Questions and Answers for The Watergate Scandal
The Watergate Scandal
What was the impact of the Watergate scandal on American politics?
Although it may not be significant, the data suggests that Obama has had many more news conferences that Bush did at this time in his presidency. I understand that he has the power of the...
The Watergate Scandal
Did the Watergate scandal demonstrate the overall strength or weakness of the American democratic system? Think about...
Whatever the deficiencies of the American system of government—and there are many—it seemed to work well enough in the case of Richard Nixon. The Watergate scandal had uncovered widespread abuse of...
The Watergate Scandal
What is the Watergate Scandal in simple terms?
In as simple terms as possible, the Watergate scandal was an attempt by members of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President and other White House officials to gather information from the...
The Watergate Scandal
What would have happened if President Nixon had not chosen to resign?
If President Nixon had not chosen to resign in the face of the Watergate scandal, he almost surely would have been impeached and convicted. This would not have made much difference to him...
The Watergate Scandal
What were the Watergate burglars looking for?
The burglars, late known collectively as CREEP (Committee to Reelect the President), broke into the Democrat offices at Watergate to wiretap the offices and look for top secret documents. It...
The Watergate Scandal
What was Nixon accused of in regard to the Watergate scandal?
Nixon was accused of covering up the Watergate scandal and lying about it to the American people. The infamous botched burglary at the Democratic National Committee in Washington was part of a...
The Watergate Scandal
Should Nixon have resigned from office and should Ford have pardoned him? What did Watergate do to American’s faith...
This is, of course, a matter of opinion. My own view is that President Nixon absolutely needed to resign. I also think that it was best for the country that President Ford pardoned him. I think...
The Watergate Scandal
How did the the Watergate scandal influence our nation's political processes? How did the the Watergate scandal...
These are excellent answers. I would just like to add that on an emotional level, Watergate and the fallout made us distrustful of politicians. Before Watergate, we were kind of idealistic that...
The Watergate Scandal
Why did Richard Nixon cause the Watergate scandal?
As mentioned by the other posters Nixon's own arrogance was probably his downfall. Couple arrogance and paranoia together and it is not a good combination. Unfortunately for Nixon his entire...
The Watergate Scandal
How has the Watergate scandal had an effect on American citizens? Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal
Americans in the modern day are much less likely to trust their government, and although this is for a variety of reasons in addition to Nixon and the Watergate Scandal, I think this is the turning...
The Watergate Scandal
What were the key features of the Watergate Scandal and what was the effect on American politics?
On the evening of June 16, 1972 a security guard in the Watergate hotel noticed a piece of tape on a lock of a door to the Democratic Headquarters; his report set off a chain of events that would...
The Watergate Scandal
The reporters who broke the Watergate scandal were which two people? A) Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward // B) John...
Although all of the people mentioned in these options were famous in the 1970s, the only ones who were reporters involved in the Watergate scandal were Woodward and Bernstein. For this reason, A...
The Watergate Scandal
How did the Watergate scandal affect Richard Nixon's career? Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal
Well, the clear answer here is that it ended Nixon's career as a political figure. It ended his presidency 2 years before it was going to end anyway, but it also pretty much ruined his reputation...
The Watergate Scandal
What was the importance of the Watergate scandal?
The “Watergate scandal” is a nickname applied to the detection, prosecution, and conviction of Republican Party officials, senior White House staff, and Cabinet heads for illegally obtaining...
The Watergate Scandal
What was the Watergate scandal and its effect on the presidency?
The Watergate Scandal was a sordid series of events involving criminal conduct and corrupt activity in the executive department which extended to the President himself and ultimately brought about...
The Watergate Scandal
What was the "Smoking Gun tape" in the Watergate scandal?
The “Smoking Gun” tape was a tape that clearly showed President Nixon involving himself in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal very early on. The Watergate burglary had occurred on June 17, 1972....
The Watergate Scandal
How did the legacies of Watergate and the Vietnam War shape US politics?
The Vietnam War and Watergate were polarizing events that took place during a very volatile period of US history. While during most of the twentieth century, Americans had been able to pull...
The Watergate Scandal
How does the Watergate, Iran-contra, and Clinton impeachment scandals compare?
I think that you will find variance on the answer to this question. In my mind, I think that each possessed a rather disturbing side to the modern conception of the President's office. Each one...
The Watergate Scandal
How did the Watergate scandal demonstrate the vitality of democratic society?
Despite President Nixon's willful law-breaking and violation of the Constitution, American democracy proved itself remarkably robust throughout the long duration of the Watergate scandal. All the...
The Watergate Scandal
Why was the Watergate Scandal the biggest scandal that Richard Nixon committed? What was the impact on everybody and...
While there were other scandals involving Nixon, such as the one when he ran as vice president to Eisenhower, which involved reports of the use of a personal slush fund, Watergate was far more...
The Watergate Scandal
Explain how the Constitution worked in the Watergate Crisis.
I think that you will be able to find many resources written on the topic. In the short term analysis, I think that the Constitution played a vital role in the Watergate affair. The basic idea...
