Modern American History: 1950 to the 21st Century (HIST101)

Colorado Technical University

For this project I am going to discuss two different articles about President Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. The first article is “The Washington Post Editorial Watergate: The unfinished business.” The other article that I will be discussing and comparing is one written by Dean Burch. “In Defense of Richard Nixon.” I will provide a brief summary of the two arguments as well as describe how the Watergate events changed American views in politics and politicians. I will also speculate how the events could have been different if the media and population during the Watergate scandal had today’s technology, an example being smart phones, and social media.

Editorial: Watergate: The Unfinished Business In this Washington Post Editorial its opening sentence describes Nixon’s speech and actions as “far-reaching as they where in impact and effect” (1973, May 1). The editorial goes on to talk about how the President wants to turn the Watergate scandal over to the courts and let them sort it out. The writer then states that the President removed and added members of his cabinet, some of which were directly related to the Watergate scandal, and for the most part it was not a decision that the public supported. The article then goes on and makes the remark “But the remaking of the Nixon presidency will also depend on his willingness and capacity to bring not just new men, or even new approaches, but a whole new environment to the executive branch of the government” (1973, May 1). Based on this article I would have to say that it is leaning towards bashing President Nixon, and stating that there needs to be a policy in place to not allow just any average person to be in a high ranking official position.

In Defense of Richard Nixon In this article it is clear that