...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...
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...(DNC) at the Watergate Hotel and Complex on June 17, 1972, the burglary was reported briefly and soon forgotten amidst other headlining news. Months later, the Watergate Burglary exploded when ties were found between the break-in and Richard Nixon’s Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP) (Bernstein). Thus began the Watergate Scandal: the bugging and burglary at the Watergate Complex, the cover-up ordered by President Nixon himself, and the Watergate trials which revealed patterns of ethical misconduct within the Nixon administration. The scandal’s traditional timeline ranges from the break-in at the Watergate Complex, Washington D.C. in June of 1972...
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...Watergate Paper Paul Salabarria HIS/145 June 26, 2012 Jeff Wilson Watergate Paper Watergate was a scandal that involved a break-in into the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the Nixon administration. Watergate was one of the most famous political scandals in American history. Decades after Watergate historians and others continue to argue about its causes and significance (Brinkley, 2007). It marked a period that both weakened our relationships with other countries as well as weakened the public’s belief in the President. A majority of Americans believe that newspapers, radio and television are devoting too much space and time to covering the Watergate scandals (“53%,” 1974). Both Time and Newsweek reported that John Dean, counsel to the president, was ready to say that the President knew of the Watergate cover-up. Newsweek put out an advance press release of this story first, and this became the basis of stories elsewhere. The Washington Post, however, reported the story carefully framed to put the charges in a proper context. Their articles carefully “pointed out the key fact that the statements by Mr. Dean were made while negotiating for immunity” (“Watergate,” 1973). The whole Watergate case is surely an example of why the press is important to a free society. With due respect for Judge Sirica’s persistence in breaking down those convicted in the break-in, it’s doubtful that the story of the scandal would ever have come out as completely if there had...
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...In 1972, one of the worst presidential scandals in the history of the United States took place. The Watergate Scandal, involving the President at the time, Richard Nixon. This all took place while Nixon was running for reelection and the United States was embroiled in the Vietnam War. What took place during this scandal is said that, five burglars were arrested for stealing copies of top-secret documents and hacking into the office’s phones in the Watergate building in Washington DC. It was thought at first to be an ordinary burglary, but when the connection was made that the perpetrators were in relation to Nixon’s reelection campaign, (CRP) questions did not go unasked. While most were not sure if Nixon was involved or knew about Watergate, it later came to light that Nixon was trying to cover up, arranging thousands of dollars in “hush money” to the burglars in an attempt to keep them quiet. Later himself and his assistants came up with a plan to mandate the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to hinder with the ongoing investigation of the FBI. This action only put Nixon more...
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...It was suggested that the President had tried to 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...
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...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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...1 Nixon and the Watergate Scandal Adrian Tillman HIS/145 the American Experience After 1945 January 5, 2012 Dr. Bernnell Peltier 2 Nixon and the Watergate Scandal In 1968 Richard Nixon became the 37th President of the United States of America. Only serving one full term, he also was under heavy scrutiny and the only President to resign from office. His resignation came before his inevitable impeachment from Congress. With the resignation of his Vice President Spiro Agnew (in 1973 because of bribes and kickbacks; Brinkley 2007) he was also forced to “come clean” in his scandals about the Watergate office building in Washington D.C. The Watergate scandal was when five men from Nixon’s re-election committee broke into the Democratic Party headquarters on June 17, 1972. Nixon was soon accused of “covering up” the scandal and refusing to turn over evidence subpoenaed by the Supreme Court ("Impeachment History" 2007 Pearson Education). The Beginnings As the 36th Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower (1952-1960), Nixon a Republican was defeated in the 1960 Presidential election by John F. Kennedy. He continued to work as a Republican leader throughout the 60’s and worked his way to the forefront by...
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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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...The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States during the early 1970s, following a break-in by five men at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972, and President Richard Nixon's administration's subsequent attempt to cover up its involvement. After the five burglars were caught and the conspiracy was discovered, Watergate was investigated by the United States Congress. Meanwhile, Nixon's administration resisted its probes, which led to a constitutional crisis. The scandal led to the discovery of multiple abuses of power by members of the Nixon administration, an impeachment process against the president that led to articles of impeachment,indictment of 69 people, with trials or pleas resulting in 48 being found guilty, many of whom were top Nixon officials. Nixon and his close aides also ordered investigations of activist groups and political figures, using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as political weapons....
