Nixon’s presidency—a period wrought with scandal. The most well-known of these, Watergate, a complex web of deceit, has become a political term synonymous with corruption and crime. Afraid of possible defeat in the 1972 election, Nixon and his republican associates sanctioned underhanded, illegal, acts, namely a break-in at the Democratic Party national headquarters at the Watergate complex. The break-in failed and the story was revealed to the public, despite the Nixon administration’s attempts to cover up the scandal. As a result of their insistence on covering up the infamous event, the leadership of the United States was sent spiraling into a mess of treachery and dishonesty, threatening both the nation’s stability and future. Beginning the night of June 16, 1972, and continuing on into the wee hours of the morning on June 17, Nixon and his seven associate-burglars—G. Gordan Liddy, E. Howard Hunt, James McCord, Bernard Barker, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, and Frank Sturgis—attempted to break in to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, with the intent to use phone bugs and photos to provide Nixon, a Republican, with information that would hopefully secure him the victory in the 1972 presidential election (Anderson 8-10). To begin, the burglars placed tape on stairway doors, preventing them from locking, allowing them to make an easy exit, the first of many mistakes (Cruden 16). Armed with walkie-talkies and
On June 17, 1972, numerous intruders were caught red-handed inside the building of Democratic National Committee, also known as the Watergate Building in Washington, D.C. Consequently, the leader behind it all was President Richard Nixon. This inaction of justice that took place that day set about Nixon from the rest of the presidents. As a president, he abused his power for his own morals. Before he could be impeached, he resigned and showed the United States that he could not take full responsibility for his actions. Even after he was pardoned for his crimes, and further persuaded American citizens on the injustice he did. Not only did Nixon set apart from the rest he changed the political standard of the United States. He made people become
1972 – 1974: Watergate Scandal: In June, 1972, Police arrested five men who broke into the the Democratic National Committee Office in the Watergate District of Washington, D.C. When further investigated, two more men were arrested. Following a background check, it was revealed that the men belonged to a committee to re-elect the president. It was also revealed that men were paid by the committee and the committee was controlled by the people who work in the White House. This information was gathered by the Washington Post, which had an FBI informant, nicknamed “Deep Throat.” The investigation revealed that some of Nixon’s closest advisors may be involved in the scandal. Nixon was also thought to be involved as the investigation proceeded. During Senate hearings, Nixon denied an affiliation with the scandal, but it was revealed that Nixon recorded every conversation in this office. After refusing to hand-over the tapes, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to do so. He did turnover the tapes, however there were minutes missing from the recordings. Congress drew up the Articles of Impeachment to impeach Nixon, but he decided to resign before he was
The Watergate Scandal and crisis that rocked the United States began on the early morning of June 17, 1972 with a small-scale burglary and it ended August 9, 1974 with the resignation of Republican President Richard Milhous Nixon. At approximately 2:30 in the morning of June 17, 1972, five burglars were discovered inside the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate office building in Washington DC. The burglars, who had been attempting to tap the headquarters’ phone were linked to Nixon’s Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP). Over the next few months, what had began as a minor break-in quickly escalated into a full-blown political scandal. It was
Watergate, the greatest scandal of the 20th century, remains a shrouded mystery. Early on the morning of June 17, 1972, there was a break-in and several burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate Office complex building located in Washington, D.C. Thus began a series of events that would shake the public’s confidence in its most visible symbol of American authority and prestige: the presidency of Richard Nixon. A seemingly random robbery at a Washington, D.C. building leads to the first presidential resignation in American history. We will discuss the following events surrounding the Watergate break-in: when did the break-in occur, how was Nixon connected to the break-in. We will also discuss the events surrounding the discovery of the tapes, the issues involved in trying to get the tapes from President Nixon and what is the "18 1/2 minutes of silence". Finally, throughout this paper we will also include Archibald Cox the first Watergate special prosecutor.
The year was 1972. From events such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, the United States was faced with extreme political and social turmoil. Despite Nixon’s promise to end war and unite the country, no one could have predicted that his election would accompany one of the largest political scandals to date. It all began with tape on door latches, finally ending with the resignation of a president and a scandal that echoes in American culture four decades later. Like most scandals, Watergate started simply enough with the intention of keeping Nixon’s political enemies at bay. However, before long it went from tape on door latches to bugging offices to breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters. By the year 1974, 43 people were facing legal consequences for their role in Watergate, and President Nixon was nearing the frightening reality of trial and possible impeachment. As small as it may have seemed at its beginning, the Watergate Scandal ending up affecting all aspects of American culture, specifically American politics.
