...Out of the events in American History that have occurred throughout the period, one of the ones that interests me the most is the Watergate Scandal. With that in mind, the book I chose to read is called Watergate: The Corruption of American Politics and the Fall of Richard Nixon by Fred Emery. Although I had a basic knowledge of the scandal, I learned much by reading this book including those behind it and the coverup itself, in greater detail than I had known before. The book starts off by giving some background information including events that were transpiring during the Nixon administration. Many of these consist with Nixon’s handling of Vietnam and other events such as the Kent State Shootings and then the Pentagon Papers. Through this...
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...The Watergate Scandal is one of the most serious political crimes committed by the President of the United States and his staff. Richard Nixon, anxious of losing his reelection, made an unacceptable move to place himself and the Republicans above of the Democratic party. The Watergate Scandal started with a few men , who broke in to the Democratic National Committee building, in order to plant listening devices, and stop leaks of any information regarding his earlier Presidency. The first article Watergate: The Unfinished Business, makes the reader willing to look deeply into the innocence of President Nixon. The author decided to present an important key events, rather than make a direct statement about Nixon's guilt. As a society, we want...
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...Most Significant Events Casey Turner HIS/135 11/20/2011 I am writing this paper to reveal and describe different events that have occured over the past 50 years that have had a direct impact on the United States and affected the way we all live today. There are many economical, social, and political events that have helped shaped not only our country, but many other nations around the world as well. This paper is an attempt to reveal and speculate on some of these important events. 1950’s A growing amount of American people began to speak out about inequality and injustice during the 1950’s and the Rosa Parks bus incident is a perfect example. On December 1, 1955, a 42 year old African American woman who worked as a seamstress named Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery, Alabama city bus to go home from work. On that bus that day, Rosa Parks started a new era in the American quest for equal rights (Rosa Parks Bus, 2002). Parks sat toward the middle of the bus, right behind the 10 seats that were reserved for white people. The bus ended up getting completely filled up and when a white man that entered the bus did not have a seat, the driver tried to make the four blacks sitting just behind the white section give up their seats so that the white man could sit down. Mrs. Park’s who was already a NAACP activist, quietly refused to do so. For disobeying the bus driver’s orders and not giving up her seat to the white man, she was arrested and convicted of violating segregation...
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...Watergate Lucia San Nicolas HIS/145 October 19, 2011 Marciano Flores Watergate The Watergate scandal shocked millions of Americans when it was revealed in 1972. The president at that time was Richard M. Nixon, who himself was involved within the scandal. The Watergate scandal took place in 1972 when a group of five men broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex in Washington. The five men involved in this burglary were eventually identified as Virgilio Gonzalez, Frank Sturgis, Eugenio Martinez, Bernard Barker and James W. McCord Jr. were arrested and plead guilty to charges. Later, it was revealed the burglary was arranged plot to plant bugs in the offices of the Democratic Committee. President Nixon was linked to the scandal when a check for $25,000 dollars, which was intended for the campaign of Nixon’s reelection, was found deposited into an account of one of the five burglars involved in the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandal was revealed over a two year span and the media coverage kept the American people informed through it all. The media coverage started the day after the events took place. June 18, 1972 Washington Post reported the burglary. Two reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were assigned to investigate the Watergate cover-up and would reveal that former Central Intelligence officer, who had worked in the White House when Nixon was in office E. Howard Hunt and Federal Bureau Investigator...
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...Florentina Moreno HIST101-1402A-11: Modern American History: 1950 to the 21st Century Phase 4 IP American History 1992-2000 Professor Justine James 21 April 2014 The period from 1992 to 2000 is one of the most interesting in American History. Select two of the events listed and discuss the impact that these events had on America. Be sure to include information and descriptions of the principle individuals involved. Compare and contrast their impact on America, be specific and detailed. Use APA style requirements. * NAFTA * H. Ross Perot * Rodney King * Immigration * Clinton’s Scandals * Wal-Mart * “Contract With America” * The technological divide * Disputed Election of 2000 The Clinton Recovery When President Nixon resigned in August of 1974, then Vice President Gerald Ford took over as President. President Nixon’s resignation was the first in Presidential history due to a scandal that is still considered controversial to this day. Termed “Watergate,” the break-ins at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was orchestrated by a group of President Nixon’s aides who eventually were caught and indicted for their involvement. The group was part of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP) whose “plan was to burglarize, use electronic surveillance, kidnapping, and prostitution to gather information.” (Editorial Board, 2012) The CRP made four attempts to break into the DNC. On the third attempt they were able to get wire...
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...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...
