...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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...(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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...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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...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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...the election of Richard Nixon in 1968 to the election of Ronald Reagan in 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...
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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, 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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...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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...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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...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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...United States president Richard Nixon between 1969-1974, and Macbeth are two people who experienced an exceptional rise to power, and because of their overpowering ambition; they are driven to commit crimes in order to maintain their power. Richard Nixon grew up in a poor family, who at the time was unable to provide Nixon with living expenses of going to Harvard University where he was offered a scholarship. After attending high school, Nixon went to local Whittier College where he gained the reputation of being a fearsome debater, well known in drama productions and an exceptional athlete. He went on to graduate from Duke University Law School, and went on to practice law. Of course for a man like Nixon with such flourishing visions, being...
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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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...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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...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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