On June 17, 1972, five burglars broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee located inside the Watergate Hotel in Washington. Frank Wills, a night security guard, discovered that the break-in was occurring. “Several office doorknob cylinders were covered with masking tape to hold the doors open”(McConnell 11). As soon as Wills made this discovery, he telephoned the police. The five burglars, carrying electronic gear and photographic equipment, were arrested on site at 2:30 A.M. They were suspected of illegal wire tapping. This series of arrests sparked the beginning of what came to be known as the Watergate Scandal. The Watergate Scandal caused several events to occur such as a huge investigation, Nixon winning the
Watergate is the popular name for the political scandal and constitutional crisis that began with the arrest of five burglars who broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office in Washington D.C. on the night of June 17, 1972. It ended with the resignation of president Richard M. Nixon. The burglars and two co-potters-G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt were indicated on charges of burglary, conspiracy, and wiretapping. Four monthes later, they were convicted and sentenced to prison terms by District Court Judge John J. Sirica, who was convicted that pertinent details had not been unveiled during the trial and proffered leniency in exchange for further information. As it
Barbara Jordan a member of the U.S House of Representative and a member of the House Judiciary Committee from Texas that considered whether to recommend that Nixon be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors
In his first couple of months in the oval office, Richard Nixon positively impacted the nation. As did most previous presidents do, Nixon had put himself right into action making sure he could build up and maintain and good reputation in office. But soon after completing his first term, disaster struck just as reelection was coming up. Nixon had destroyed his reputation, and by doing so showed the people how easy it was to be successful at a point and then lose it all due to one event, Watergate. Paul H. Elovitz, who teaches at Farleigh Dickinson University and is a founding faculty member of Ramapo College of New Jersey, begins to break down Nixon’s scenario. Elovitz comments, “Among his successes were the recognition of China, ending
The Watergate Scandal was truly the biggest political scandal in United States History. Over forty people where charged with crimes relating to the scandal. Bernstein and Woodward were given a fantastic oppourtunity to uncover something truly significant in history. The twenty-one months of investigative reporting done by these two men would ruin Nixon’s name and make these two common everyday reporters lives change forever. Woodward first got his life changing call on June 17th 1972 with his editor telling him about a small invasion of the Democratic Party Headquarters. With being related to the scandal, two members of President Nixon’s cabinet, H.R. Hadlemen and John Ehrlichman, quickly resigned. When first thought of the president even having something to do with the Watergate Scandal, he made every effort to possibly hide this career ruining event. The break in was first found by a security guard by the name of, Frank Wills. Wills saw a piece of tape covering a broken lock. Wills was
Watergate was a scandal that involved a break-in into the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the Nixon administration. Watergate was one of the most famous political scandals in American history. Decades after Watergate historians and others continue to argue about its causes and significance (Brinkley, 2007). It marked a period that both weakened our relationships with other countries as well as weakened the public’s belief in the President.
Watergate was the name of the biggest political scandal in United States history. It included various illegal activities constructed to help President Richard Nixon win reelection in the 1972 presidential elections. Watergate included burglary, wire tapping, violations of campaign financing laws, and sabotage and attempted use of government agencies to harm political opponents. It also involved a cover-up of conduct. There were about 40 people charged with crimes in the scandal and related crimes. Most of them were convicted by juries or pleaded guilty.
“Watergate was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s, following a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and President Richard Nixon’s administration’s attempted cover-up of its involvement (Google, 1). It was such a unexpecting event, due to how we thought the president actually was. We thought of Nixon as a smart, and loyal president. After this event it made several people second guess him as a person, not just as a president. The Watergate scandal happened forty years ago, but it is yet one of the biggest things that has happened in America (Zelizer, 1). In July 1974, the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that the White House had to turn
On the night of June 17, 1972 five burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee
The term “Watergate” has become a common household name in correlation with people's thoughts about corruption in government. President Nixon was in office at the time of this scandal and is often thought to be the most famous face in America's conspiracy of wickedness in the government. The Watergate scandal had rocked everything our country thought we knew about the American Presidency because it had forfeited the common vision of the leader of the nation. Watergate had replaced the image of elegance and worldliness of the U.S. President with a scattered vision of corruption and extreme competitive measures that the country had never been a part of. Richard Nixon and his men had taken