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...Political leaders of the United States were, at one time, thought of as essential members to our society. Naturally political leaders are those who represent, satisfy, and help the needs of the people. However our trust in our the government has drastically declined. People lost faith and trust in the government as a result of national secrets hidden and scandals that occurred right under our noses. One of the biggest scandals that further caused the mistrust of the government by the people was the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandal had a great impact on public opinion. It changed the way people looked at the presidency, politics, and Congress. It also changed the media's view. Media gained a huge influence on American politics and the U.S would forever remember the first President that resigned. The Watergate scandal became one of the world's biggest controversy. Understanding the crime goes into the dynamics and results of the scandal....
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...party. At this time there was the environmentalist movement, women's suffrage, minorities fighting for equal rights, and the Watergate Scandal. For years to come after this the American people would have have trust issues with the government and the republican party as the next elected president after Nixon was Jimmy Carter who was a democrat. In (Document C) it says “ The impact of such an ordeal would be felt throughout the world, and it would have its effect on the lives of all Americans for many years to come.” It also says “Impeachment of a President is a remedy of last resort; it is the most solemn act of...
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...FBI's No. 2 Was 'Deep Throat' By David Von Drehle Deep Throat, the secret source whose insider guidance was vital to The Washington Post's groundbreaking coverage of the Watergate scandal, was a pillar of the FBI named W. Mark Felt, The Post confirmed yesterday. As the bureau's second- and third-ranking official during a period when the FBI was battling for its independence against the administration of President Richard M. Nixon, Felt had the means and the motive to help uncover the web of internal spies, secret surveillance, dirty tricks and coverups that led to Nixon's unprecedented resignation on Aug. 9, 1974, and to prison sentences for some of Nixon's highest-ranking aides. Felt's identity as Washington's most celebrated secret source had been an object of speculation for more than 30 years until yesterday, when his role was revealed by his family in a Vanity Fair magazine article. Even Nixon was caught on tape speculating that Felt was "an informer" as early as February 1973, at a time when Deep Throat was supplying confirmation and context for some of The Post's most explosive Watergate stories. But Felt's repeated denials, and the stalwart silence of the reporters he aided -- Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein -- kept the cloak of mystery drawn up around Deep Throat. In place of a name and a face, the source acquired a magic and a mystique. He was the romantic truth teller half hidden in the shadows of a Washington area parking...
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...A Walk Through Time The significant moments in time collectively make up our nations history. In that history we see change, growth and experience loss. These events make us the people, that make up the country that love and contribute to. I chose five events in time that brought about a tremendous change across the world, and making life as we know it today, a walk in the park. MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT Montgomery Alabama, 1955 and 1956 was an extremely volatile time for African-Americans and Whites, but the events of that year made history and changed the way of life for every Montgomery resident. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a peaceful protest that lasted one year. Its main goal was to put an end to racially segregated seating on buses, but by the end it accomplished much more (Toonari). A Walk on the wild side Prior to the Supreme Court 1956 decision, African-Americans were forced to ride at the back of the bus. They suffered ridicule and racial slures at the hands of the bus drivers and the White passengers. In the early 1950’s two teenagers, Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith were both arrested for refusing to give their seats to white passengers (Allen, R. 2000). Although this created some tension within the African-American community it tool the arrest of Rosa Parks, a former NAACP secretary who refused to give up her seat on the bus, on December 1, 1955 to set the wheels in motion for what would...
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...Click here for Full Issue of EIR Volume 4, Number 19, May 10, 1977 ENERGY Watergate In A New Persp-ective Richard Nixon/s Energy Policy To convince especially Republicans to rally behind the tion spokesmen and press conduits are claiming that Car ter's program is really "a more developed version" of Nixon's energy policies. The key difference now, goes the Carter Administration's anti-energy policy, Administra Nixon officially ended the method of market demand pro rating of the federal off-shore leases, which immediately opened up the offshore areas for massive exploration and production. The independents had publicly been demand ing this action; Atlantic Richfield and Phillips Petroleum had just testified to the Senate Interior Committee on the dependents with new oil reserves. Nixon backed up his action with an Interior Department report which estima. ted potential offshore reserves of oil at 200 billion barrels and 850 trillion cubic feet of gas. Such a large amount of oil in the hands of the indepen dents threatened Rockefeller control over oil supplies, as immediately after Nixon's action, well as threatening to bring down world prices. Almost environmentalist necessity of expanding offshore drilling to provide the in I line, is that Carter, an able strong leader, will be able to implement the program that the incompetent, crooked Nixion could not. James Schlesinger's assistants are leaking to reporters that "President Carter's energy pro gram is the product...
