This week we will discuss the most famous political scandal in our nation's history - the only scandal to bring down a presidency. Usually Americans are forgiving of politicians - ones they voted for, at least - and, while two presidents have been impeached, no president has ever been removed from office for "high crimes and misdemeanors", as stipulated by the Constitution. Of course, we'll never know, but it certainly seems obvious that had Richard Nixon not resigned the presidency in 1974, Congress would have made him the first to be impeached and convicted. In fact, were it not for a pardon by the next president (Gerald Ford), it is likely that Nixon would have been arrested and placed in jail for his part in the scheme, as was the case for several of Nixon's team members.
So what could possibly cause one of the most successful presidents to come to such a fate? His team cheated in the 1972 election and he and others helped cover up the crimes. Why would Nixon have done such a thing - especially given the fact that he could have won in 1972 without making any real effort? As we discussed in a previous lecture, a radical youth movement had captured control of the Democratic Party and most Americans weren't ready to go along with their extreme positions. Nixon's choices (and those of the people he chose to be on his team) were bizarre - and based on a notion that somehow the laws didn't apply to them. Remember, in a republic such as ours, everyone is equal under law, and no one, not even the president, has a right to act illegally.
For this week's assignment I would like you to first visit the following link: http://www.watergate.info/chronology/brief.shtml and read the brief timeline of events. Then choose two links (you'll find them on the side of the timeline under the heading that reads "home") from "Burglary" to "Aftermath" and report on your findings. Answer the questions: 1) Was the American system of government in danger of collapse? and 2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn't happen again.
For those of you who like controversy, you may choose to report on the rather incendiary essay by former Nixon speech writer (and 1988/1992 presidential candidate) Patrick Buchanan, found under the "Analysis" link. Respond critically to his assertions and take a position - pro or con.
The requirements for this assignment are exactly the same as those of every assignment preceding it. Thanks, God bless, and welcom back!
The Watergate Scandal, unfortunatly,is what is most remembered about President Nixon’s administration. Though he accomplished much for our country, all of that seemed to fade in the minds of many Americans once he messed up. As far as his impeachment, a Senate committee was set up to investigate the Watergate Scandal in 1973. The scandal involved burglary of the National Democratic headquarters. It was determined that Nixon along with some of his staff had been behind the burglary. The Senate committee recommended to the Supreme Court that he be impeached. The hearings were public and dramatic. He therefore resigned before the vote took place. The lasting results of this(besides his ruined reputation) was that the public became more cynical about their political leaders and the media felt like they had more power and ran with it.
ReplyDelete1) I do not think that America’s system of government was in danger of collapse, persay. Yes, it wasn’t at it’s best, but Nixon was just one President who messed up and the Constitutional process still worked as it was desgined to work. The Congress and Supreme Court were able to function they way they were supposed to. The fact that President Ford pardoned Nixon may seem like a deviation from the Constitution, but Ford was within his presdential rights and Nixon did suffer for the rest of his life as a result of his poor decision making as far as Watergate was concerned.
2) One idea for this not to happen again would be to make sure that all presidential tapes be turned over to Congress on demand? I don’t really know.
On June 17, 1972 five burglars were arrested at the Watergate offices of the Democratic National Committee. Being unsuccessful in their attempt, they were charged with attempted burglary and attempted interception of phone and other conversations.
ReplyDeleteThe five men were
Bernard L. Barker - said to have been involved in the Bay of Pigs.
Virgilio R. Gonzales - a locksmith.
James W. McCord - former FBI and CIA agent.
Eugenio R. Martinez - had connections with the CIA.
Frank A. Sturgis - had connections with the CIA.
Now I don’t know about you but if men that had these kinds of connections were breaking into something I would be worried.
Deep Throat
Deep Throat was a key source of information behind a series of articles on a scandal which played a leading role in introducing the misdeeds of the Nixon administration to the general public. On May 31, 2005, Vanity Fair magazine revealed that William Mark Felt Sr. was Deep Throat, when it published an article on its website by John D. O'Connor, an attorney acting on Felt's behalf, in which Felt reportedly said, "I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat." Mr. Felt was also the second in command of the FBI.
Wow, to know that your identity has been the biggest mystery in the world of politics for 30 years has got to be just a little weird. Even though I’m good at keeping secrets that one would be hard to keep.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_throat and http://www.watergate.info/chronology/brief.shtml.
I read the articles entitled “Nixon’s Resignation Speech” and “The Smoking Gun Tape.” What I found really made me think. Here we have a president who committed one of the most known crimes of all times, but he pledges that everything he did was in the best interest of the country. Maybe he was just so messed up that he justified his actions by thinking they were for the better of the country and its people.
ReplyDeleteAs for if the government was in danger was in danger of collapsing, I feel that the amount of corruption that was taking place would have caused the government to collapse. A system that was founded on such a plan of organization and order will not function if that order and perfection is greatly interrupted. Everything was being done in secret and against each other. It would have eventually totally turned on itself if it would have been prolonged.
To ensure that this doesn’t happen again, we must monitor everything. Within boundaries, secrecy cannot be popular within the government. Within itself, openness must be enforced. We want to give every individual their rights and make sure to follow the constitution, but the president and government in general was established better the country. By allowing corruption we are hurting the people and their rights as Americans.
Watergate... When people hear this word they usually think Nixon and the crimes that he committed and the lies that he told and everything else that went along with the entire scandal. Nixon would have been remembered as a great president had it not been for the Watergate Scandal. This scandal ruined him. Watergate was a mess a whole mess of crimes that president Richard Nixon, his administration, staff, and others that supported him, committed. They tried illegally gained money for campaigning and Nixons reelection, broke into headquarters of the democratic national committee, he tried to ruin political enemies, tried to cover up all his wrong doings and lied about them, and committed other crimes and wrond doings as well. The aftermath of this was terrible. Nixon (a man who was to be remembered as a great president and one who accomplished many good things) was impeached; his reputation was destroyed; people lost a significant amount of trust in government; he brought many people down with him; the media becomes more confindent and aggressive; and Nixon resigned. Watergate was defintely not one of the governments prouder moments.
