Transcript Slide 1

Section 2: Watergate and
Nixon’s Downfall
Section 2: HW Quiz
• Who were Bob Woodward and Carl
Bernstein? What role did they play in
the Watergate scandal?
I. The Watergate Scandal
(June 1972)
A. The Crime: What? Watergate Break-in.
1. An apartment complex & convention center
2. Home of the Democrat National Committee
headquarters
3. Why? To photograph secret documents
and place wiretaps on office phones
– Nixon and his men feared losing.
• Recall: Checkers Speech; 1960 loss to JFK;
Barely beating Humphrey in 1968.
4. Who? (The Plumbers)
– At 2:30 a.m., June 17 1972, 5 men broke into
the Watergate and were caught.
– leader = James McCord (former CIA agent)
– worked for Committee to Reelect the Pres.
(CREP) headed by John Mitchell (former Nixon
Attorney Gen.)
Bernard Barker
Virgilio Gonzalez
James W. McCord Jr.
CIA Agent
CRP Member
John Mitchell
Head of CRP
Frank Sturgis
Eugenio Martinez
B. The Cover – Up
1. Almost immediately, a cover-up
was undertaken by persons
associated with the president and
his campaign.
2. H.R. Haldeman (Chief of Staff)
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W.H. shreds incriminating documents.
3. W.H. asks CIA to ask the FBI to stop
its investigation.
4. CRP pays ($450,000) burglars to
keep quiet.
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They are indicted in Sep., 1972
C. Role of the Media
1. The media did not cover the scandal
much initially. Why?
» Busy with Vietnam, antiwar protests, civil
rights, etc.
2. But, the Washington Post keeps
printing stories
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2 reporters = Bob Woodward and Carl
Bernstein
Used an anonymous source (Deep
Throat) to link the Nixon Administration to
the Burglary
WH denies!
3. Who was Deep Throat?
– Deep Throat reveled in 2005: Deputy Director of the
FBI—Mark Felt
– Why?
The following is the transcript of a statement from Nick Jones, the grandson of W. Mark Felt as transcribed by CQ
Transcriptions, LLC. Published: May 31, 2005
I have a statement prepared, so here it is.
The family believes my grandfather, Mark Felt Sr., is a great American hero who went well and above the call of duty at
much risk to himself to save his country from a horrible injustice. We all sincerely hope the country will see him this way
as well.
My grandfather is pleased that he is being honored for his role as Deep Throat with his friend Bob Woodward. He is also
pleased by the attention this has drawn to his career in his 32 years of service to his country. But he believes in his heart
that the men and women of the FBI who have put their -- who have put their lives at risk for more than 50 years to keep
this country safe deserve recognition more than he.
Mark had expressed reservations in the past about revealing his identity and about whether his actions were appropriate
for an FBI man. But as he recently told my mother, I guess people used to think Deep Throat was a criminal. But now they
think he's a hero.
Our family believes older people are our national treasure and should be honored and respected in the declining years of
their lives. My grandfather is one of those special people. And on behalf of the Felt family, we hope you see him worthy of
honor and respect as we do.
The Felt family does ask, however, that in view of his age and health, you respect his zone of privacy as he enjoys his
moment with us.
Thank you.
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Jeb Stuart Magruder Nixon's deputy campaign manager, who spent seven months in
prison for perjury and conspiracy in the Watergate case, now a retired minister and consultant living
in Columbus, Ohio:
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"I thought Mark Felt was probably the one, which made sense
because what he told Woodward was mainly the stuff the F.B.I.
would have had. What he didn't tell Woodward was really anything
critical about us. It wasn't inside the White House stuff, it was
inside the F.B.I. stuff."
On closing the chapter: "I think in some ways it completes it, and
that's good. It sort of ends the mystery of this person that was
named after the greatest porn queen of all time."
Patrick J. Buchanan Nixon Speechwriter and adviser, now a conservative
commentator:
"I've always thought it was Mark Felt. I've told people that privately
for a number of years. But I have not mentioned it publicly
because I think Deep Throat is a dishonorable man."
"I think Mark Felt behaved treacherously. I'm unable to see the
nobility of the enterprise, sneaking around in garages, moving
pots around, handing over material he got in the course of the
investigation."
D. The Cover-Up Unravels
1. Nov. 1972, Nixon is reelected in a
landslide over George McGovern.
2. Jan. 1973, the trial for the 5 burglars
begins. Found guilty.
3. March 1973, just before the
sentencing:
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McCord admits to lying under oath
Implicates many members of Nixon’s
staff
4. The burglars were sentenced to 5
years in prison
E. Reactions?
1. April 1973, Nixon tries to handle the
situation himself
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Gets members of his staff to resign
Calls for an independent investigation
2. May 1973, US Senate begins
investigating.
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Calls “The President’s Men” to testify live
on TV
John Dean – former advisor
– Directly implicates Nixon in the cover up
3. Alexander Butterfield drops the bomb on
Nixon.
–
Claimed Nixon taped everything.
• Senate wants the tapes for proof
• The process to get the tapes takes about
a year
F. It Gets Worse!
1. Oct. 1973, Special Prosecutor,
Archibald Cox, ordered Nixon to
hand over the tapes.
