Richard Nixon Abuse Power

537 Words2 Pages

According to West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, to abuse power is the improper use of one’s authority, or the commission of an unlawful act, done in official capacity, which influences an outcome in the advantage of the abuser (online). One of the most well known abusers of power from a person in authority is President Richard Milhous Nixon. After losing to President Kennedy in the 1960 elections, Richard M Nixon became our 37th President of this United States in the 1968 election (History.com). Reconciliation was a main goal set by newly appointed President Nixon. The Nation was at odds with turmoil about the war overseas. During his Presidency, Nixon accomplished the removal of soldiers in Viet Nam and improving relationships with the U.S.S.R. and China. However, the only thing Nixon is remembered for is the Watergate scandal that brought fresh separation to the country and eventually led to his almost impeachment and forced resignation (PBS.com). Watergate is a scandal where several burglars were arrested for breaking into the office of the Democratic National Committee (DNC),...

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

    Richard Nixon was in one of the most controversial issues that the United States has ever seen. The Watergate Scandal is now well known throughout history today. This issue led to Nixon resigning only 2 years in his 2nd term. Did President Nixon make the right decisions? Can anyone really trust the government after a situation like this? Some Historians believe that this changed the course of history, and that we can never truly trust the government again. While others believe that Nixon didn’t make the right decisions; however, this should not change the way the people look at our government. The government and the people need to keep a strong trust.

    Read More

  • Research Paper on the Year 1969

    1646 Words  | 4 Pages

    On January 20, 1969 our 37th president, Richard Milhous Nixon, was sworn into Presidency. His main focus as president was to pull forces out of Vietnam in order to end the War that began in 1961. Nixon began this process by pulling 75,000 troops out of Vietnam in the first year he was president. Nixon also worked to improve US relations with China as well as with the Soviet Union. He was the first president to visit China. He also imposed a wage price freeze to combat inflation that was replaced by a system of wage price controls, to be later removed. Nixon?s term as President will forever be remembered due to his resignation from presidency over the Watergate scandal.

    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

  • President Nixon and the Vietnam War

    2530 Words  | 6 Pages

    The politics of the ultratight resonated deeply with Richard Nixon. Nixon had cut his political teeth as a young Red-hunting member of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. His home district in Orange Country, California, was widely known as a Birch Society stronghold. The Los Angeles-area Birch Society claimed the membership of several political and economic elites, including members of the Chandler family, which owned and published the Los Angeles Times. According to the writer David Halberstam (1979, 118) the Times, which was once described as “the most rabid Labor-bating, Red-hating paper in the United States,” virtually created Richard Nixon.

    Read More

  • Richard Nixon and the Election of 1969

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nixon although considered one of the most controversial politicians used his political experience, his background and the communist scare of the late forties and early fifties to become President. It took Nixon about four years but eventually he put an end to the Vietnam War. He promised the American people that when he took office his highest priority would be putting an end to the horrible war. He did what he promised and deserves credit for that. Although things did not always work out for him he came back from the events a smarter man. He used his knowledge to win the election. It takes a smart man to learn from his mistakes and Nixon did that. That is why he deserved to be President of the United States.

    Read More

  • RIchard Nixon and The Water Gate Scandal

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Richard Nixon was president during 1969-1974 and was the first president to resign from office. During this time there was a scandal known as the Watergate Scandal. It was about five men who broke into the watergate building and stole secret documents. They were caught, but some people believe Nixon was involved. He may have even tried to cover up the investigation using bribes.

    Read More

  • Imperial President's Abuse Of Power

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    In fear of abuse of power the United States created three branches of government that were to have authority over each other. However, occasionally a president is able to bypass the correct checks and balances put in place. When a president abuses his power he is known as an Imperial President. There have been numerous times where a president has abused their power; the following presidents most known for their abuse are Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon.

    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

  • 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 Nixon Administration

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nixon and his administration stepped up and exhibited goodwill during his first term and part of his second term. They reduced U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and brought home 518,000 soldiers from 1969 to 1972. They even made deals to get the POW’s out and home in North Vietnam (DeGregorio 595). Nixon’s administration formed the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce clean air and water laws. Nixon also signed all the Civil Rights Acts passed by Congress (DeGregorio 597).

    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

  • Who Is President Nixon's Executive Privilege?

    1868 Words  | 4 Pages

    On June 17, 1972 a group of several men, dressed as hippies decided to break into a Democratic National Committee located at the Watergate buildings in Washington D.C. They broke into the committee to steal documents and wiretapping the phones from the government. It was all going good until the a security guard noticed that there was duct tape over a door lock. He removed that piece of tape, left, then came back later to another piece of tape on the door lock. The security guard called the Washington D.C. Police. The cops showed up at the watergate buildings to check it out. A cop named Alfred C. Baldwin III was in a restaurant watching a horror movie and a policeman named Barrett called to tell Baldwin the situation. Baldwin did not respond until later; he asked what the suspects were dressed as and in response, the walkie talkie said they were dressed in suits and ties. Baldwin did not believe it

    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

  • Power During The French Revolution

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    All people have power, some people are just more powerful than others. Having power is the ability to create change. Examples of power being used wrongly is during the French revolution, and the residential school crisis. During the French revolution, two examples were shown of people abusing their power. King Louie XVI raised taxes so that he could buy things that he and his wife Marie Antoinette wanted, and took away rights from the third estate. In the residential schools crisis, the teachers, priests and nuns had power over the students and abused the students in different ways. Superior people take away the rights from those who are below them, but they end up corrupt.

    Read More

More about Richard Nixon Abuse Power

Open Document