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Impact of watergate scandal on media
Richard nixon's involvement in watergate
Richard nixon's involvement in watergate
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The events of the Watergate Scandal hurt the trust of the people of the United States. The Watergate Scandal shocked the nation and ended with the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Though the attempted bugging of Watergate was not a popular story at first, it quickly escalated and gained attention by raising questions of presidential involvement.
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).
In order to understand how Richard Nixon was involved in Watergate, Americans must know who he was. Nixon stared his career in politics in the year 1947. His first political job was working in the House of Representatives. After that, Nixon became a Vice President for two terms (“Watergate: The Scandal That”). Later, in 1962, he said that he was retiring (Ehrlichman 33). However, he ended up running for president in 1968 and became president in 1969 (Ehrlichman 37; “Watergate: The Scandal That”). He was reelected for the next term (“Watergate: The Scandal That”).
With this in mind, people can understand why such a fuss was caused when Nixon, involved for so long in government, was discovered to be part of the cover up. John Dean, a former counsel of Nixon, said Nixon had paid the burglars a lot of money to not say the White House was involved. D...
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...pen again. It also showed that we should pay attention to the news. Even though Watergate attracted minimal attention at first, it is now one of the most well know stories in the nation because the president ended up being involved and then resigned.
Works Cited
Ehrlichman, John. Witness to Power: The Nixon Years. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982. Print.
“Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon.” Watergate Info. N.p. 2013. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.
Wilmore, Kathy and Victor Landauro. “Watergate: The Downfall Of A President.” Junior Scholastic 114.15 (2012): 16. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
Zimmer, Troy A. "The Impact Of Watergate On The Public's Trust In People And Confidence In The Mass Media." Social Science Quarterly (University Of Texas Press) 59.4 (1979): 743-751. Business Source Elite. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
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
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).
The book I chose to read for this assignment was All the President's Men, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. The book was about the biographical accounts of two Washington Post reporters and of how their investigative journalism played a major role in solving one of the largest political scandals in American history. Me being a history buff was happy that the book was on the list of selective readings that we could choose for this assignment and before even reading a page was most certain that I would enjoy the book. I knew some about Watergate already and was eager to jump on the chance to learn more about it, especially from the two people who played the major role of bring the whole scandal to the surface. I had seen the movie before and had known from past experiences that movies leave out so much information when they are based on a book so I knew that I would be getting the full detail in account from the authors that I missed out on before. I am not the type who enjoys reading and it always ends up being a hard struggle for me to get through an entire book, but this book ended up not being like pulling teeth for me. Reading the book ended up being the exact opposite, enjoying it so much that it was hard to put down, not only because of the fact that I was fascinated with the information being provided, but also in the direct way that it was presented.
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
The source from TeachingAmericanHistory.org gives me the background and discussions about this case. The case United States v. Nixon happened after the Watergate scandal. In 1972, when Nixon won the reelection, some burglars intruded the Watergate
“Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon.” Watergate.info. N.p., 1995. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .
Finney, Daniel P, “Watergate Scandal Changed the Political Landscape Forever,” USA Today, June 16, 2012. Web 17 April 2014.
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.
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.
DeGregorio, William. The Complete Book of U.S Presidents. Richard M. Nixon. New York: Wing Books, 1997. Print
Despite the national attention the Watergate scandal had gained President Nixon, he won the second term presidency. The major problem for Nixon would come later. The investigations of the Watergate scandal lead to the discovery of other criminal acts by officials including Nixon. During the investigation many things begin to surface. It was discovered that documents had been destroyed that may have made a link between Nixon and the Watergate scandal. These documents may have shown that he had some acknowledgement in what had happened. There was evidence that people involved in the Nixon campaign had been wire tapping phones illegally for a long time according to “dummies.com”. The greatest issue would come to light during the 1973 Watergate hearings. During testimonies it came to light that every conversation was recorded in the Oval office according to “study.com”. It was demanded that these tapes be reviewed to learn how much involvement President Nixon had in the Watergate burglary. The President felt that he had the right to withhold these tapes through what he referred to as executive privilege. This means that if it is the best interest of the public the president has the right to keep information from the
“The Watergate Files”. The Ford Library. 1995. The Gerald Ford Library and Museum. 5 May
The Watergate Scandal also known as the Watergate Affair was the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon. Members of Nixon’s administration broke into DNC headquarters in the Watergate building to steal top secret documents and bug the office phones. The Watergate Scandal that occurred from 1972-1974 led to members of the Nixon administration fired and the resignation of President Richard Nixon. After Nixon resigned from his presidency, Gerald Ford took office in 1974. When he became president he issued a pardon on Nixon. Some people think Nixon should not have been pardon, and some people believe that it was right for Ford to pardon Nixon. Richard Nixon shouldn’t have been pardoned because he is deceptive,showed no integrity, his actions were despicable and he committed or ordered a felony.
Nixon’s run as an international crook finally caught up to him in 1972, when burglars were caught and arrested inside the Democratic national headquarters at the Watergate hotel complex in Washington. Nixon attempted to cover it up, but eventually he was found caught in his own web of lies, and was forced to resign in 1974 (Lecture 30, December 12). Nixon’s promises of a return to normalcy were shattered with these revelations. The confidence in the Presidency that he had hoped to restore was even lower than it was when he entered office. If the 1960’s were defined by political and social instability, then Richard Nixon did nothing but further the sixties into the 1970’s.
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.