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Essential American History Teaching American History Grant
Lessons from the Cold War Brittany Bowers Lafayette High School
Document Based Grant Lesson Plan
Nixon Presidential Library Nixon Presidential Library: The Public’s Perception of President Richard Nixon Before and After the Watergate Scandal Essential Questions: 1. How did the Watergate scandal change the American view of politics?
2. How did the Watergate events cause the American people to view the position of the presidency differently? 3. How did this scandal change the public’s view of Nixon?
Objectives: American History
1. Students will be able to analyze the domestic policies of the Nixon Administration by using primary source documents. 2. Students will examine the decisions, actions, events of the Watergate affair to
draw conclusions regarding the public’s perception of President Nixon by using primary source documents.
3. Analyze Primary Source Political Cartoons 4. Exchange information while recognizing bias and multiple points of view. 5. Analyze sources to recognize bias and points of view.
Procedures: 1. Begin by reviewing the basic facts from the previous lesson to ensure that all students are aware of the overview of the Watergate scandal. This will be followed by several political cartoons to ensure the students understand the scandal and events. See Item 1-2
2. The students will discuss the article from Times Magazine in May of 1973 which examines the citizens’ initial opinion of Richard Nixon several months after the scandal occurred. They will then analyze another article from November 1973 that revisits these opinions after more details of the investigations are released to the public. They will formulate ideas/thoughts about what Americans were thinking during this period of the investigation and compare it to how they felt just five months later. They will also draw their own conclusions about how the opinions are directly related to the region of the United States they live in or the political party to which they were affiliated. See Item 3-4 3. A short slide show (projected on Smart Board) will then show students that as of August of 1973 there were many disputed and undisputed facts that were shedding light on the investigation. Issues such as the money for wiretappers are examined. This will show students that this was the information given to the public and will further help them to make their decision on the public perception. There will also be a Gallup poll from 1973 that reveals Nixon’s approval ratings of the people compared to several previous presidents. The graph points out the major crises that occurred during that particular president’s term. See Item 5 -7 4. After the students have had a chance to work with the documents they will answer the Document Based Questions examining the conclusions they have drawn.
Document Based Questions:
Using the documents, how did the Watergate scandal change America’s view of politics? Using the primary source documents analyze the American public’s perception of the
presidency after the Watergate Affair. Using the documents, compare and contrast the public’s perception of Nixon before and
after the Watergate affair.
1. A number of primary documents will be used in the lesson, such as political cartoons, graphs, and articles. Students will complete a document analysis sheet
when analyzing the political cartoons and graphs. 2. Students will recognize the bias and point of view of the Times Magazine documents. All media outlets can be slanted to some degree. 3. What was the intention of Times Magazine when conducting the poll? 4. Analyze the documents given to find similarities and differences to show how the citizens’ opinions of Richard Nixon have changed over a period of time? 5. What personal background can you suggest about the citizens that were interviewed after reading their remarks? Political party, Religion, Educational Background, etc.
Teacher Notes:
Students will have a prior knowledge of the Watergate Scandal events from the previous day’s lesson. This may include a timeline of events and key players, while understanding the basic facts of the scandal.
The Watergate Special Prosecution Force Memorandum may also be used to show the students the evidence for indictment or against indictment. When analyzing the Time articles, students can be arranged in small groups, approximately 3-4 students per group. Document Based Questions will be given individually and act as a Summative Assessment directly aligned to the Essential Questions.
Primary Sources Used: 1. Cartoon Analysis Sheet. National Archives http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/cartoon_analysis_worksheet.pdf 2. Political Cartoon. Times Magazine. May 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 3. Political Cartoon. Times Magazine. May 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 4. “How Main Street Views Watergate.” Times Magazine. May 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum.
5. “Main Street Revisited: Changing Views on Watergate.” Times Magazine. November 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 6. “Watergate I: The Evidence to Date”. Times Magazine. August 20th, 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 7. “Where the Dubios Money Went.” Times Magazine. May 1972. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 8. “Popularity Highs and Lows.” Times Magazine. December 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum.
Assessment and Scoring Guide: Skill Not
Assessed.
Uses four or more documents accurately to formulate ideas
Four or more documents are used to formulate
ideas 3
Two or Three documents are used to formulate
ideas 2
One or no documents are used to formulate
ideas 1
/3
Makes connections between documents
Makes strong
connections between
documents and supports
their findings
3
Makes connections
between documents but needs
more supporting
details 2
Finds little or no
connection between
documents and provides little support
1
/3
Cites Documents
Correctly cites
documents with all
information provided
3
Cites information but lacking
some information
2
Does not cite
document correctly or
lacks information
1
/3
Bias and Point of View
Identifies
the bias/point of
view and how it
impacts public
perception 3
Identifies bias/point of view but does
not understand
how it impacts public
perception 2
Does not identify
bias/point of view and does not
understand how it
impacts public
perception 1
/3
Prior historical content
Includes excellent
prior historical content to accurately support findings
3
Prior content is evident but lacks details to support findings
2
Does not
provide prior historical content to support findings
1
/3
Recognizes change over time
Recognizes a change of
views over a period of time and
documents those
changes 3
Loosely recognizes
changes but does not
support their findings
2
Does not
find a change of
views over a period of
time 1
/3
Total /18
Item #1:
Taken from Times, 1973
Item #2:
Taken from Times, 1973
Item 3 and Item 4 Main Street Articles Item 5 Evidence Disputed
Item #6:
Taken from Times, 1973
Item #7:
Taken from Times, 1973