ReplyDelete1.)Was the American system of government in danger of collapse? Hmm tough question. I do not believe that Government would have or was in danger of collapsing. Watergate obviously did not accomplish anything good at that time and government was definitely not in one of its prouder moments. But like said i don't believe the whole system would have collapsed. Nixons adminstration was not doing the right things but things were not out of control. There were still other people behind the scenes helping to run things. It could have been in danger of collapsing if this had continued. But at the time i think that it was not in danger.
2.)What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn't happen again? Well for one everything the government does should not be kept behind closed doors. We need to keep an eye on things. And if things are being done behind closed doors i think that it should be investigated thoroughly. And i guess just be careful as to not let things get to far before we look into things.
The Watergate Scandal
ReplyDeleteI read some of the information under Burglary and Aftermath. Some of it went into great, fine detail of the whole operation from the perspective of Eugenio Martinez. I already knew the important facts from class lecture and prior knowledge. The whole thing just seems like a horrible, stupid mess to me.
1) Was the American system of government in danger of collapse? I do not think that the American system of government was really in danger of a collapse. I mean, throughout that administration, there were so many scandals, and dirty tricks, but i would say a that I do not think that it was in danger of collapse, while something probably should have been done to protect it from those flaws and malfunction (for lack of better words). Because, the system was not working perfectly.
2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn't happen again. Something probably does need to be done to try to ensure that something like this does not happen again. But, I do not know much about these things, and I cannot really think of something that would keep this from happening again. All of Watergate was done from the inside, where the power was at. Of course, it was resolved through the police and media. I do not think that it is really a big threat to our system of government, either, but something could be done to prevent another scandal like this. I just do not know enough about these topics to really think of a good solution for it.
The Watergate Scandal was definitely a large chunk of our political history and what Nixon is most known for, despite his other good efforts. Watergate pretty much began on September 9, 1971 when the “plumbers” burglarized a psychiatrist's office to find files on Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers, in hopes of ruining his reputation. The next two years would be a tough time for Nixon until the pressure and accusations caught up with him and he resigned as President of the United States on August 8, 1974.
ReplyDeleteWas the American system of government in danger of collapse?
I don't believe the government was in any danger of collapse. The tricks and illegal activities were done only within a small amount of people in the White House itself. While they had much power, they could not exercise there power to the full potential because of the risk of them getting caught. Many things happened in those two years, but there was nothing that I thought ever got close to endangering the system of government.
What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn't happen again.
I don't really think there is to much you can do to stop this. This was started by the President himself who worked with several of his closest advisors. Unless you can find someone to follow them around and report on everything that everyone is saying, you are going to have a hard time finding when and who starts this activities. You really just have to have strong, trustworthy people in the system; and that's hard.
Watergate
ReplyDeleteI read some information from the article "The Burglars" and the link "Aftermath." After reading them and some other articles, I realized how corrupt and dishonest the Nixon administration was with the American people. They used all kinds of sneaky and illegal methods such as wire tapping and burglary to gain info on certain people. The funny thing is that the Nixon administration thought that they were doing the country justice when in the end they were just setting themselves up to be remembered as one of the biggest scandals in American history.
1)Was the American system of government in danger of collapse? No, I don't really think that the system of government was in danger of collapse. Even though there was a great deal of scandal and trickery going on, you still had other people keeping the government running properly.
2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn't happen again? I think that the government should not be able to keep secrets from the people. Other than that I think that it would be hard to prevent another scandal like that because it was performed in such a sneaky way that it went almost undetected. In the end, you just have to hope and pray that the right person is elected as President.
I am going to start my essay out a little bit different than people before me. Yeah, we all know when Watergate happened and how significant it was to not only Nixon but America and how we run the system of checks and balances. The sad part was, the odds are Nixon could have won the election honestly, and if it where not for the cover up, he most likely would have gotten off scott-free. But he and his administration took things too far.
ReplyDelete1)The government was on the verge of total destruction, and the American people had no clue. The FBI and CIA where being abused and the balance of powers was so lop-sided the whole system almost fell down.
2)The only thing we can really do today is keep tighter reins on the president. Or atleast keep a closer eye on him. Will it be difficult and make his job harder? Absolutely, but he should know that before he takes the job. Also, the FBI and CIA need to be watched closely for corruption. Nixon could not have gotten so far without their support and help.
Asian dude,
ReplyDeleteI've warned you before. Next time you do it, I'm taking you out.
Maxwell,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your essay. It was very clear and I like how you hit on the points of how it was 'sneaky' of Nixon to tape lines and spy. Also, I like how you hit on the topic of how Nixons tapes were the main point to the conviction and trail that he was placed under.When he set them up, odds are he was thrilled with the idea of using them against his enemies and gaining avantage over them through blackmail. Isn't it ironic that such a thing would destroy him in the end? Did you know that in just eleven minutes a day you could get ripped, fit, and get your smoking hot college body back? It's true, check out Randy Cator's powershredding dvd.
Colby,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your essay, mostly because you had alternative opinions than myself, yet you offered sufficient justifacation, so I can definitely see your points. I do like how you said that while they could be sneaky, they could not got to the extent of exercising their power to their full potential without being caught. You were right about them having to act with a limited amount of power.
Great essay, even with an alternative view.
I chose to read the speech by Patrick J. Buchanan entitled "Yes, Watergate was a Coup D'Etat."
ReplyDeleteAs I read Mr. Buchanan's essay, I could immediately tell that he was COMPLETELY dedicated to Nixon. Throughout his speech, Mr. Buchanan repeatedly defended Nixon against the attacks from the media and from Washington.
The ONLY negative thing that Mr. Buchanan said about Nixon was that he abused his power in creating the Plumbers. The Plumbers, a group of Nixon's top advisors in the White House, were in charge of chasing down National Security leaks and "taking care" of them. Mr. Buchanan's essay says that Nixon was wrong in this, that he should have left the "black bag" operations to J. Edgar Hoover and his crew down at the FBI. This was the only instince where Buchanan had anything remotely negative to say about Nixon.
