The Watergate Scandal

1453 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The policy process

The Watergate Scandal The mistrust most Americans feel toward the government officials and political parities of today can be traced back to the Watergate scandal of 1972, which led to the resignation of an American president. The crimes of the Watergate scandal included political burglary, bribery, extortion, wiretapping (phone tapping), conspiracy, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, tax fraud, illegal use of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), illegal campaign contributions, and use of taxpayers' money for private purposes. On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested at 2:30 a.m. They were caught trying to "bug" the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington D.C. When the police caught the men, they were in the office of Larry O'Brien. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee, whose job was to aid political candidates in the Democratic party get elected. In 1972, O'Brien's main priority was to help the Democratic candidate for president, Senator George McGovern. The five men, who were arrested, were identified the next morning by two lawyers as, James W. McCord, Jr., Bernard L. Barker, Frank A. Sturgis, Virgilro R. Gonzalez, and Eugenio R. Martinez. Reporters and politicians were interested in this case because they found out that McCord was a former member of the CIA. Its agents are not permitted to spy on Americans. Not only was he a former member of the CIA, but now he worked for the Committee for the Re-election of the president, or CRP. This Republican group was formed to help President Richard M. Nixon win a second term in office. Referring to G. Gordon Liddy, John M... ... middle of paper ... ...at: "I shall resign presidency effective at noon tomorrow." (What Was Watergate? by: Pamela Kilian ) Gerald Ford was sworn in as president of the United States the next day. Watergate was not just a "third-rate burglary," as Nixon called it. It was much more. It led to many heinous crimes. It contributed many words and phrases to our present-day vocabulary. Because of this scandal, the suffix "-gate" will now be acquainted with every Washington mishap. Because of this scandal people look at government officials differently today than they did before 1970. Bibliography: What Was Watergate by: Pamela Kilian Internet: http://www.chron.com/content/interactive/special/watergate/chronology.html http://www.chron,com/cgi-bin/auth/story/c...t/chronicle/editorial/97/06/20/edit2.html http://www.netspace.net.au/~malcolm/wgate/intro.htm

Show More
Related

  • Watergate Plus 30 Analysis

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    The documentary entitled, Watergate Plus 30: Shadow of History, documents the political decisions and environment within the Nixon Administration from 1969-1974. The documentary specifically details and describes the environment and culture in which the Watergate scandal could occur and the events and abuses of power that lead to its occurrence. Setting the tone and the political climate of the Nixon Administration was the Vietnam War; making him a wartime President, a war that he inherited from his predecessor. The Vietnam War faced a lot of opposition from the general public, with massive protests and political demonstrations by the younger generations and overall general public. Nixon’s presidency was surrounded by this climate amidst the

    Read More

  • Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

    2185 Words  | 5 Pages

    When Nixon was inaugurated, he took a sworn oath to protect the people and the country. He lied to his people. He states, “The major problem on the Watergate is simply to clean the thing up by having whoever was responsible admit what happened. Certainly I am satisfied that nobody in the White House had any knowledge or approved any such activity.” (Memoirs 646).

    Read More

  • Confidence In The Watergate Scandal

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is clear that while political scandal, primarily the 1974 Watergate scandal, played a large role in the rapidly declining confidence in government between 1968 and 1980, it is not the sole or even the dominant factor. The Watergate scandal only impacted on the Nixon era, and subsequently lead to measures that should have prevented further distrust in the government. Instead, the role played by the four presidents who held office in those years was the main reason behind the decline in confidence. The role of the presidents and their White House administrations encompassed political scandals, and also clearly influenced other factors such as the role

    Read More

  • Whitewater vs. Watergate

    2051 Words  | 5 Pages

    First, what were Whitewater and Watergate? Whitewater started as a land development of riverfront property in Arkansas in the 1980s. The Clintons received a large share of the development without putting up any money. The development went bad, so additional capital was needed. There is evidence and testimony suggesting that this cash was obtained illegally from the federal government and never paid back. As for Watergate - though it was revealed by the Senate Watergate committee as an unprecedented abuse of presidential power that was extremely dangerous to the country, it is remembered 25 years later as a strange and unsuccessful burglary in the Watergate office building by people linked to the reelection committee of Nixon. But Watergate was so much more than a political burglary. The Senate hearings showed Watergate was composed of constant criminality by the Nixon White House, and was driven by an extreme commitment to maintain control of power by any means, including criminal conduct. It included the break-in of a psychiatrist's office for the purpose of smearing Daniel Elsberg - the leaker of the Pentagon Papers; the misuse of the IRS and other federal agencies to punish those on the president's "enemies list"; the illegal wiretapping of journalists and members of Nixon's own administration; and the purposeful editing of government documents to enhance a political agenda.2

