Watergate: The Scandal that Changed America

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During Richard Nixon’s presidency, there were multiple events that changed politics, the presidency, and the media forever. The Watergate Scandal was one of the biggest political events in history. Five men broke into an office building that stored thousands of confidential documents containing plans for the Democratic side of the upcoming election. This caused one of the most explosive media outbreaks in American history, and certainly changed investigative journalism and the presidency forever. Nixon is noted as one of the worst presidents the United States has ever encountered; however, most of his flaws were hidden and his actions were never questioned until the media investigated him (Feldstein 62). Nixon was associated with more than just the Watergate Scandal, but most of his disgraceful actions were uncovered after his presidency ended. The Watergate Scandal, however, would prove to be Nixon’s downfall: he was the first president to resign from office and the first president to be caught betraying the American people (63). Watergate was an integral part of a bigger scheme that gathered information from multiple parties, and the operation began long before the burglars were caught. After the arrests, Nixon was not a suspect until the Federal Bureau of Investigation linked the “hush-money” (money given to keep a criminal quiet about a certain action) the burglars received to his campaign fund (64). The burglars were caught breaking into the Watergate Complex to fix the “bugs” they planted in a previous break in (Holland 43). Immediately after the break in, Nixon began to cover up Watergate and his involvement. He gave a speech stating that himself, along with his committee, was not involved in the break in (4... ... middle of paper ... ...ion their government and its people. A crusade of investigative journalism began and the public fed off it. Nixon was the first president to resign and the last president to blindly abuse their power. The United States of America was doubted, torn apart in conspiracy, and brought back together, changing its people and the presidency forever. Works Cited Holland, Max. "Watergate Reconsidered." American Journalism Review 34.2 (2012): 40-43. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. Feldstein, Mark. "Watergate Revisited." American Journalism Review 26.4 (2004): 60-68. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. "Watergate Affair." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. McGeary, Johanna, et al. "Inside Watergate's Last Chapter." Time 165.24 (2005): 28. History Reference Center. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

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