The Presidency of Richard Nixon and The Watergate Scandal

1. The Presidency of Richard Nixon and The WatergateScandal HUSH Unit 7

2. 1968 Election • Popular Votes • Nixon 43.4% • Humphrey 42.7% • Electoral Votes • Nixon 302 • Humphrey 191 • Wallace 45

3. Foreign Policy Issues Vietnam Nixon’s secret plan Vietnamization Withdrawal of troops Soviet Union Still under communist rule (Cold War) Nixon visits China Still under Communist rule (Mao) Nixon visits Domestic Issues Inflation Nixon tried to get spending under control LBJ’s Great Society was EXPENSIVE! Social Programs were put on the chopping block Some liked….some didn’t Oil Crisis OPEC organized and raised prices Law and Order Nixon called Middle America the Silent Majority Wanted to get their votes in 1972 Issues During the Nixon Administration

4. Nixon’s Southern Strategy • To win the Southern votes in 1972 • Do not openly oppose Civil Rights, but do not openly support either • Attempt to block Civil Rights Act renewal • Oppose integration by busing • Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenburg- 1971 • Add moderates/conservatives to the Court to change the way that Earl Warren had fashioned in • Appointed Chief Justice Warren Burger, and Justices Blackmon and Rehnquist • All three were conservatives

5. A Man on the Moon • NASA put the first man on the moon in July 1969 • Neil Armstrong • This helped to achieve the goal that JFK had set more than 9 years earlier • The US Space Program had now surpassed the Soviet’s

6. http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/video11.html#Landing

7. Henry Kissinger • Henry Alfred Kissinger was the 56th Secretary of State of the United States from 1973 to 1977 • He was born in Germany but lived much of his life in the US • He was well-respected in the field of foreign diplomacy • He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his work on ending the Vietnam War

8. Kissinger specialized in understanding “practical politics” Not playing games This was known as Realpolitik in German Became the standard for dealing with the USSR and China in the Nixon Whitehouse Détente A more relaxed mood towards former enemies Nixon and Kissinger's style led to a new understanding with the Soviets and Chinese Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer Issues were more complex Politics are not just “black and white” Détente and Realpolitik

9. Ping Pong Diplomacy • One of the first public hints of improved U.S.-China relations came on April 6, 1971, when the American Ping-Pong team received a surprise invitation from their Chinese colleagues for an all-expense paid visit to the People's Republic. • Time magazine called it "The ping heard round the world." • This ushered in an era of "Ping-Pong diplomacy." • They were the first group of Americans allowed into China since the Communist takeover in 1949. • This was followed by the historic trip Nixon made to China

11. Nixon followed his trip to China with a visit to the Soviet Union where he met Premier Brezhnev. On 26 May the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) was signed in the Kremlin by President Nixon and Mr. Brezhnev. The agreement, which was the culmination of nearly three years of talks between the two superpowers limited each superpower to 200 defensive nuclear missiles and froze the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles for the next five years. Nixon in the USSR

12. Watergate More than 30 years have passed since the bungled break-in at the Watergate hotel that triggered a national crisis. • The roots of the Watergate scandal lie deep within the character of President Richard Nixon. • Nixon came back from early political defeats to win the presidency -- narrowly in 1968, but by an epic margin in 1972. • It was his desire to make a mark on history that sowed the seeds of the Watergate scandal.

13. What happened during Watergate? What you need to know: • What happened at the Watergate hotel? Why? • Who were the major players and what were their roles? • How did this event change the United States and national politics forever?

14. The Nixon Whitehouse

15. The Nixon Whitehouse All others must go through these "Gatekeepers"

16. Nixon and Some of His Staffers

17. H.R. Haldeman John Ehrlichman • Nixon’s Powerful Personal Attorney and Domestic Advisor • Gatekeeper and protector • Nixon’s Powerful Chief of Staff • Gatekeeper and protector

18. CREEP • The Committee to Re-Elect the President • Headed by Attorney General Mitchell • The Attorney General • It’s all about REELECTION • and by a big margin! • In charge of • Dirty tricks…Smear campaign against Democratic VP Candidate Muskie • Hush money…payoffs for secrecy • Enemies List • Actors, Democrats, media John Mitchell