Mr. Buchanan also HATED the Democratic party. Throughout his essay, he constantly referred to the party simply as "the left." He says that the Democrat's didn't want Nixon out because they cared about the significance of the Constitution or the Presidency, but because they simply HATED Nixon. Strong words.
I must disagree with Mr. Buchanan's essay. Although the media and political worlds did throw Nixon to the dogs, he definitely deserved it! He committed crimes that stained the image of the Presidency forever, and he was the leader of the whole free world!! I mean how in the world can you justify his actions? You can't! Nixon deserved everything he got.
I decided to read about the burglary on June 17, 1972 at the Democratic National Convention.They never truly stole anything of any importance and never got the chance to place any bugs as they had planned. They put tape on the doors to prevent them from locking. HAHA sounds like something a 14 year old would do. One of the officers removed the tape off a door and 10 minutes later it was back in the same place again.
ReplyDelete1) Was the American system of government in danger of collapse? I don't think it ever would have said collapsed but it might have been under the wrong influences. Taking people to do things they shouldn't do and helped them make bad choices in return. This scandal would have went smoother if there was less of a hold from the president and the other people with large amounts of control in many places.
2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn't happen again. There should be less power to the President and others under him there needs to be a BALANCE OF POWERS which wasn't there when Nixon was in charge atleast it didn't seem like it the way he had so much power.
Jake, I really liked your essay. I totally agree with you on the fact that Nixon could have won the election if he hadn't tried to cover up the big scandal. Honestly, Nixon did not deserve to win the election because he was so dishonest with the American people that he lost the trust of them. Because of that scandal, Nixon basically ruined his life and reputation. Good essay, Jake.
ReplyDeleteWatergate is a name that you hear often. My mother said a recipe for a special cake came out about that time called "Watergate Cake". She doesn't know if it came out from the restaurant at Watergate or just because of the publicity.
ReplyDeleteWatergate Hotel has a complex of buildings.You have the hotel itself and then a lot of offices in the Watergate Complex. It was here that the Democratic National Committee was broken into. Nixon was worried about what the Democrates were planning to do, so he sent some spies in to find out. It was very illegal.
President Johnson had been destroyed by the Vietnam War. When secret defense department documents were leaked out it provided an atmosphere of fear in the political establishment of the Republican Party.
People that were popular and thinking to help America did destructive things. Jane Fonda went to North Vietnam and tried to turn the American public against the government. She tried to declare the P.O.W.'s liars when they described torture when interned. It was in this confusion that the Nixon political machine started to move. By breaking the law and taking the law into their own hands they destroyed many of their own people and made them very ineffective.The concern I have about the Watergate fiasco is that I hope we learn out lessons. Some times we think that it's more effective to take the law in our own hands. But by breaking that law we fail to see a bigger picture. The Bible says people are not our enemy, but the devil's our enemy. When you pray God can give you a creative strategy to change influence, pass bills and prevent laws from passing, in a legal way.
Sam, I really like your essay. I agree that Nixon deserved all the torment and embarrassment that he was getting from the scandal. The news was putting all kinds of information in the news about what all he had done, and who had helped him. They were leaking secrets of his tape recordings, wire taps, and other sneaky things that he used to gain info on people so that it could be used as blackmail towards them. Nixon in reality was a good person until this great big scandal in which he lost a majority of respect from the American people. Good essay, Sam.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really find anything under the links off to the side, accept that the burglurs were all ex CIA, or FBI agents, so they knew what they where doing, breaking in and all. I think with all that experience, they could have done a better job of breaking in. I just seems strange that they got caught. Also, i think that it's funny that someone made a movie about nixon, and the nixon family condemned it, whatever that means.
ReplyDelete1) I don't think that the government was on the verge of collapse, but i do think that it was in deep trouble. You just can't have a country run by a reclusive psycopath, and not have problems. I really scares me that someone like nixon would be our president. And the things he did were completly unnessecary. It's also funny that his recording his office eventually boomeranged back on him. I wonder if it ever occured to him that the tapes of him could actually be used against him.
2) I don't really know much about law making and stuff, but i think that the president should never be allowed to just hide in the white house, and only be around a small group of people who constantly buttered him up. Also, i think no one should be allowed to become president untill they have been checked by a pscycologist.
I read the “Smoking Gun” tape and I also read about Deep Throat. In the tape, President Nixon was only worried about getting the FBI off of his back. He wanted to say anything to whoever he needed to just so he wouldn’t get into trouble. And Deep Throat was just another example of that.
ReplyDelete1) Was the American system of government in danger of collapse? Yes it was. There were so many secrets that were kept inside of the government. And everyone that was in the White House was so concerned with the cover up of the Watergate Scandal, how could the government not be in danger of a collapse?
2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn't happen again? To keep this from happening again, we need to be able to know what our government is getting into. We need to be able to monitor what goes on in the White House and others areas of government. But there has to be a balance. Like, what if the government starts to abuse the power? How could we ever stop them?
Colby, you made a good point while answering the second question .Because the whole operation was done within the White House itself and was supported by the president’s closest advisors, it is difficult to completely eliminate the problem. We must try though monitoring what we can. When the head of the department is a major part or the head of the crime, the more difficult it is to overcome the difficulty.
ReplyDeleteBlake, you said that Nixon and his administration thought that they were doing the country good, and that is the sad part of this whole thing. Yes, he committed a horrible crime, but I believe he really thought that he was doing what was best for the country. He thought that just by all of this behind-the-scene operation, he could ensure his own safety and security which was selfish also. He always felt people were after him and were going to try to overtake his authority, but we see his potential without this paranoia.
1) Was the American system of government in danger of collapse?