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...1980 saw the problems of the 1960s come back to haunt the nation. In Vietnam, despite Nixon's efforts to conclude a "peace with honor," the American involvement ended with the victory of the North Vietnamese and a defeat for the United States. The moral authority of the powerful presidency that developed under Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson eroded as a result of Nixon's Watergate scandal. In an effort to avoid similar mistakes, the voters turned out Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford, in 1976 and elected a political newcomer, Jimmy Carter, of Georgia. In spite of their personal decency and hard work, neither Gerald Ford nor Jimmy Carter proved to be strong, effective presidents who could meet the challenges of the 1970s. Ford was the 38th President of the United States, and the only one to have served as both President and Vice President without being elected by the Electoral College. As President, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward détente in the Cold War. With the invasion of South Vietnam by the communist north nine months into his presidency, U.S. involvement in Vietnam essentially ended. Domestically, Ford presided over arguably the weakest economy since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession during his tenure. One of his more controversial acts was to grant a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal – this pardon played a large role in his failure to be reelected: the American public...
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...President’s men” and it was a movie made about the Watergate Burglary. The Watergate scandal was one of most controversial government scandals in the 1970’s. In 1972, before the election took place Nixon was going to do whatever it took to get re-elected. He was involved in the Watergate break-in. “Plumbers” were sent into the DNC offices to gather information to help Nixon in the presidential campaign battle with the democrats. Wiretaps, bugs and copies of the democrat’s campaign strategies would be great help. Nixon denied any involvement in Watergate, but interestingly did everything he could to block any investigation into his involvement. He kept his involvement hidden from the general public until after he was re-elected. Much like president Obama did with the attack on the American Embassy in Benghazi. Nixon’s presidency fell apart when slowly bits of proof of his involvement began showing up beginning at the trial of the Watergate burglars. To try to help, Nixon’s four advisors resigned. His vice president Spiro Agnew had to resign not only because of Nixon’s wrong doings, but his own problems excepting bribes while governor of Maryland. The end for Nixon was when his conversation tapes were asked for and impeachment proceedings were started. What made it even harder for the judge was the fact that when the tapes were being played different sections were missing that he had gone through and deleted. Although President Richard Nixon had good intentions for his country...
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...Watergate is widely believed to be the largest political scandal that the United States has seen. This scandal turned heads with the extensive association with the then United States President Richard Nixon, and many of his administration that aided in the execution and cover up of the events. The Watergate scandal of the 1970’s proved to be one of the most significant political scandal in history which included lies, breaking and entering, cover-ups and the first ever resignation of a United States President from office. The Watergate scandal events originated in 1969, with the composition of President Nixon’s enemies list. The list had a collection of names of opponents and potential opponents that have the possibility of causing trouble...
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...Watergate Lucia San Nicolas HIS/145 October 19, 2011 Marciano Flores Watergate The Watergate scandal shocked millions of Americans when it was revealed in 1972. The president at that time was Richard M. Nixon, who himself was involved within the scandal. The Watergate scandal took place in 1972 when a group of five men broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington. The five men involved in this burglary were eventually identified as Virgilio Gonzalez, Frank Sturgis, Eugenio Martinez, Bernard Barker and James W. McCord Jr. were arrested and plead guilty to charges. Later, it was revealed the burglary was arranged plot to plant bugs in the offices of the Democratic Committee. President Nixon was linked to the scandal when a check for $25,000 dollars, which was intended for the campaign of Nixon’s reelection, was found deposited into an account of one of the five burglars involved in the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandal was revealed over a two year span and the media coverage kept the American people informed through it all. The media coverage started the day after the events took place. June 18, 1972 Washington Post reported the burglary. Two reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were assigned to investigate the Watergate cover-up and would reveal that former Central Intelligence officer, who had worked in the White House when Nixon was in office E. Howard Hunt and Federal Bureau Investigator...
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...In 1972, Richard Nixon, then president of the United States of America, was associated with the Watergate Scandal. The Watergate Scandal involved five burglars that broke into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC in the morning of June 17. They were trying to steal secret documents and fix wiretap phones that were not working properly in order to find something to bring down Nixon’s opponents. Despite Nixon’s adamant denial to being linked to the scandal, the burglars were connected ultimately to Nixon’s re-election campaign after finding copies of the number to the White House re-election committee. However, at the time, many voters believed Nixon that he was not part of the scandal, so he...
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...The Watergate Scandal is one of the most serious political crimes committed by the President of the United States and his staff. Richard Nixon, anxious of losing his reelection, made an unacceptable move to place himself and the Republicans above of the Democratic party. The Watergate Scandal started with a few men , who broke in to the Democratic National Committee building, in order to plant listening devices, and stop leaks of any information regarding his earlier Presidency. The first article Watergate: The Unfinished Business, makes the reader willing to look deeply into the innocence of President Nixon. The author decided to present an important key events, rather than make a direct statement about Nixon's guilt. As a society, we want...
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