The Watergate Scandal Essay by JPWrite

The Watergate Scandal
This paper discusses the Watergate Scandal, which forecasted the possible impeachment of President Richard Nixon and led to his resignation on August 9, 1974.
# 65220 | 1,825 words | 7 sources | MLA | 2005 | US


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Description:

This paper explains that the Watergate Scandal refers to a series of events spread over several years surrounding President Richard Nixon's administration and his alleged abuse of power while in office which encompassed the political undermining of the anti-war movement (Vietnam), the Democratic political party, embarrassing and inculpatory behavior by the administration and subsequent reporting by the press. The author reviews the timeline, events and major players in this scandal including President Richard Nixon, Vice President Spiro Agnew, Special Watergate Prosecutor Archibald Cox, White House Counsel and possibly the original architect of the cover-up John Dean, Attorney General John Mitchell, Judge John Sirica and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the "The Washington Post" reporters who uncovered the scandal. The paper concludes that the Watergate Scandal, which produced the first dual resignations of a president and vice president, indictments of forty prominent citizens and scarred the nation throughout the process, is the benchmark and term often applied to scandalous political behavior.

From the Paper:

"John Mitchell as the Attorney General was a loyal supporter of Nixon. In September 1972, stories published by "The Washington Post" linked Mitchell with a $250,000 slush fund that paid for the Watergate burglaries. He made a famously vulgar remark about the fact that if the stories were published, there would be political repercussions. He was right and later prosecuted for perjury, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. Elliot Richardson, the Attorney General (after Richard Kleindienst), appointed Archibald Cox as special prosecutor and later refused to fire him. Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus both resigned during the "Saturday Night Massacre". John Sirica presided over the Watergate trials, while he was the Chief Judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia. He was considered a maverick on the bench and actively questioned the witnesses and defendants during this trial. He surmised that the participants in the Watergate trial were not being truthful in their assertions. He ordered that the original audiotapes containing the recorded conversations be presented to the court, not the transcripts. The Supreme Court upheld this ruling in July, 1974, thus leading to the resignation of Nixon in August, 1974."

Cite this Essay:

APA Format

The Watergate Scandal (2006, April 30) Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/essay/the-watergate-scandal-65220/

MLA Format

"The Watergate Scandal" 30 April 2006. Web. 26 March. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/essay/the-watergate-scandal-65220/>

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