The Battle of Waterloo

The downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte

Just kidding.

Sorry folks, this is a US History class, so we won’t do Waterloo today, but the name is similar.

Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

The Downfall of Nixon

“The True Crime of Richard Nixon was simple: He destroyed the myth that binds America Together, and for this he was driven from power.

The myth he broke was critical-that somewhere in American life there is at least one man who stands for law, the President…It was that faith that Richard Nixon broke, betraying those who voted for him even more than those who voted against him.” -T.H.White

Background of Nixon

Born in California in 1918.Was a Republican.Served as President from 1969-1974.Announced resignation August 8, 1974, nearly facing impeachment.Died April 22, 1994.

Setting the Scene

President Nixon was set on winning the 1972 Presidential Elections.His aides went to extreme measures to try to ensure a Nixon victory.

The Enemies List

With the help of Special Council Charles W. Colson, Nixon created a list of people not friendly to the Nixon administration.This list was called the “enemies list”.The list was made to battle political enemies.Nixon’s aides would harass the people on the list.

WiretapsIn 1969, a leak in secret information took place, prompting Nixon to instruct Henry Kissinger to install wiretaps on telephones of people on his own staff and on a few reporter’s phones.Wiretaps were listening devices used to hear telephone conversations that one was not directly a part of.Wiretaps installed for security reasons were legal at the time, but the use of legal wiretaps eventually led to their illegal use.

The Plumbers

Daniel Ellsberg, who used to work in the Defense Department leaked secret Pentagon information about Vietnam to the New York Times in 1971.In response to leaks, Nixon created a special unit known as the Plumbers to stop these government leaks.The Plumbers were created so that Ellsberg would be punished for leaking the secret information.

Nixon’s Reelection CampaignHeaded by John Mitchell, former Attorney General for Nixon, the Committee to Reelect the President attempted to collect as much money as possible while before it became illegal to not report where the raised money came from.The Committee sometimes used false evidence to discredit and sabotage Nixon’s opponents.

The Watergate Break-InOne method used to try to discredit Nixon’s opponents was through the wiretapping of phones at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex.In the attempt made to install the wiretaps that took place on June 17, 1972, five men involved were arrest.The money used in this attempt was linked to Nixon’s Committee.

The Watergate Break-InThe White House worked hard to hide the Watergate incident.Watergate defendants were bribed to be silent.In the 1972 election, Nixon beat George McGovern by 520 to 17 electoral votes.There was not, however, a Republican majority in either house of Congress.

The Watergate TrialTrial took place under Judge John J. Sirica.All defendants either pleaded guilty or were found guilty.Sirica offered lower sentences to those that would cooperate and speak out in the upcoming Senate hearings on Watergate.

The Senate InvestigatesThe Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities started investigating the Watergate affair in February of 1973.Some of Nixon’s staff testified that Nixon was aware of the cover-up.One of Nixon’s aides revealed that there were video tapes of the President’s office that could prove or disprove Nixon’s involvement.

“Saturday Night Massacre” and an Administration in Jeopardy

Nixon tried to win back some favor by agreeing to appointment of a Watergate prosecutor.The prosecutor, Archibald Cox asked for the tapes. Nixon refused and fired Cox, prompting a series of resignations and firings called the “Saturday Night Massacre”.Nixon’s approval rating had been dropping like a rock around this time.Leon Jaworski, Cox’s replacement, also asked for the tapes. Nixon agreed to turn them over, but edited out incriminating parts of the tape. Many still were angry at comments in the edited version.During this time, Nixon’s Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned because of accusations of tax evasion.Gerald Ford replaced Agnew as Nixon’s VP.

Hearings BeginThese affairs, especially the “Saturday Night Massacre,” caused Congress to start questioning whether they should impeach Nixon.In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach the President.

Nixon ResignsFinally, on August 5, 1974, Nixon agreed to release the tapes in their original form. There was a mysterious gap of about 20 minutes in the tapes, but the tapes clearly demonstrated the extent of Nixon’s involvement.On August 9, 1974, Nixon became the first President to ever resign. Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon.