throat was the Associate Director of...
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...The Watergate Scandal Richard Milhous Nixon was the thirty-seventh President of the United States of America from 1969 until 1974. Nixon completed his first term as President in 1973 and was re-elected for the position for the next four years. However, Nixon would have his time in the White House cut short by the series of events that occurred in the twenty-six months that followed the Watergate burglary. On June 17, 1972 five men, one White House employee and four Cubans, broke into the Watergate Office Building in Washington, DC in an attempt to bug the Democratic National Committee (DNC) office. The break in and the events that took place afterwards led to the resignation of Richard Milhous Nixon on August 8, 1974. The morning of June 18, Nixon was at his home in Key Biscayne, FL. when he read a headline about the Watergate break in. The idea was out of this world and Nixon did not believe what he was reading. Nixon dismissed the story as a political prank (Nixon 625-626). James McCord, Bernard Barker, Virgilo Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, and Frank Sturgis had been arrested and charged with second-degree burglary by the Washington police (WHT 820). McCord, a former CIA officer, was employed by the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP) as a security consultant. Ironically McCord was supposed to prevent the very things he was doing to the DNC. Nixon telephoned Charles Colson, a special counsel to President Nixon, that evening to discuss the Watergate break in. Colson said...
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...Richard Nixon the 37th U.S. President was involved in one of the most controversial issues that the United States has ever seen. Nixon's role in the Watergate Scandal definitely warranted his impeachment. The Watergate Scandal remains well known throughout history today. This problem led toward Nixon resigning only two years in his 2nd term. Did President Nixon make the right choices? Can anybody truly trust the government after a situation like this?. Many Historians believe this altered the course of history and so we can't never truly trust the Government again. Although others believe that Nixon did not make the best decision; but, this should not alter the way the people view our Government. On June 18, 1972, a story about a robbery...
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...reality. In the next paragraph you will hear about Nixon’s childhood. You will learn how Nixon became president, and some of his accomplishments. Speaking of Nixon, did you know that his middle name was Milhous? So let's get started, hope you like what's next. The day was Thursday January 9 1913 in California when life gave way to Richard Milhous Nixon. His father was francis Nixon and his mother was Hannah Nixon. Nixon lived on a ranch in Yorba Linda California. After living at the lemon farm, Nixon wanted to do more in life, not just live at a lemon farm. Growing up, Nixon had 4 other brothers; Harold, Francis, Arthur and Edward. Next, Nixon served in WWII. After that, he went to Duke University of Law. As an adult, he worked for the federal government after he was Vice President. I...
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...around the world as well. This paper is an attempt to reveal and speculate on some of these important events. 1950’s A growing amount of American people began to speak out about inequality and injustice during the 1950’s and the Rosa Parks bus incident is a perfect example. On December 1, 1955, a 42 year old African American woman who worked as a seamstress named Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery, Alabama city bus to go home from work. On that bus that day, Rosa Parks started a new era in the American quest for equal rights (Rosa Parks Bus, 2002). Parks sat toward the middle of the bus, right behind the 10 seats that were reserved for white people. The bus ended up getting completely filled up and when a white man that entered the bus did not have a seat, the driver tried to make the four blacks sitting just behind the white section give up their seats so that the white man could sit down. Mrs. Park’s who was already a NAACP activist, quietly refused to do so. For disobeying the bus driver’s orders and not giving up her seat to the white man, she was arrested and convicted of violating segregation laws, which were known as “Jim Crow laws”. Mrs. Parks ended up appealing the conviction and challenging the legality of segregation in our country, and triggered a boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama bus system. In cities all throughout the south, segregated bus companies were constant reminders of the inequities of American society. African Americans made up about 75 percent...
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...facts about the Watergate Scandal that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. It looked like it might have cost these two their jobs, reputation, and most importantly, their lives due to the extent they went through to obtain information. The film begins with a security guard, Frank Wills, who plays himself at the Watergate complex working the night shift. He soon finds a door that is unlocked with tape and notices it to be suspicious so he calls police who then find and arrest five burglars in the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Following this, everyone is searching for news and who these burglars were and why they did it so the Washington Post assigns Bob Woodward who is one of the new reporters to cover the story. Woodward becomes knowledgeable that out of the five men, four were Cuban Americans from Miami and the last was named as James McCord. McCord reveals that he had recently left the CIA as other have CIA ties. Woodward then connects the burglars to Howard Hunt who was a former...
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