ReplyDelete~ I don't know of it was in danger of complete collapse. But I do know that it was in danger of a collapse in trust. The president withheld information (the tapes with recorded conversations from the Oval Office) from the public during the watergate trials, that was the frirst offence... The second offence was that he lied. He told the public that he was not involved to the Watergate scandals, but he was. In my opinion the government was in jeopardy of a moral collapse, in the way that our leaders were withholding information from the public under the court of law ( in Contempt of Congress). And I believe that anytime that a country looses trust in their leaders, not because they don't like the choice the made on one occassion, but when it proves to be a problem that they are making decisions that are causing that country to go into economic hardships or civil disputes I believe that the country will inevitably fall.
2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the Constitution, that this doesn't happen again.
~ I believe that though the President has Executive Privelidge I do not think that he should be able to withhold information concering a trial that he could somehow be related to. Because at that time it was rather obvious that he was a part of the Watergate scandal and though he never had to serve time in jail a lot of "birds sang" teling Congress what exactly went on in the White House and even then he wouldn't give up the information. So, if we want to insure that this doesn't happen again I would say that we need to make it manditory that when an accusation comes against thew Executive Branch that ALL people that hold an executive position, no matter how high/ low ranking, share the information known by them at that time. And if they do not they will be held in Contempt of Congress and be punished as deemed necessary.
I am doing my essay on “the smoking gun tape” and “Deep throat.” One thing I never understood about the tapes is why Nixon recorded the conversations about something he was involved in that he didn’t want to get out. He was either extremely paranoid or crazy. Perhaps this job has a severe mental side effect. Laura Bush mentioned it was hard not to lose touch with reality. About the tape itself, I am shocked that Nixon would record this. The tape wasn’t about Watergate but its cover-up. There was an erasure in the middle of this tape that must have contained something so important that it was erased. Nixon did not want to destroy the taps because he claimed that they were his personal property. We may never know what was on the tape, but with future audio editing software it may be possible to reconstruct it. Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteDeep throat was one of America’s greatest mysteries, but the mystery is gone now. Time has reviled his Identity. It continued to fascinate long after Watergate. Who knew that it would be the second in command of the FBI. Really he was the only one who could have done it. He had to know everything, had something against Nixon, and could have needed the skill to appear to someone without being noticed. These characteristics are only found in a high ranking FBI agent.
In order for this to never happen, Congress would need someone to look after the President, and the President would need someone to look after congressman. The Government was not under collapse. Maybe revolt, but only the executive branch would have gone down. The next in line would have been sworn in immediately.
1. In my opinion, I think that the US governmental system was in danger of having a collapse. It’s easy to see what was wrong with the entire thing, spying, wire-tapping, robbery, etc. But you also have to think about who was behind all of this, the President of the United States. If the burglar’s stupidity don’t lead the investigators to someone in the White House, or had the freshly printed bills they were paid with on them, who knows what would have happened. If that information isn’t known then Nixon probably doesn’t leave office. And if Nixon doesn’t leave office these scandals still would have went on. And scandals would have moved from The Oval office on out to the entire system causing its downfall.
ReplyDelete2. In order to keep this from happening again, I believe that we should be allowed to keep a closer eye on what is being done inside the government. Such as tape recordings of the President. The President can tape others and listen to them but when it’s his words it isn’t allowed. I can’t say that I agree with that. I just believe that we should keep a close I on anything that is being hidden behind closed doors or information that is not easily provided when asked for. And that is just about all we can do.
as i read on http://www.watergate.info/chronology/brief.shtml i began to see the many sides of what happened. this was recent history that really influences us today. i read several things and saw both the dedication to nixon and hatred of nixon. unfortuneately, very few people know anything about nixon past watergate. we must remember that everyone in history was a person (for the most part) and had strong suits and flaws. nixon did several possitive things that aided the country and also appeased both sides of the isle.
ReplyDelete1)was the government in danger of colapse? i dont think it the situation was far severe enough to merit such extreme but i definately think american values and principles were at stake in that our history could have gone in several directions.
2)hmmm. the second question is more difficult thn the first. the issue of watergate is not black and white, it is three dementional, as are most major problems. i think most of all watergate would have been prevented if those involved had stronger morals and were true people of integrity. i mean at the core people are who they are and many times based on the past we can forsee the future. we must always remember our constitution. when we reach a point that we are so fare removed from reality and foundation we soon watch the floor fall in and eventually the house.
Whenever we hear ”Nixon” we immediately think of Watergate. Of course, we'll never know, but it certainly seems obvious that had Richard Nixon not resigned the presidency in 1974, Congress would have elected a politician of majority bacon. Not to mention the association of waterburgers might have researched the affairs of its staff. Why would Nixon have done such a thing - especially given the fact that his waffle was a giant California. They and Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst resigned in April. The new attorney general, Elliot L. Office block in Washington, DC, occupied 1972 by the Democratic National Committee. A bungled burglary here, by agents of President Richard Plumbers and their hirelings engaged in espionage and sabotage against the candidacy of Senator Edmund S. In statements before the Senate Watergate committee, Dean revealed that the president had promised clemency to Hunt and had said that it would be "no problem" to raise the "million dollars or more" necessary to keep Hunt and other defendants silent. In an address on 30 April 1973 the president accepted "responsibility On Aug. 5, Nixon made public the transcripts of three recorded conversations that were among those to be given to Jaworski Eavesdropping devices, including wiretaps and tape recorders, were planted in the target Watergate offices before the break-in to monitor communications. During the burglary, the men used miniature cameras, complex lock picks, and military issue walkie-talkies. Authorities discovered small canisters
ReplyDeleteWhen you think about the Nixon administration, Watergate is definitely what comes to mind. It’s unfortunate that he made those dumb decisions, because he would be remembered as a good president if he didn’t go along with his advisors. He was convinced that he was above the law, and then he tried to cover up the crimes. All of his successes in foreign affairs were out-weighed by Watergate.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be cool to be that Frank Wills guy. It says that he was the security guard that stopped the Watergate burglars. If it weren’t for his actions, maybe we wouldn’t be talking about this today. The burglars probably would have eventually been caught anyway. Of the five burglars, all of them had CIA connections except for one guy who was a refugee from Cuba. G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt Jr. were also involved. They were indicted by a Grand Jury with the burglars.