    Read More

  • The Corruption and Deception of the Watergate Breeak In

    2013 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the United States was experiencing disorder and hysteria as domestic and foreign issues; created stress and tension within the nation. In the late 1960s, when Richard Nixon was running for president, the nation saw the death of two influential people, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, brother of John F. Kennedy. Following the death of King, race riots broke out across the country. To add to the anger and tension, many students and young Americans began to protest the war in Vietnam. Nixon promised to restore order to the country if he were to be elected. Unfortunately for Nixon, the Democrats, who had control of both sides of Congress, were prepared to block many of Nixon’s initiatives. Thus, CREEP (the committee to re-elect the president) began its corrupt path towards getting Nixon into office, even going as far as to break into the Democratic Party's National Committee headquarters located in the Watergate office in the nation’s capital ("Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon"). The Watergate scandal, which led to the first resignation of a United States President, changed the political landscape of the nation through its impact on Americans' trust in the government and its employees, its effect on government ethics, and its influence on journalism and the rise in investigative reporting.

    Read More

  • Essay On 1970-1980

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1970’s, the United States experienced "Watergate," the most famous political scandal in American History. It was a scandal that began with a break in and ended in resignation. On June 17, 1972 five intruders were caught and arrested for illegally entering the rooms of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington’s Watergate Complex. "The investigation of the break-in lead directly to the reelection campaign of President Richard M. Nixon and unraveled a web of political spying and sabotage, bribery and the illegal use of campaign funds" (Washingtonpost.com). Two-and-a-half-years later along with a number of court hearings led to the 1974 resignation of Richard M. Nixon. Nixon became the first President in U.S. History to resign. During all the political drama the United States brought an end to an unpopular war and made great strides in space exploration.

    Read More

  • Richard Nixon Impeachment

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    Out of all of the current presidents in our time the most interesting president to explore was President Richard Nixon and out of all of them he was the only one in term to resign. That Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment to be executed to the fullest extent of their nature. His poor choices and decisions led to his resignation. Although he did have some good qualities in helping the U.S. the bad however override the good. In the CRS (Congressional Research Service) It states: “ Obstruction of justice is the impediment of governmental activities. There are a host of federal criminal laws that prohibit obstructions of justice. The six most general outlaw obstruction of judicial proceedings (18 U.S.C. 1503), witness tampering (18 U.S.C. 1512), witness retaliation (18 U.S.C. 1513), obstruction of Congressional or administrative proceedings (18 U.S.C. 1505), conspiracy to defraud The United States (18 U.S.C. 371), and contempt (a creature of statute, rule and common law). Simple perjury in a federal investigation or judicial proceedings carries an extensive fine and up to 5 years in prison.” This was the first article president Richard M. Nixon was charged with by the House of Judiciary Committee. The vote was 27 to 1 for Nixon to be charged with the first article of impeachment, which was Obstruction of Justice. In denial of his liability in part taking in the Watergate scandal by saying he wasn't involved in the scandal He pointed finger at others that were involved in the break-in. However, tapes were found of conversations that proved his involvement and he was going to be impeached. Before he was charged, he made a resignat...

    Read More

  • Richard Nixon´s Involvement in the Watergate Scandal

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Watergate Scandal happened when burglars broke into Watergate, on June 17, 1972. The break-in was discovered by a security guard who noticed that someone had taped a lock of one of the office doors at Watergate. Five men wearing expensive gear were caught and arrested. They also had a lot of money with them. They were planning to bug some of Watergate’s offices. It was later discovered that Richard Nixon’s, the president, aides bugged Democratic offices and lied about their opponents in politics (Wilmore and Landauro).

    Read More

  • All the President's Men, by Woodward and Bernstein

    4994 Words  | 10 Pages

    Richard Nixon's first term as president will always be connected with the Watergate scandal, the biggest political scandal in United States history. Various illegal activities were conducted including burglary, wire tapping, violations of campaign financing laws, sabotage, and attempted use of government agencies to harm political opponents to help Richard Nixon win reelection in the 1972 presidential elections. There were about 40 people charged with crimes related to the scandal. Most of them were convicted by juries or pleaded guilty. Watergate involved more high-level government officials than any previous scandal. It has been etched in the minds of millions and is still being recalled today when faced with the present day scandal of President Clinton. In All The President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, former Washington Post reporters, recount, illustrate, and analyze the Watergate scandal time and their work in reporting and revealing these events for the newspaper.

    Read More

  • The Watergate Scandal

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1974 President Richard Nixon stepped down from the job duties of the President of the United States. This made him the only President that has ever stepped down in United States history (Roper). James McCord which was the retired CIA agent was convicted of “eight counts of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping, spending two months in prison” (history.com). He had written a letter about the involvement of White House officials in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal. He later in life wrote a book claiming all of his involvement in the Watergate scandal. A Cuban refugee Virgilio Gonzalez was one of the burglars and only spent one year and a month in prison. John Dean was a Nixon staff member. He was involved in the cover up of the Watergate scandal. During the trail he told about his and other officials involvement in the scandal. Dean served only four months in prison. G. Gordon Liddy was the former FBI agent involved with the burglary. For his involvement in the burglary and providing money for the burglaries he spent four and a half years in prison (history.com). There were many people that were involved with this scandal and the majority spent less than two years in

    Read More

  • The Impact of the Watergate Scandal

    1381 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyday citizens often live unaware of their government’s inner workings. The knowing of political espionage is often too heavy of a subject to be inducted in conversation. True, prima facie, modest twists and turns of information may not be considered substantial, but this inconsideration leaves much to be uncontrolled. It is easy for political leaders to become power crazed, to not realize the massive implications that come of their actions. Only after all is said and done do the people actually realize their government is an opaque mask of deception. The Watergate Scandal substantially impacted Americans’ trust in their government.

    Read More

  • Anatomy Of The Watergate Scandal

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Watergate Scandal was one of the biggest and first scandals in United States History. Nixon’s political rivals were recorded and harassed. Nixon was a very paranoid man, and the Democratic National Committee was bugged at the Watergate Hotel, there were also bugs at the White House. Five burglars were caught doing so and it was later realized that Nixon was connected to the scandal. It was proved that Nixon had a very big role behind all of the issues around Watergate and he felt guilty enough to resign. One can say that the resignation of Richard Nixon can be credited to the pressures imposed on him by the congress, the press, and the courts.

    Read More

  • The Watergate Scandal

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite his loss to JFK in the 1960 presidential election, in 1968, Richard M. Nixon was elected as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. He was praised by many for his comeback after previously losing an election and seemed to be an admirable man. While in office, Nixon made many achievements and followed through with all of his promises made during his campaign. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the American people had finally elected a leader who seemed unquestionably trustworthy – or so they thought. Unfortunately, shortly after Nixon was elected to his second term of presidency in 1972, the Watergate Scandal changed America forever by creating a sense of mistrust toward the government for the American people because of The Nixon Administration’s actions.

    Read More

  • Essay On Richard Nixon

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    The legacy of Richard Nixon will never overcome the obscenity of Watergate. In Nixon’s case it certainly holds true that the bad is better remembered more than the good. It is safe to say that Nixon was a contradictory man, a man of intellect and talent but also a man of paranoia, greed, and jealousy and whose self-promotion led to his self-destruction. There were two Richard Nixons, one who made influential accomplishments in both foreign and domestic policy and the other, who was the mastermind behind the Watergate scandal, and sadly, it is the latter for which he is and will always be remembered. Nixon built himself up to the nation’s highest office only to tear himself down over trying to keep it.

    Read More

  • A Modern Macbeth

    418 Words  | 1 Pages

    Nixon was long associated with American politics before his fall from grace. He was along time senator before finally being elected president in 1968. During his first term, his United States went through the Vietnam War and a period of economic inflation. In 1972 he was easily re-elected over Democrat nominee George McGovern. Almost unnoticed during his campaign was the arrest of five men connected with Nixon’s re-election committee. They had broken into the Democrats national head quarters in the Watergate apartment complex, in Washington D.C. They attempted to steal documents and place wire taps on the telephones. By March of 1973, through a federal inquiry, it had been brought to light that the burglars had connections with high government officials and Nixon’s closest aids. Despite Nixon and his lawyers best efforts, it was shown that the president had participated in the Watergate cover-up. On August 8, 1974 Nixon announced, without admitting guilt, that he would resign. He left the Oval Office the next day: an obvious fall from grace.

    Read More

More about The Watergate Scandal

Open Document