2. Nixon refused and has him fired. A
number of people resigned.
4. Spiro Agnew (Nixon’s VP) resigns
– Scandal separate from Watergate
– Nixon appoints Gerald Ford as Vice
President
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Congress approves this
5. March 1974, 7 of Nixon’s aides are
charged with conspiracy, obstruction
of justice and perjury.
President Nixon is labeled an “unindicted coconspirator” by the grand jury, on a 19-0 vote.
G. The Final Days
1. Nixon makes a number of TV appearances
claiming he is innocent
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“I AM NOT A CROOK”
2. Releases edited transcripts of the audio tapes
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Not enough for investigators
Nixon still refuses to give up unedited tapes
3. July 1974, SC Ruling—US v. Nixon
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Unedited tapes must be submitted
They proved Nixon’s involvement in the cover up
4. Congress begins filing paperwork for
impeachment proceedings
5. Aug., 8 1974, Nixon resigns before a
vote can happen
•
1st and only time in the history of the
country
Section 3: The Ford and Carter
Years
• Ford becomes president
1974-76
• People don’t have a lot of
confidence in him
• Not elected, selected
• Pardons Nixon:
– Wants to move forward
Economy under Ford
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Bad economy
Rising fuel costs
Less govt. spending
Make it more difficult
to get credit
• Did it work?
– A little, but not much
Ford’s Foreign Policy
• Very similar to Nixon:
Realpolitik and Detente)
• Helsinki Accords (35 countries)
• Peace Treaty broken in
Vietnam
– Ford asks Congress for $ to
help Vietnam
– Congress says no more!
– We have to evacuate
embassy in 75
– Vietnam becomes one country
1976 Election
• Republican
candidate: Ford
• Demo: Carter
• Gov of Georgia
• Peanut farmer
• Carter wins election
• Bottom line: People
want change
Jimmy Carter
• Carter had to deal with
bad energy crisis
• Simple solution: use less
foreign oil
• How to do that: National
Energy Act
– Tax gas guzzling cars
– Discourage people from
buying them
– Encourage Oil production
– Encourage development of
alternative energy
Did it work?
• Our country too
dependent on oil
• OPEC raises oil
prices due to
instability in the ME
• Lower supply of oil
due to an oil worker
strike
Overall impact of Energy Crisis
• Lines at gas stations
to fill up tanks
• high inflation: 14%
• Global standard of
living us drops from
1st to 5th place
Economy under Carter
• Cuts in manufacturing jobs
• More automation
• Foreigners do same jobs
for less
• Rising energy costs mean
less $ available for
workers
• Increase in service jobs
– Communications,
transportation trade
– Good paying jobs require
good education
– Some people struggle
with this transition
FP under Carter
• Different than Nixon
and Ford
• Focused on Human
Rights
• Gave up control of
Panama Canal by the
year 2000
• Less Diplomacy with
Soviet Union and
China
– Why? These countries
treated many of their
people poorly
Soviet Afghanistan War
• 1979-1989
• Countries had long term
good relationship
• Afghan Rebels threaten to
take over country
• Soviets don’t like this, send
in troops to stop them
• US eventually support
Afghan rebels
• Provide weapons for
training
• Want less Soviet influence
in the ME
• Afghan Rebels win
• Fight for control of the
country. Who gets it?
Taliban
Camp David
• Carter mediates a peace
agreement between
Egypt and Israel
• Israel gives Egypt some
land (Sinai Peninsula)
• Egypt recognizes Israel’s
right to exist
• Big public relations
nightmare for Egypt
– First ME country to
recognize Israel
– Leader assassinated
• US looks good
Iran Hostage
• Shah of Iran: Put in power by
US
• Was not nice to people of Iran
• Revolution in 79 forces him to
leave
• He came to US for cancer
treatment
• Iran’s new leader Khomeini
wanted Shah to stand trial
• Carter won’t send him back
• Iranians take 52 Americans
hostage
• Held them for 1 year
• Shah died of cancer half way
through crisis
Section 4
• Environmentalism
– Rachel Carson: Silent
Spring
– Warned of danger in
pesticides
– 500,000 copies/6
months
– Got people and gov.
more interested
– Outlawed DDT
The Birth of Earth Day
• 1970 first Earth Day
• April 22
• 3 foci
– Looks at pollution in
air, soil, water
– Clean up Toxic Waste
– What to do about
depleting Nat.
Resources
EPA
• Set up pollution standards
• Conduct env. Research
• Help state and cities in
emergency situations
• Clean air act: 70
• Endangered Species Act
• Limitations on Strip mining
• Protecting Alaskan wilderness:
– Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act
• Gave land to natives for
conservation
• It was to balance the new
pipeline finished in 1977
Nuclear Energy Debate
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Why support it? Cheaper and cleaner
Why Oppose it? Potential for disaster
and waste?
3 Mi. Island in Penn. Biggest accident
in US history 1979
Radiation leak
No direct deaths
Health studies being conducted
1986: biggest in world Chernobyl
Thousands die,
People still not live there
In the end, these accidents increased
the push for a movement to protect the
environment throughout the 80s and
90s as the movement still grows