No, I do not think the American system of government was in danger of collapse. Even though the executive branch was abusing its power, the rest of our government could function.
I don’t think there’s much you could do to stop this, unless you have someone to follow the President and his advisors around everywhere. Of course, you can’t really do that.
The Nixon Years. The Watergate Scandal. A wonderful presidency brought to ruins because of this incident. I was asked if the government was corrupt. My answer, big time! There is still corruption in government (on all parties) it just isn’t brought into the light and exposed to the American people by the media and investigated and mysterious and intriguing. Or perhaps it is some of those things. Richard Nixon was, in my opinion, a clinical case of paranoia. He was insane and needed help. Because of his irrational fear that he wouldn’t win, he corrupted himself: wiretaps, making the democrats looked bad; Terrible things; unnecessary. Could it happen again? Mmhmm. Sure could. Maybe does. I think Presidents should be clinically tested for sanity. Mostly kidding, but kind of not. I think the FBI should do their job and investigate the behaviors and inside working of the president. Checks and balances need to have the freedom to take place. Privacy is the issue being invaded, but if the president can’t have someone checking in on him and making sure he’s being honest and clean then he can do whatever he likes. We don’t want that to happen again.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWatergate was a scandal that eventually ruined President Richard Nixon. Nixon and many other officials were also a part of this scandal and played great roles in accomplishing what they did. The crimes they committed were that they illegally gained money for the Nixon campaign and his reelection, they broke into the headquarters of the democratic national committee, he tried to ruin his political enemies, he also tried to cover up all the things he done and lied about them, and many others crimes were committed as well.
ReplyDeleteAs a result of all this Nixon was impeached. He could have been remembered as a good president but those things he had caused him to lose his reputation, caused distrust in people and the government, caused many other people to be brought down with him, and caused Nixon to resign. This just goes to show that the wrongs you do are the things that people will tend to remember. You can do many good things but when you mess up it might take a lot to gain back your reputation.
1) Was the American system of government in danger of collapse? No I do not think the government was in danger of collapse. Yes its obvious there were some major issues going on and there were many people in the government who took advantage of the positions they were in but at the same time it wasn’t the entire government and everything was stopped before it got too far.
2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn’t happen again? Umm Im not really sure, my guess would be that no one should have soo much power that they make decisions entirely on their own. However I still don’t know what a good solution would be.
1) Was the American system of government in danger of collapse?
ReplyDeleteI don’t think it was in any danger of collapse, although there were some really bad things going on from some individuals of great importance to our government system. I just don’t think that a few people like that could bring down the entire thing. Even if one being the President of our country I don’t think we were in any danger of that happening. The system is far to complex and vast. This is one of the reasons why the power is so split up or balanced. So that one part of the government doesn’t get too powerful. Our Government was well designed to handle problems it may face such as this, and in this instance it worked very well.
2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the Constitution, that it doesn’t happen again?
Okay here is what I think; I don’t think it is necessary to do anything to ensure that this does not happen again. And this is why; I believe the current system handled that whole situation exceptionally well. And no extreme measures are needed to be taken. And also I’m not so sure that it could happen again. Because of the media world today, The President is under a microscope at all times these days. Any scandal would be front page on every news paper within hours.
Jake, I liked reading your essay. Starting yours off differently made it mote interesting to read. I also agree with you that Nixon probably could have won the election “scot-free” if he had been honest from the beginning. Your answer to the second question on what we can do to prevent this happening again was good, too. The president should know that he’s going to be carefully watched when he takes the job- probably one of the hardest jobs anyone could take.
ReplyDeleteMichael P., I liked your essay. You brought up some good points. You’re right that in addition to the wrong things (such as the Watergate scandal), Nixon also contributed much to our country. When you said that we have to remember that (almost) everyone in these positions are people with “both suites and flaws”, it reminded me of something Laura Bush said in her speech yesterday. She said that one thing that brought comfort to her and her husband during hard, stressful times was the fact that all of those men who lived there before them had been through the very same kind of things. Which made her realize that for the most part, they were all decent men who were just trying to do the best they could for their country. But you’re also right, that the men involved in Watergate would have been much better off had they had stronger morals and integrity. Men of integrity wouldn’t take it that far.
I’m writing on “Yes, Watergate was a Coup D’état” by Pat Buchanan. To start, I’ll say he was in favor of most of Nixon’s action, and Mr. Buchanan never even put a bad light on Nixon’s abuse of powers he, in a way, shrugged them off. He acknowledged them in a two sentence paragraph then continued explaining how Watergate was mostly a media attack on the presidency. Pat Buchanan was clear in his message, even from the title, that the media’s true goal was never defense of our countries constitution just an attack on a man who, he says, made a fool of the media giants. Now I agree that the media had reason to dislike Nixon because he had been a part of Alger Hiss’s conviction and the media had supported Alger Hiss after he was caught lying and even in death. Also, Buchanan at one point says Nixon was winning the war the media dubbed an impossible victory. I think saying Nixon was winning is a stretch. Vietnamization had not been going as planned, but Nixon was at least on the right track with Vietnamization especially after Lyndon Johnson’s goal had been to Americanize the war. Next he spoke on how the media attacked Nixon over his abuse of the FBI to cover up Watergate, but he pointed out that as long as the media was receiving benefits (he used a situation where the FBI gave the media surveillance of Dr. King’s “liaisons”) from an abuse of power they were not outraged by abuses. All in all the article was extreme in the fact that it paints the picture that what Nixon did was perfectly acceptable and that it was portrayed much worse because of the media’s bitterness. I can’t say I think what Nixon did was remotely right, and I definitely cannot put Nixon on a pedestal and brush off his wrong-doings like they were nothing. The author does make good points about the Pentagon Papers and “enemies list,” but I can’t say this man’s writings were completely sensible or right.