The Watergate Scandal
How has the Watergate scandal had an effect on the American government?
I think people in Congress, but also in the general public, toss the word "impeachment" around much more lightly since Watergate. Clinton was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate for...
The Watergate Scandal
What part did the Watergae Scandal play in the resignation of Richard Nixon?
In the end, I think that the Watergate Scandal played a decisive role in the resignation of Richard Nixon. The event itself, the cover up that followed, and the revelation of the unsavory nature...
The Watergate Scandal
What would've happened to our history if Nixon had got away with the Watergate scandal?
Of course, there is no way to know what would have happened if Nixon had not been forced from office. We can never go back and rerun history to see how things could turn out differently. All we...
The Watergate Scandal
How does Watergate represent the culmination of a consistent career pattern for Nixon?
I think that Watergate reflects much that had been present in Nixon's career. In many respects, I think that Watergate represents the culmination of different flickers and embers that had been...
The Watergate Scandal
President Ford pardoned President Nixon. Was this a good thing?
There are arguments to be made for both sides of this issue. Some people would say that President Ford made a mistake. Such people generally argue that Ford should have let Nixon be charged with a...
The Watergate Scandal
Why was President Nixon so concerned about covering up Watergate?
It is somewhat strange that President Nixon was so concerned about covering up for the Watergate burglars. After all, he did not (so far as we know) personally have any knowledge of their actions...
The Watergate Scandal
How did the Watergate scandal affect the reputation of President Nixon?
Simply put, Watergate completely destroyed Nixon's reputation. For many years, political opponents had alluded to his penchant for dirty tricks, but few people thought he would stoop so low as to...
The Watergate Scandal
Explain what happened to Richard Nixon and why he resigned in 1974. (how did the 1972 watergate break-in lead to...
It should also be noted that Nixon had quite an ego, and felt the country really needed him as President, whether it knew it or not. The cover up of the Watergate break in was his eventual...
The Watergate Scandal
What political party had their headquarters in Watergate?
The Democratic Party had their headquarters in the Watergate office complex in 1972. More specifically, the Democratic National Committee was headquartered there. On June 17, 1972, their offices...
The Watergate Scandal
If you had voted for Nixon, then found out about the Watergate scandal, would it have affected your perception of...
This was a mess in every way, and the disillusionment was much more pervasive than just the power of government. At its core, this was a human failing which used the government to achieve its...
The Watergate Scandal
After many of the facts had been revealed, what action did congress take and what did Nixon do in response?...
I think that the action you are referring to is that the House of Representatives was starting to discuss impeaching President Nixon. In fact, they had gone past just discussing it. In response...
The Watergate Scandal
Despite Watergate, did Richard Nixon's presidency start the Republican ascendency of the following period? Why and...
Despite Watergate, Nixon established the Republican ascendancy that followed him. Nixon claimed to represent what he called the "Silent Majority," by which he meant the conservative white Americans...
The Watergate Scandal
Identify an overt act in the Watergate scandal.
Outside of the break- in to the Democratic Headquarters itself as an overt act intrinsic to the scandal, I would say that one of the most important overt acts would be the commissioning of the...
The Watergate Scandal
Was the Watergate political scandal, the break-in at Democratic headquarters by Nixon administration-induced...
The entire Watergate Scandal, not just one part of it, shattered the nation’s confidence in the government. The idea that a sitting President and his closest advisors felt the need to break the law...
The Watergate Scandal
Outside of Nixon, who could be considered an overt actor in the Watergate Affair?
In terms of the anatomy of the incident and its implications on American History, then- White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman could be considered by many standards to be an overt actor in the...
The Watergate Scandal
What Happened At Watergate?
"Watergate" was the name of a hotel-apartment complex in Washington, District of Columbia. In 1972, offices in the complex were being rented by the national Democratic Party for use during the 1972...
The Watergate Scandal
Explain the relationship of the burglars caught at the Watergate to the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP).
The relationship between the burglars and the Committee to Reelect the President was that the committee in essence ordered the burglary. In the run-up to the 1972 presidential election, there were...
The Watergate Scandal
What happened in the “Saturday Night Massacre?”
In the Saturday Night Massacre, President Richard Nixon essentially forced two Attorneys General to resign so that he could find one who would fire Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor who was...
The Watergate Scandal
What is meant by an “overt act” in the context of Watergate?
The idea of “overt acts” is important to the Watergate scandal because overt acts can be used to prove that a conspiracy has taken place. In the Watergate case, there was a conspiracy to commit...
The Watergate Scandal
Identify an important individual and their actions in the Watergate Affair.
I think that many figures can be identified, but why not go for the most important one in the President, himself? Richard Nixon has to be seen as one of the most important figures in the Watergate...
The Watergate Scandal
What was the significance of the "smoking gun" recording of Nixon?
The significance of the "smoking gun" tape is that it made completely clear that Pres. Nixon had entered into a criminal conspiracy that was meant to obstruct justice. This made it inevitable that...