19. Wiretapping • Katz v US had made wiretapping without a search warrant illegal in 1968 • Nixon did not follow the ruling and used the technology to spy on his “enemies” • Claimed “National Security” • Was actually dirty politics

20. Leaks to Press anger Nixon • The New York Times received the “Pentagon Papers” which stated that the war was not winnable • Leaked by former Dept. of Defense executive Daniel Ellsburg • Nixon ordered plumbers to break into his psychiatrist’s office • Nixon tried to block the publication in court • US v NY Times • The Court ruled no!! • Papers were published

21. The “Plumbers” • Secret group of Nixon men • Fixed “leaks” • G. Gordon Liddy • James McCord • E. Howard Hunt • Were assigned to bug the Watergate offices of the DNC (Democrat’s National Committee headquarters) • Were caught in the act by security

22. Washington Post Reporters • The Washington Post had received several tips about a break-in at the Watergate hotel • Two young reporters followed leads and found themselves in the middle of the greatest political scandal of the 20th century • Bob Woodward • Carl Bernstein

23. Carl Bernstein Bob Woodward

24. The Watergate Hotel

25. Page 22 Article • It was NOT major news at first • Seemed like a small story! • Break-ins are not big news • The 2 reporters followed the story and it led further and further up to the White House • The connection was made between CREEP and the “Plumbers”

26. “Deep Throat” • Secret source for Post Reporters • Only 4 people knew his name till 2005 • Had insider information on the Nixon Whitehouse and the break-in • Told Woodward and Bernstein to…“Follow the money”.

27. “Deep Throat” Revealed in 2005 • Mark Felt was Deep Throat • Former #2 man at the FBI • Was angered by the mismanagement and lawfulness of the Nixon administration

28. Archibald Cox • A special prosecutor is appointed to investigate the executive branch • The Senate also conducts hearings

29. The Trial • Judge Sirica precedes over the Watergate burglars trials • They are convicted and all serve some time in jail • Most give up information for lighter sentences • G. Gordon Liddy stays the longest • Never confesses • Is now ultra-right wing hero and radio show host

30. White House counsel Turns over evidence Spills the beans at the Senate hearings Received light sentence but does serve jail time Popular author Newest book about Bush administration Worse than Watergate John Dean

31. The Tapes • Nixon aid Alexander Butterfield reveals that the Oval Office and phones are bugged • All conversations have been taped • The Senate and Special Prosecutor ask for tapes • Nixon refuses to surrender the tapes, claiming executive privilege.

32. Richard Nixon • At a press conference in 1973, Nixon urges the nation to move beyond Watergate and defends himself, arguing “I’m not a crook.”

33. “Saturday Night Massacre” • October 20, 1973 • Nixon orders Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Cox. • Richardson refuses and resigns. • Nixon orders Richardson’s assistant, William Ruckelshaus, to fire Cox. • He, too, refuses and resigns. • Nixon orders his solicitor general, Robert Bork, to fire Cox. • Bork does so. • The press dubs this extraordinary series of events the “Saturday Night Massacre.”

34. The Tapes are Finally Released • The final blow came with the decision by the Supreme Court to order Nixon to release more White House tapes. • One of these became known as the 'smoking gun' tape when it revealed that Nixon had participated in the Watergate cover-up as far back as June 23, 1972. • There is an 18-minute gap in one of the tapes, leading to great speculation about what was erased • Around the country, there were calls for Nixon to resign.

35. Is this how the Tapes were Erased??

36. August 8, 1974 • President Nixon announces to the nation in a televised address that he will “resign the Presidency, effective at noon tomorrow.” • He becomes the first US president to leave office by resignation

38. Nixon’s is Pardoned • In a surprise Sunday morning announcement, President Ford grants a “full free and absolute” pardon to Nixon for “all offenses against the United States” committed between January 20, 1969 and August 9, 1974. • He claims that our“long national nightmare is over” • However, politics and the American people’s trust in politics has been changed FOREVER

39. News Reel of Events • http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/museum/exhibits/watergate_files/content.php?section=3&page=e