Nixon and Watergate
The Nixon Administration
Conservative
Paranoid
Held Grudges
Presentation created by Robert L. Martinez
Nixon in Person
37th President of US
n  Born in California (1913-1994)
n  Congressman(HUAC)/Senator/VP
n  US Navy- WWII
n  VP= Spiro Agnew and then Gerald Ford
n  Attack Dog personality; Paranoid; “Enemies List”
n  Strong on Foreign Policy
n  Struggled Domestically with economy and social
issues
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The Election of 1968
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Campaigns to the Silent Majority
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Nixon tried to instill a sense of order
into a nation still divided over the
continuing Vietnam War.
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Nixon’s agenda was to decrease the
size and influence of the federal
government. Nixon believed that
Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society
programs, had given the federal
government too much responsibility.
Nixon’s plan, known as New
Federalism, = Split responsibilities for
social programs between the States
and Federal Government.
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Stagflation= Stagnant Economy + Inflation
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A stagnant economy trouble the country.
By 1973, the inflation rate had doubled= ,
and the unemployment rate was over
10%. The causes were high spending on
the Vietnam War, growing foreign
competition, and the difficulty of finding
jobs for millions of new workers.
Domestic Policy—Oil
and Inflation
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When the United States supported its ally Israel in a war
against Egypt and Syria in 1973, the Arab members of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
imposed an embargo, or ban, on shipping oil to the United
States.
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The resulting shortage resulted in high oil prices, which in
turn drove inflation even higher.
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Odd and Even days…..terrible lines…
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OPEC and Gas Lines
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When OPEC resumed selling its oil to
the United States in 1974, the price
had quadrupled. This sharp rise in oil
prices only worsened the problem of
inflation.
End of the Vietnam War
The president de-escalated
America’s involvement in Vietnam
and oversaw peace negotiations with
North Vietnam.
n  Vietimazation Peace With Honor
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Detente
Nixon and Kissinger introduced
détente, a policy aimed at easing
Cold War tensions.
n  Play “Frenemies” against each other
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In 1972, he visited Communist China.
This reversed past U.S. policy, which
had refused to formally recognize the
Communist rulers there.
Nixon’s Foreign Policy
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Détente
Goes to both the
USSR and China in
1972 becoming
first President to
visit those nations
Plays them against each
other (USSR vs China)
SALT agreement with
the Soviets
SALT
Three months later, Nixon went to the
Soviet Union. These moves were widely
popular. With the Soviets, he signed
the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty
(SALT), which limited nuclear weapons.
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Nixon Re-elected
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Foreign policy triumphs helped Nixon
easily win re-election.
The Election of 1972
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Despite the growing stain of Watergate, which had not yet reached
the President, Nixon won by the largest margin in history to that
Watergate
Nixon’s Downfall
President Nixon’s involvement in the
Watergate scandal forced him to resign
from office.
Is synonymous with the abuse of
Presidential power by President Nixon
v political burglary
v bribery
v extortion
v wiretapping
v conspiracy
v obstruction of justice
v destruction of evidence
v tax fraud
v illegal use of government agencies/CIA and FBI
v illegal campaign contributions
v use of public money for private purposes.
The Watergate scandal was caused
by an illegal break-in and attempts to
block the investigation of it. The
affair tested the idea that no one, not
even the president, is above the law.
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The Watergate Break-in
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On 17 June 1972, 5
men were arrested
while attempting to
bug the headquarters
of the Democratic
Party inside the
Watergate building in
Washington D.C.
Organized by CREEP
and run by the
“Plumbers”
The Nixon campaign
denied any
involvement.
Nixon campaign aides were
determined to win his re-election by
any means necessary. They hired 5
men to raid & wiretap the Democratic
party offices in a Washington, D.C.,
complex called Watergate.
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Wire Taps
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Hoping to photograph files and place
taps on phones, the men were
caught. Rather than forcing those
involved to resign, the administration
tried to hide the link to the White
House.
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After Nixon’s re-election, the cover-up
began to unravel. One of the burglars
said that the White House was
involved. Soon 3 top Nixon aides, who
had been involved, resigned. In Senate
hearings, televised live, one of them
said that Nixon had known of the
cover-up.
Woodward, Bernstein and the
Washington Post
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Watergate came to public attention largely
through the work of Bob Woodward and Carl
Bernstein, investigative reporters from the
Washington Post.
Use of source= “Deepthroat” kept investigation
alive.
Deep Throat – FBI Assistant
Director Mark Felt
White House Tapes
Nixon had secretly taped all
conversations in the Oval Office
n  He then refused to turn those tapes
over
n  Eventually he gave all but 18
missing minutes.
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Watergate
Impeachment
In July 1974, the Supreme Court ordered
the White House to release the tapes.
Three days later a House committee voted
to impeach President Nixon. If the full
House of Representatives approved, Nixon
would go to trial in the Senate. If judged
guilty there, he would be removed from
office.
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Nixon Resigns
When the tapes were finally released, it
was clear that Nixon had known of the
cover-up. On August 8, 1974, he resigned
but defiantly refused to admit guilt.
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Accidental President
Gerald Ford
Vice President Gerald Ford, a career
Congressional leader from Michigan
ascends to the position of President of the
United States, after never have been
elected to national office.
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