Watergate
Its social and political
effects on America then and
now.
By Kevin Callahan
Overview
 1972- Five men arrested for burglary at the Democratic National Committee’s office at the
Watergate complex.
 Tried and Convicted 1973.
 All men indicted were in someway employees of the Committee to Re-elect the President
(CREEP)
 Cover-Up and higher authority conspiracy suspected.
 Investigation and tapes.
 January,1974- Nixon Campaign aid, Herbert Porter, pleads guilty to lying to the FBI.
 January,1974- Herbert Kalmbach, Nixon's lawyer, pleads guilty to two charges of illegal
election-campaign activities.
 March, 1974- Former aids to the president arrested- conspiring to hinder the Watergate
investigation.
 April, 1974- Ed Reincke, Republican lieutenant of California, indicted on 3 charges of perjury.
 April, 1974- Nixon appointments secretary, Dwight Chapin, convicted of lying to the Grand Jury.
 Nixon investigated.
 August, 1974 - “smoking gun” tape released- Haldeman and Nixon planning a cover-up.
 Nixon resigns.
 Good Interview with Ben Bradlee, previous executive editor of the Washington
Post, he knew the true identity of "deep throat" and oversaw Woodward and
Bernstein's publications of The Watergate Scandalhttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4675923
How did Watergate affect the
American Public?

Immediate increase in Public Cynicism over the
government.

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Public Outrage over President Ford’s pardon of Nixon.
Collapse of Public confidence in the government.
Americas trust in the government is destroyed.
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1974- only 36% of Americans say they trust the
government.
Government caused problems, such as inflation.
How did Watergate affect
the American Public?

Media

becomes very aggressive, turning point for the creation of the media we
know today
• Most cynicism over the government is in the media.
• Americans say “Media is too biased”
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Investigative coverage by Time Magazine, The New York Times and The
Washington Post increases the American publics focus on the scandal
Coverage of Watergate overwhelming, Woodward and Bernstein.
B.W. and C.B. uncover info that suggest that knowledge of the break-in and
its cover-up were deeply rooted in the FBI, CIA, and the White House.
Deep Throat- informant of Woodward and Bernstein.
Political Cartoons become very popular.
Media led to Nixon’s downfall.
Influences the emergence conspiracy theories.
How did Watergate affect
the American Public?

Film and Pop-Culture.
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“Nixon”, directed Oliver Stone.
 conspiracy theory, “Bay of Pigs” reference links the
Watergate Scandal to the JFK assassination. “Smoking
Gun” Tapes.
The movie “Dick” spoofs the Watergate scandal.
Popularity of political cartoons increase.
“gate” added to the end of the names of scandals, ex.
Monicagate.
“Silent Coup”, by Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin, portrays
an alternate theory.
How did Watergate affect
the American Public?

Legal Profession.

Nixon and man of his senior officials, involved in the
Watergate Scandal, were lawyers.

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Public image of the legal profession was tarnished
American Bar Association (ABA) launches two
major reforms.
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1983- Replace Model code of Professional
Responsibility with “The Model Rules of
Professional Conduct”.
Students of ABA approved law schools must take
classes in “professional responsibility”
What were the immediate political
effects of the Watergate scandal?

Voters become “disillusioned” with the Republican
Party.
–
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Senate election and House race- Democrats gain 5 seats in
the senate and 49 in the House.
Changes in Campaign financing.
1976- Sunshine Act amends the Freedom of
Information Act.
–
–
With exemptions, “every portion of every meeting of an agency
shall be open to public observation”.
Create a more “open” government.
What were the immediate political
effects of the Watergate scandal?

Presidents expected to disclose
multiple forms of personal information.

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Income tax forms.
Sunshine Act and Disclosure were efforts
by the government to regain the trust of
the American people.
Practice of recording Presidential
conversations ended.
How did Watergate affect the future
American view of politics?

In Politics today, the intolerable during the
Watergate Scandal, is tolerated or at least more
widely accepted by the American Public.
 Disapproval
over the Clinton Scandal was lower than
disapproval over The Watergate Scandal was.1

Americans no longer expect honorable behavior
from their leaders.
How does the American public view the
Watergate scandal today? How is society
affected today?
How does the American public view the
Watergate scandal today? How is society
affected today?
• "Public Perceptions of Watergate." CNN. 17 June
1997. 20 May 2008 <http://www.cnn.com>.
• CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey.
– June 16, 1997
• Was Watergate a turning point for trust in
government?
– Yes 78%
No 15
• Nixon's Role in Watergate
– Deserved impeachment 44%
– No different than other presidents 38
How does the American public view the
Watergate scandal today? How is society affected
today?

Today, Americans care less about the
Watergate Scandal.
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When the Scandal occurred, over 2/3 of the
American public considered it a serious matter.
Today, the American Public is split.
Most agreed with impeachment in 1974, today
its also split.
Most Americans do view the Watergate
Scandal as a turning point for public trust in
the government.
What was the significance of
Watergate?

Scandal revealed the “dirty tricks” politics of the Nixon administration.


CREEP
Similarities with the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal

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Revealed the involvement of very high powered people such as White
House advisors and Attorney General John N. Mitchell.
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This kind of politics is linked to and may have led to the Clinton-Lewinsky
scandal.
Nixon's use of “Hush Money” revealed to the American Public how plagued
in scandal the government and other agencies (CIA, FBI) were or may have
been .
Ultimately Americas trust in the government was destroyed. America
has never fully recovered from the Watergate Scandal and even today
there is a lack of faith and trust in the government.
Bibliography
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-Genovese, Michael A. The Watergate Crisis. London: Greenwood P, 1999.
-Brinkley, Alan. American History a Survey. Milan: McGraw-Hill College, 1999. 1096-1115.
-"Watergate." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. St. James Press, 2000.
Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.
http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/
-"Watergate, Aftermath of." Dictionary of American History, Supplement. Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1996. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.
http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/
-"The Media and Watergate (1970s)." American Decades CD-ROM. Gale Research, 1998.
Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.
http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/
-"United States v. Nixon." American Decades CD-ROM. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in
History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.
http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/
"Public Perceptions of Watergate." CNN. 17 June 1997. 20 May 2008
<http://www.cnn.com>.
"Watergate Scandal." Wikipedia. 2 June-July 2008. 23 May 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org>.
ABC News/ Washington Post. "Clinton: Scandals." Pollingreport. 21 Feb.-Mar. 2001. 25 May
2008 <http://www.pollingreport.com>.
Norris, Michele. "All Things Considered." Npr.Org. 1 June 2005. 31 May 2008
<http://www.npr.org>.