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NIXON AND THE WATERGATE SCANDAL

NIXON AND THE WATERGATE SCANDAL. What events led to Richard Nixon’s resignation as President in 1974?. NIXON’S POLICIES TARGET MIDDLE AMERICA. Political ups & downs: 1946 - House of Representatives 1950 - Senate 1952 - Vice President 1960 and 62 – Lost presidential and gubernatorial

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NIXON AND THE WATERGATE SCANDAL

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  1. NIXON AND THE WATERGATE SCANDAL What events led to Richard Nixon’s resignation as President in 1974?

  2. NIXON’S POLICIES TARGET MIDDLE AMERICA • Political ups & downs: • 1946 - House of Representatives • 1950 - Senate • 1952 - Vice President • 1960 and 62 – Lost presidential and gubernatorial • President in 1968

  3. Nixon calls for a “New Federalism” • Silent majority • “reverse the flow of power and resources from the States and communities to Washington and start power and resources flowing back from Washington to the States and communities” • Revenue sharing with states

  4. Nixon Expands the Government’s Role • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) • Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Clean Air Act • $ for social welfare programs

  5. The Economy Struggles • Recession and inflation = STAGFLATION: • War • Foreign competition • Price of oil • OPEC embargo • Nixon freezes wages and prices for 90 days

  6. Nixon Follows a Southern Strategy • Expand base • Southern whites • Blue collar workers • Normally democrats • Change to republicans

  7. Controversy Rages Over Busing • Conservative judges • Moratorium on court ordered busing

  8. Nixon Proposes New Civil Rights Initiatives • Philadelphia Plan: a type of affirmative action • “…segregation didn’t occur naturally – it was imposed…visible, measurable goals to correct [these] imbalances are essential.”

  9. Nixon’s Strategy Succeeds 1972 High approval ratings • Trips to China and Soviet Union • Moderate with VP Spiro Agnew • 61% of popular vote and almost all electoral votes

  10. THE WATERGATE SCANDAL BRINGS NIXON DOWN • Botched burglary of Dem Party HQ June ’72 • Connected to White House • Burglars tried in ’73 • Connection revealed btwn burglars and top Nixon Administration • Nixon tries to deny it

  11. Watergate Goes Pubic • “Deep Throat” • Connection to C.R.E.E.P. • “I am not a crook”

  12. Copy the following Qs and answer as you watch the video: • Who were Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein? • What was significant about the address book? • How did Deep Throat help solve the mystery?

  13. Revealing the White House Tapes • Spiro Agnew resigns in unrelated scandal • Ford is new VP • Summer ‘73 discovers taping of Oval Office conversations includes break in cover-up • Executive Privilege

  14. U.S. vs. NIXON • “The expectation of a President to the confidentiality of his conversations of correspondence…has all the values to which we accord deference for the privacy of citizens…But…The very integrity of the judicial system depend on full disclosure of all the facts, within the framework of the rules of evidence”

  15. Copy the Qs and answer as you watch • About what did the nation learn in the Summer of 1973? • What was missing from the secret tapes? • What was it called? Why? • What was the ruling in US vs. Nixon? • What happened on August 9, 1974? • Why did Nixon order the taping of himself?

  16. Nixon Resigns • Charged with obstructing justice, misuse of power and refusal to comply with White House subpoenas • Resigns before he could be impeached • “…process of healing which is so desperately needed in America”

  17. For what was Nixon guilty? • Cover-up of break in • “dirty tricks” for re-election • “enemies list” • Wiretapping of gov’t employees and reporters

  18. Watergate Has a Lasting Impact “The lies, the lies, the lies…What a pity, what a pity! Here was a president who got us out of Vietnam, ended the draft…and by his bold overtures to Red China opened new avenues toward world peace. Now the good vanishes in the wreckage of the bad. The swearing in of Gerald Ford can’t come one hour too soon.” August 30, 1974 • FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT AMENDMENTS (1974) • FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AMENDMENTS (1974) • GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE ACT (1976) • ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT (1978)

  19. Looking at the Bright Side • Strength of checks and balances • “extraordinary triumph in the American system” -Time magazine • “Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men” -Gerald Ford

  20. Copy Qs and answer as you watch • What seemed to be Nixon’s attitude with the outcome of the Watergate Scandal? • With what was Nixon obsessed? • How did historians view Watergate? • What prevailed in America? • What was said to be Watergate’s most enduring legacy?

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