Table of Contents: What is Watergate ? June 17, 1972

Creep The 5

November of 1972 January 1973 - May 1973 Saturday Night Massacre “I am not a crook”

July 24, 1974 July 27, 1974 August 8, 1974

Brief Quiz

Overview:What is Watergate?

• "Watergate" is a general term used to describe a complex web of political scandals between 1972 and 1974. The word specifically refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.

• A number of illegal activities were carried out during the 1972 presidential campaign to help Richard Nixon win reelection.

• These activities included burglary, wiretapping, violations of campaign financing laws, and the attempted use of government agencies to harm political opponents

• Scandal involved the cover-up of the unlawful actions

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The Break-In: Watergate hotel on

June 17, 1972• Police arrest 5 men at 2:30 AM who had

broken into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters

• They were attempting to “bug the telephones of Democratic leaders & obtain political documents outlining the Democrats’ campaign strategy”

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CREEP

One of the burglars was James W. McCord, Jr., who worked with the Committee for the Reelection of the President (CREEP)

The four other “burglars” were employees of CREEP.

The 5 men were dubbed “plumbers” because they were ordered by Nixon to “plug leaks” to the press

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All five men would be charged with attempted burglary

G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt, Jr. were arrested due to their ties with Nixon’s campaign committee

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The Washington Post

The White House denied any involvement

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward from the Washington Post led the investigation

Evidence was found showing staff members paid for political sabotage and spying against the Democrats

November of 1972

• Nixon was re-elected President in one of the largest landslides in American history

• He won over 60% of the votes and 49 of the 50 states

• Clearly, America was either not bothered, or not aware of Nixon’s behavior Main Menu

The Cover-Up: January 1973 – May 1973

January – former Nixon aides Gordon Liddy and James McCord are convicted of burglary and conspiracy

White House officials tried to use the CIA and FBI to conceal evidence

Nixon’s personal lawyer, Attorney General, White House Chief of Staff, and domestic advisor Ehrlichman all mysteriously resigned or were forced to resign

May – The Senate Watergate Committee begins nationally televising the trial hearings for Watergate

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The Hearings

John W. Dean III, a former Presidential Counsel, testified against Nixon

Dean admitted he helped in the White House cover-up and said Nixon knew about the activities

Dean claimed the White House tried to use the Internal Revenue Service against Nixon’s enemies

“The smoking-gun tapes”

• Since 1971, Nixon had been recording all conversations that took place in the oval office and the tapes were now in the possession of the President.

• In July of 1973, the Senate committee asked Nixon to turn over the tapes and he refuses

• He felt he had the right to refuse, since other Presidents had refused to turn over certain documents

• The more he resisted, the more his popularity declined

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Saturday Night Massacre

October 1973 –• Nixon fires special prosecutor Archibald Cox because

Cox and the Senate had subpoenaed the tapes.• Two more people close to the president resign on the

same night Cox is fired• Public outrage Main Menu

Impeachment Begins

October 1973 the House of Rep. began steps to impeach Nixon

November 17, 1973 – Nixon declares famous “I am not a crook”

Nixon turned over the tapes, but three key conversations were missing

December – 18 ½ minutes missing from one of the subpoenaed tapes and the White House says it was “an accident”

“I am not a crook”

The President was not forced to turn over all of the tapes for evidence

He still withheld the most damaging of the tapes. April 1974, special prosecutor Leon Jaworski,

replaced the fired Cox, asked for the missing recordings

Instead the President turned over 1,200 pages of supposed conversations on the withheld tapes

Nixon refused to handover the original tapes.

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July 24, 1974

July 24, 1974 –– The Supreme Court rules

that the Presidents executive priviledges were overruled and he must turn over the tapes before the end of the year.

– One week later, he did.

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Sentencing

Seven former officials of Nixon’s administration and his 1972 reelection campaign were convicted of covering up the Watergate break-in

They were sentenced to 1 to 4 years About 40 people overall were found guilty

July 27, 1974

The House Judiciary Committee votes to pass the first three articles of impeachment

The President was charged with obstruction of justice, abusing presidential powers, and illegally withholding evidence

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The Resignation

August 5, 1974 Nixon released additional tapes

August 9, 1974 Richard Nixon becomes the first president to resign in the U.S.

Gerald Ford becomes the new President

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•What do you know about this cartoon?

•Have you ever heard of the term Watergate?

•What does the term Watergate mean to you?

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Question 11) Between what years did the Watergate scandal

occur?A. 1973-1983B. 1972-1974C. 1970-1972

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Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5

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Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5

Question 2True or False

President Nixon was one of “the five” men arrested at the Watergate Hotel on June 17, 1972.

True False

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Question 3

• True or False

President Gerald Ford won the presidency in one of the biggest landslides in history.

True False

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Question 44) What were the five men who broke into

the Watergate Hotel nicknamed?

A. “Plumbers”

B. “CREEP”

C. A & B

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Question 5• Who was the first person to resign from

the presidency?

A. Bill Clinton

B. Richard Nixon

C. FDR

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In Conclusion…

• President Nixon was an excellent president to some, but unfortunately many are left remembering just the lies & deception

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References:• Farnsworth, Malcolm. “Watergate: The Scandal that Brought

Down Richard Nixon.” 22 Oct 2004. http://watergate.info/• Mankiewicz, Frank. U.S. vs. Richard M. Nixon. New York: New

York Times Book Company, 1975. • McCarty, Mary. The Mask of State: Watergate Portraits. New

York: Harcourt Brace Janovich, 1973.• Olson, Keith W. Watergate: The Presidential Scandal that

Shook America. Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2003.• Phillips, Charles. “A Day to Remember”. American History.

October 2004. Vol. 39 Issue 4, p16. http://contentserver.epnet.com

• Smith, Franklin B. The Assassination of President Nixon. Vermont: Academy Books, 1976.

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