How Did Nixon Watergate Scandal

I have decided to use the Nixon Watergate Scandal as my topic for this museum post. I chose the Watergate scandal because it brought about the first and only resignation of a president. That president’s name was Richard Nixon and he resigned August 9, 1974, after being “faced with what seemed almost certain impeachment” (Frank and Sidey). The Watergate scandal came to be after a break-in occurred on June 17, 1972, at the office of the Democratic National Committee. This office was located in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C., hence the name Watergate Scandal. The intruders were caught and arrested after trying to setup secret recording devices and steal documents. After an investigation into the five burglars it was found that these

were no normal burglars, they had special connections directly to Richard Nixon’s administration. U.S. Senator Howard Baker famously said, “It is almost always the cover-up rather than the event that causes trouble”. This fits particularly well with the Watergate Scandal because after the break-in Nixon tried to cover-up the incident leading to further investigation into Nixon and his administration. The investigation found that while trying to cover-up the incident President Nixon abused his power excessively. These abuses include, “raising “hush money” for the burglars, trying to stop the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from investigating the crime, destroying evidence and firing uncooperative staff members” (History.com Staff). While debate about whether Nixon himself knew anything about the initial plan of the intrusion is still open, there is definite evidence that he tried to cover-up the situation afterwards which is what ultimately led to his resignation and the “constitutional crisis” known as the Nixon Watergate Scandal ("Exhibit: Nixon and Watergate").