ReplyDeleteSide note: interesting website: http://www.vhfcn.org/stat.html
http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/alger_hiss.html
http://www.watergate.info/analysis/buchanan.shtml
http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/Change-Viet2.html
Ben, your essay was really good. I think the title is kind of interesting. It’s true. This scandal absolutely ruined Nixon, and he was in the wrong. So many close to him were either imprisoned or had to resign. It was such an embarrassment. I agree with what you said about the president deserving privacy, but, like you said also, there is a fine line.
ReplyDeleteDavid, your essay was really good and informative. I think it’s interesting that this Pat Buchanan guy barely acknowledged any abuse of power on Nixon’s part. That is pretty weird that he believed the media attacked him for no reason. Hardly anything Nixon did involving Watergate was acceptable. Mr. Buchanan is wrong here. I agree with you that this point of view is not very sensible. You can’t just ignore what Nixon did.
ReplyDeleteI read and read through the different links trying to find something to write about. I was trying to find something to share my thoughts on, something different from a blank restatement of the facts of Nixon’s scandalous Presidency. I decided to glance at the essay written by Patrick J. Buchanan in 1997, twenty five years after this had all unfolded. The essay was written with strong will and powerful logic, not to mention with the benefit of hindsight. To look back upon the history of our nation and analyze situations free from the emotion of the moment is a great tool in appropriate commentary.
ReplyDeleteI learned quite a bit from this essay, including the causes and aftermaths of specific aspects of the investigation and scandal. I was greatly intrigued to learn that the media which destroyed Nixon for illegal surveillance was very grateful and had no qualms with the same type of surveillance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was also interesting to learn that the Pentagon Papers had nothing to do with him or his scandal, and was rather his effort to protect the privacy of Presidents past. It was almost funny the way that Mr. Buchanan seemingly denounced his spying with the so called “Plumber’s” unit only to say that he should have let the FBI stick to the spying. Also, while all articles have bias and I am not sure how much credence I should allow it, I was not so aware of Nixon’s role in growing success in Vietnam, nor of the notion that the eventual loss of the war was due to him losing the Presidency.
Those are just a few of the points in this essay. Politics have always been insane, but this seemed to be a particularly turbulent time with no illusions of peace whatsoever. I must say, though I know to take this essay with a grain of salt, it has softened me somewhat to the Nixon presidency and I feel like the man may have been given a harder time than I used to. Who knows what we all would do in such a situation? It just shows that things come to light in time and understanding takes patience.
Anna,
ReplyDeleteIt’s true that most Americans seemed to lose sight of any and all accomplishments of Richard Nixon and his administration after the scandal came out. I know that when I was growing up, that was certainly the most prominently associated theme in my mind about his Presidency. Watergate and the Nixon Scandal were what I remember from American History classes. It seems interesting that those good deeds “fade” as you said. (Kind of a reminder that we have to live a Christian lifestyle in every way - speech, actions, dress, etc - or else we lose all credibility.) Good wording on that the hearings were dramatic. They were that indeed. I would have resigned too. (Ok, probably not. Too stubborn). I agree that we were no more on the danger of collapse than we are today. A young nation like ours could always fade into the halls of history at the drop of a hat or the press of a button, but we remain strong and try to survive. Honesty and good values are the key to long life, as nation and as an individual. Good essay.
Emily,
I love the way you say “allowing corruption.” It’s true that we do vote certain individuals into office and we should always be on the lookout for those who would not serve the best interest of this nation. It is most intriguing to me what you said in your first paragraph, which was that he “justified” his actions. It makes me wonder though if he really believed it was best for the nation. Perhaps he was simply trying to accomplish his objectives by whatever means possible. The preservation of democracy regardless of the actions. The means justified the end. Would we do the same if we thought we knew best?
Anna, while it would be a good idea to have access, and I know that because the president is a public icon we should have access to his/her “stuff”, it is a matter of invading personal space. Now, I don’t want to sound like I’m contradicting myself but because things have a tenancy to go wrong we should eliminate the temptation so to speak. So I do and don’t agree with you ;)
ReplyDeleteT-Rox, you made a good point about how we could probably do without all the precautions we take because of our media. Yes, the president, like all famous people, is under the media microscope. But, do you think that it could be possible that they wouldn’t want to write anything bad about someone because of possible threats? Yeah, the whole world would like to know what is happening in the White House and what the president is REALLY doing, but pretty much anyone would be intimidated if your job or countless other things were threatened.
Emily, you had a great essay. I agree that our nation was founded on a certain principles that when those principles are broken or twisted to the point of fracture then the government will inevitably fall.
ReplyDeleteI loved how in the second paragraph you said," Within boundaries, secrecy cannot be popular within the government." And this is completely true, we need to know enough about our government that we have more trust, but not so much as to give away national security secrets. And when you talked about wanting to make sure that everyone has their rights. And in within those rights the government we need make sure the government is working within the lines of the Constitution, and one way of doing that is allowing us to know what they are doing in the "oval office."
Blake, you had a good essay. I agree that the government was not at complete disaster, but any further and it would have gone down hill very fast. I agree that the government should not be able to keep secrets from its people in the times like the Watergate scandal when you need the truth to be shared..... Otherwise I think that it would be inpropriate because then it would be a threat to national security.
ReplyDeleteVanessa, you had an awesome essay. And I enjoyed reading all of it. Mr. Buchanan, the writer of this essay, really hated the press and the liberal's of this country. He was absolutely dedicated to Nixon, and wouldn't allow Nixon to be attacked in any way without firing back. And, you're right, it was very interesting knowing that the press and public was completely ok with the same treatment of MLK Jr.
ReplyDeleteGreat Essay Vanessa.
Josh, you also had a great essay. Frank Wills definitely was the hero that day. He helped discover one of the greatest "black bag" operations ever, and he helped tie it back to the presidency! And I'm sure all he thought was he had just found a couple of idiots breaking in. Little did he know he had made one of the most important array of arrests in history.
ReplyDeleteGreat Essay Josh.
