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Watergate
The Watergate scandal refers to the June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the attempted cover-up of President Richard Nixons's administrations involvement. The scandal eventually led to the resignation of Nixon on August 9, 1974, the only resignation of a President in the history of the U.S.. The scandal also resulted in the indictment, trial, conviction and imprisonment of 43 people, including dozens of top Nixon administration officials.
The affair began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee
(DNC) headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. The FBI linked the burglars to a fundraising group (The Committee for the Re-Election of the President) for the Nixon campaign. In July 1973, as evidence mounted against the president's staff, including testimony provided by former staff members in an investigation conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices and he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing he had attempted to cover up the break-in. After a long series of court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators. He ultimately complied, but parts of the tapes suspected of having the most damaging evidence against Nixon had been erased. That said, there was certainly enough evidence remaining to cause major problems for Nixon.
Facing near-certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and a strong possibility of a conviction in the Senate, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974. His successor, Gerald Ford, then issued a pardon to Nixon. This allowed Nixon to never have to go to trial for his alleged involvement in the ordeal.
Summaries of Watergate - Best one.... 6 minutes
45 minute documentary on Watergate
Nixon's Resignation Speech
The above clip is a 3 minute segment from Nixon's resignation speech. It is the only time in the history of the presidency when a current president has stepped down while in office. The famous line (where he actually announces his resignation) occurs towards the end.
The Seventies Video - U.S. v Nixon
This video summarizes Watergate. I will likely show this in class and have students answer questions. For a copy of the questions, click here.