1. answer to the questions below: (Min 250 words) No quoting Answer based on knowledge of the topic
Assess the Watergate scandal and its short- and long-term impact on the presidency of Richard Nixon.
2- Make constructive comment on each Response below: (betw 100-125words each)
Response 1
The Watergate scandal was a massive political scandal which resulted in Nixon’s presidential downfall. Nixon was engrossed with secrecy and could not bear to have individuals disagree with his opinions. He had an enemies list which included politicians/reporters, and he regarded critics as threats. The president established an investigative unit in order to collect information about a prior government official, Daniel Ellsberg. In June 1972, five former employees of Nixons reelection board broke into a Democratic party headquarters in Washington D.Cs Watergate Complex. A while after the break in, journalists stated that Nixon had directed the burglary. They also inferred that the president had been involved in providing payments to the burglars after the break in in order for the burglars to remain silent. Everyone wanted Nixon to be impeached because of this, since this scandal portrayed an abuse in political power and defeat in justice. Nixon ended up resigning because of this, due to the fact that he had no political support anymore. The short term impacts that this scandal had on Nixons presidency was that it caused all the political support he had on his side to vanish. Second, it led to him giving up his power and resigning. This scandal had more of a long term effect than it did short term. The first long term effect it had was that it undermined the citizens’ confidence in their own government, which in turn, led Congress to pass restrictions on the power of the FBI and CIA. In addition, it led to Congress strengthening the FOIA. Second, it distracted attention away from the economic crisis of 1973, which had a long term negative effect on liberalism.
Response 2:
The Watergate Scandal first took place in 1971 and spanned all the way into the 1974. This scandal was when President Nixon went on a lying spree about America’s war efforts in the Vietnam war, had his advisor John Ehrlichman form the White House Plumbers which consisted of former CIA agent E. Howard Hunt and former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy to help prevent/halt any leaking of any information, tapped the phones and recorded information from the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel (giving those involved hush money), and much more. Additionally, Nixon harassed any celebrity and rich individual he knew of that could get in the way of his scheme by raising their taxes. This coverup was effective, but only for a temporary period. A couple years later, post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein discovered some information about this scandal that suggested that there were break-ins and attempts to cover it up and that they were all involved with the FBI, CIA, and White House. The short term impacts this scandal had on the election was that it resulted in Nixon to resign and lose his political power. The long term effects was that it overall put into