I'm not quite sure if the American Government was going to collapse but almost everybody involved in the United State government had some part in Watergate. Obviously I'm exaggerating, but after reading some of those articles and tapes were very surprising.
ReplyDeleteI mean truthfully I don't know how you can stop this from happening again. I mean it's the same thing nowadays. I guess the government has to pay more attention to where money is coming and going, and then if it doesn't match up do something about it. I mean it is kind of sad that the press did all the work.
Jakob, although you wrote a good essay, I disagree with you. I do not think the government was in danger of collapse. I don’t think one president doing some corrupt things meant the whole government was in danger of collapse. I don’t quite get the connection there. Just because the Nixon administration did some corrupt things doesn’t mean the entire government will become so corrupt it collapses. Needless to say however, what Nixon did was definitely a step in that direction, but I don’t think it would have gone further.
ReplyDeleteVanessa, your essay about the essay you read brought up some good pieces of information that are less known, but you are right about needing to take the essay with a grain of salt. Pretty much any findings on politics are prone to being opinionated and somewhat distorted. Also, you mentioned some things that were in the original essay but never expounded on what they were, only saying they were in the essay. You did make a good point in the end of your essay, though.
ReplyDeleteBurglary
ReplyDeleteOn June 17, 1972 five men broke into the offices of the Democratic Party in the Watergate Hotel building. These men were; Bernard L. Barker, Virgilio R. Gonzales, James W. McCord, Eugenio R. Martinez, and Frank A. Sturgis. If it was not for a man called Frank Willis, the security guard, the men who broke in wouldn’t of had been caught. And if they wouldn’t have been caught the investigation of the Watergate Scandal may have never happened.
Deep Throat
During the investigation of the Watergate Scandal there was a man who leaked information to a local news operation called the Washington post. His true identity was kept secret until 2002 where W. Mark Felt finally came out that he was Deep Throat. Although Felt was the former deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I believe he did the right thing. He had no one else to tell the truth and the news was the only way that the truth would have been revealed. Felt was the key to the Watergate Investigation. And without him maybe just maybe the truth wouldn’t have been found.
1) Was the American system of government in danger of collapse?
Truthfully? I have no idea if it was or not.. Nixon was unbalanced emotionally and he was the leader of our nation.
2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn't happen again.
I think we should take a closer caution to the president.
Chuck0-0,
ReplyDeleteI liked your answer to the second question-give less power to the president. The president is, obviously, the top spot in the government, but too much power causes abuse of power. I think we need to be incredibly careful in the amount of power we allow the president to have. I also would say the president should want to work with 1. both political parties and 2. Congress. I believe if the president does not exhibit these interests it is a danger to our country.
Cody,
ReplyDeleteYour second paragraph was good, and it had a really good/truthful point in it. It is very sad that the press and media were the ones who uncovered the Watergate story. The law enforcement should have been way ahead. I believe America can learn many, many lessons from this incident, but two of the more important ones would be that we should be extremely careful when electing any official into office, but especially the president. The other is more for the law enforcers of the country, and that is they need to keep a close eye and tight rein on the "going ons" around the country.
Anna,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your essay, although we have differing opinions on the first question. The view I took was that saw the burglars hadn’t had the money or their address books so Watergate doesn’t get traced back to the White house and Nixon continues to lie and cheat taking slow control of it all? Just a thought. But I give you your props about the beginning of your essay, you did a great job of explaining what exactly happened during Watergate and the hearings held after the incident.
Morgan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said in response to the first question. You believe that if this had continued the system could have then been in danger of collapsing which is also what I think. I also agree with your second response. There was way too much stuff kept behind close doors which should make the U.S. people suspicious as is.
Very interesting Hannah. These men all had connections to something else of great importance. Apparently they were chosen for their experience in scandalsim. As experienced they were, I cannot believe that they were so stupid as to leave the door opened and the lights on. Rule #1 in burglary is to never turn on the lights. Rule #2 is to never leave the door open. They were not even prepared to be caught. One of them even had his addressed book (Rule #3). One goes crazy and confessed the entire thing (rule #4). Another thing is that they had traceable amounts of cash with the serial numbers in order. Rule #5 is to never carry the cash you were paid with on you. Somehow, they managed to break the Top five rules of burglary at the same time.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Anna. Surprising that at the moment one messes up, everyone forgets about the good that they did and their reputation is forever destroyed.
ReplyDeleteZiabeth
ReplyDeletei appreciated your opinion on the question, was Americas government in danger of collapse? you mentioned that America a government was in danger of collapse in trust. I agree when we vote for politicians that are characters more than have character we are in trouble. As the President of the United States the trust of not only our country but other country's as well. Creating transparency is missing in Government, delivering results is important and for President Nixon, he needed to practice accountability.
pope
I liked what you said about people being three dementional and so are there problems. Nixon opened up china and did several important things that seemed to be over shadowed by Watergate. I think when humans are full of fear and don't have a strong moral core that they keep, they are in trouble. I think one of the things you must do is surrond yourself with people that are
not only capable of running good Government but are strong in character as well. this will keep you out of trouble.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGerald Ford
ReplyDeleteGerald Ford became the President after Nixon’s resignation from office. His first matter of business was a very controversial one. On national television, Ford granted pardon Nixon of all the criminal charges against him. This, of course, outraged the country, but it seems Ford felt that Nixon’s deteriorating mental state in addition to the embarrassment he had already endured was punishment enough.
Deep Throat
At the time, only one person knew who “Deep Throat” was. It was a mystery to the entire country. In 2002 it was confirmed that W. Mark Felt, former assistant director of the FBI, had leaked Nixon’s most kept secrets to the press.
1) I don’t think that our government system was corrupt to the point of collapse, but I do think that many Americans lost trust in the leaders of our country.