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...Very few American’s over the age of 20 do not know about Watergate. They have seen the plots in movies, history books, TV shows, and Made for TV movies. Some of the media plots are real and some not so much. Contrary to popular belief “Forest Gump” was not the person to crack open Watergate [ (Groom, 1994) ]. That honor goes to a simple security guard at the Watergate Complex, Frank Wills [ (AHC, 2012) ]. Mr. Willis was making his rounds when he became aware of tape covering the locks on the doors to several different stairways. This allowed the doors to close but not lock. Mr. Wills removed the take and went on his way. Later on when Mr. Wills was once again on his rounds, he found that the tape was back. This time Wills called the police and two plainclothes cops, in an unmarked car sat outside the complex looking out for anything strange [ (AHC, 2012) ]. Despite the lookout trying to warn his coconspirators, they were caught and booked. Discovered on the 5 perpetrators, “wire-tapping equipment, two cameras, several dozen rolls of film, and a few thousand dollars” in traceable $100 bills [ (AHC, 2012) ]. G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt were back at the Watergate hotel acting as lookouts. However they quickly evacuated their hotel room, when they saw their co-defendants were in trouble. G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt, both worked for the White House, making the Nixon Connection much more compelling [ (AHC, 2012) ]. Between February 16, 1971 and July 12, 1973...
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...Controversial Pardon of Richard Nixon HIST102 American History Since 1877 Instructor: 22 February 2014 Former President Richard Nixon is most well-known for his role in the Watergate crisis in the early 1970’s. The Watergate crisis started in June of 1972, when the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters was broke into by members of Nixon’s re-election committee. The press took this breaking news and began to dig deeper into what the Whitehouse (President Nixon) was hiding. Over the next two years heavy investigations into the Watergate incident revealed that President Nixon did, in fact, ordered a cover-up to keep the incident under control. Fearing impeachment, President Nixon resigned his presidency in August 1974, leaving Vice President Gerald Ford as the new president. Although Ford’s first act as president, granting a full pardon to Nixon, caused heavy controversy in the political and legal sectors; his decision was within his constitutional rights as president and in the best interest of the Americans public. Immediately following Ford’s pardon of Nixon critics, such as Philip Kurland, Edwin Firmage, and R. Collin Mangrum began to protest that Ford did not have the constitutional right to “issue a pre-trail pardon.”1 Kurland was believed that a pardon was meant to lessen the harshness of punishment for the accused; however, that is only the case if the judicial system worked.2 Firmage and Mangrum believed that the framers of our constitution did not...
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...Watergate Student’s Name Professor Course Institution Date The Watergate Scandal was considered one of the most of disturbing political scandals in the history of America. This Scandal brought down a President and his administration, also made the American public distrust the government which still goes on today. In 1972 there were two break-ins at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate office and apartment complex located in Washington D.C. The first was 27, 1972 and was performed by G. Gordon Liddy the leader of the group called “ The Plumbers”, E. Howard Hunt, and James W. McCord along with six members of a group known as “the Plumbers”. The break- in was used to place wiretaps and make copies of documents. Although the first break-in was successful some of the wiretaps were not working correctly or placed in the wrong place. So on the night of 17 June, 1972 another break-in was conducted to fix the problems encountered from the first Break-in. While on patrol on the night Frank Wills a security guard for the Watergate complex discovered several doors in the office complex noticed several door were taped open and removed them. When he made another round he found that were re-taped, upon discovery he called the Washington police and the burglars were arrested. While being booked the police discovered E. Howard Hunt’s White House telephone number on 2 of the burglars. This was the first step in discovering...
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...It was suggested that the President had tried to repair the damages that were caused the Watergate scandal in the first article. From a speech President Nixon had given, it showed that there were a lot things that still needed to be done regarding the scandal. The article stated that the officials under the Watergate scandal were cheating, lying and engaging in illegal activities while in high positions of the government. The people believed that the president did not stand up to the crisis and that he had only done the bare requirements for the situation at hand. The people stongly believed that President Nixon should have done something more to eliminate the Watergate scandal as soon as it was leaked. The article had also showed that the people were not happy with President Nixon’s actions by only accepting the resignations of H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, (Genovese, 1999). He had also accepted the resignation of Attorney General Kleindienst and appointed Elliot Richardson and instructed him to handle the crisis. Finally, the President had made the correct decision by dismissing his White House Counsel John Dean. The second article portrays President Nixon as a good, moral leader. It tried to defend the President from being impeached by acknowledging his achievements. The article also showed that he was human and not perfect. The actions of the President by trying to resolve the crisis, led to speculations by the Chicago Tribune's editorial to leave office...
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