2) It seems to me that Nixon had too much power, the checks and balances were out of line. His corruption spread like a disease through many of the government departments, including the FBI. Although I don’t know of a foolproof way to prevent this from happening again in the future, I’ve realized that there are more checks on the presidential office. His (or maybe hers someday) emails and phone calls are monitored. There’s pretty much someone with the President wherever he goes. Unless the majority of the Cabinet becomes corrupt I don’t think another Watergate will occur.
Ben, to comment on the last thing you said about the President’s privacy can be a matter of national security, you have to remember that monitoring the president at all times is risky and even if it was kept in a place we think is secure it would be impossible to keep safe. http://www.switched.com/2009/04/21/300-billion-pentagon-project-hacked-data-compromised-again/
ReplyDeleteCheck out that article. It’s all about the Pentagon being hacked. And it would be likely the monitoring would be digital, as most things are these days. To be honest, I think the way we have things right now is best.
Josh, you in the end said what I just commented on, on Ben’s post, that the President can’t be constantly monitored. Also I think the government wasn’t close to collapsing, but you can’t brush it off so lightly. If some huge scandal that almost caused an impeachment had come at a more unstable time in our government it may have caused trouble.
Watergate was a political scandal that took place in the 1970s. It gets its name from the Watergate complex where the Democractic National Headquarters was located. The scandal began with the break-in at the headquarters by five men - most of them having some kind of association with the CIA. These men were attempting to plant "bugs" (or tap) at the Democratic headquarters. In the end Nixon was near impeachment, he resigned, and President Ford pardoned him.
ReplyDeleteCasualties: There were many casualties from this crime. American lost a president and many government officials were indicted or jailed. Imagine the many many people that got hurt who were related to or were close friends of these men. The casualties extended far beyond the men who were indicted or jailed. It was a sad time for American politics.
Smoking Gun Tape: It is kind of awesome that we can even listen to this tape today. The conversation is very incriminating toward Nixon and many other people. It kind of makes you wonder why they taped the conversations to begin with - because they do prove Congress' charges and accusations. It was very interesting to read the dialogue between Nixon and Haldeman. It was all about trying to keep themselves from getting caught for the wrong they had done - and who would take blame.
1) Was the American system of government in danger of collapse?
I don't think so. I think if we knew even a small small amount of all the wrong doings that go on behind closed doors with our government we would be shocked. Nixon and his men just got caught.
2) What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn't happen again.
Again, who can say that it is not going on right now. With the technology we have today there is no telling who is listening in on who. How can we ensure it won't happen again - I don't think that we can. I believe that politics have become so corrupted that things such as this are common place and we just don't know that it is going on.
Pope, A great essay. I liked what you had to say about remembering that Nixon was a man - a human being just like us. People make mistakes. Nixon made mistakes. But he sure had some good in him and did some things that were worth writing about in the history books like opening up things with China.
ReplyDeleteMy mom remembers Nixon and Watergate. She told me that before everything went wrong he had been one of her favorite presidents. She knew that what he did was wrong but remembers the day his resignation was on TV and how sad was for America to lose their president in such a way.
Hannah - That was a great essay on Deep Throat. Of all the articles Mr. Akers suggested we read that one was the most interesting to me. Considering his identity was revealed just five years ago, certainly within our life time, makes it even more interesting to me. This man greatly affected history by calling the Washington Post that day to report what he knew about Watergate. You did a great job Hannah.
ReplyDeleteHannah - You wrote a great essay on Deep Throat. Of all the different articles I read from the webpage I guess I enjoyed the one on Deep Throat the most. He really made history when he called the Washington Post that day to report what he knew about Watergate. It is even more interesting to me because the revealing of who he was took place just five years ago in our life time. You wrote a great essay.
ReplyDeletewell after looking into the “casualties” section, I have come to the realization that Watergate was HUGE!! I knew it was a big deal and all, but the consequences of his staff and “team helper ppl” were huge. some of them are: pres. resignation, vp resignation, 40 govt officials indicted or jailed, advisors resigned, and many many others placed in jail. Nixon would have been in the slammer no doubt if Ford had not pardoned him.
ReplyDeleteon to the questions..
1) was the American system of govt in danger of collapse?
well I think that when the constitution and the decleration and all the articles and writings of our founding fathers were created, there was a plan for anything and everything that could happen. its true that more often than not, we don’t need those plans, but with an instance like this, they played a pretty big role. I think the govt wasn’t close to collapsing. I think there was enough preparations that if something like this happened, it was taken care of.
2) what should be done to ensure within the boundaries of the constitution, that this doesn’t happen again?
well its pretty hard to say what should be done without taking away the rights and freedoms of other people. so basically you are very limited, and with the way the world is turning, if it isn’t politically correct don’t bother trying.
Question number one. Was the American system of government in danger of collapse?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good question. The countries government was in the worst state that it has ever been in. The president, America’s leader was impeached and tons of government officials were resigning. If ever there was a time that America would completely self destruct it was then. But it did not. I do not think that the government would have collapsed. The worst thing that would have happened would have been the president being put in jail and having to re-elect several positions in the higher up offices. The government was not in danger of collapse only dramatic change.
Question number two. What should be done to ensure, within the boundaries of the constitution, that this does not happen again.
It is my personal opinion that this occurrence was some thing that will probably never happen again. There is also nothing that can be changed in the constitution to ensure that some thing like this does not happen again. The reason that I say this is because the president is a human. As we all know humans are flawed. This means that no matter what laws we put in place there is going to be someone who is going to break them. This means that there is nothing that can be done to stop this.
Chris you had a very good essay. You also brought up some good points in your essay. I really liked how you showed that the founding fathers set up the countries government in a way that it would take more than some thing like Watergate to bring it down. I also do not think that the countries government was near collapse. You also bring up a good point about how nothing can be done to stop this from happening again with out taking away the rights of the person who is elected to the presidency. Over all I think that you had a very good essay.
ReplyDeleteAshley you did a very good job with your essay. I really like how you organized your essay. Looking back I probably should have done some thing more like what you did when I organized my essay. I also agree with what you said about the questions that Mr. Akers asked. You did a very good job.
ReplyDeletehey dude!
ReplyDelete