Richard Nixon

The Watergate Scandal

This dominated American politics from 1973-1974
It destroyed the Nixon presidency
Severely damaged the power and prestige of the office of President
The causes of the scandal go far beyond the investigation into the burglary at the Democratic Party HQ in Washington DC during the 1972 presidential election campaign
The burglars were put on trial, and Nixon was accused of obstructing the investigation
He claimed executive privilege for not cooperating with the Senate investigation
He lied about the involvement of the White House in the affair
Result – temporary collapse of presidential power
By August 1974 he realised he would be impeached
Nixon became the first President to resign whilst in office

The Causes of the Watergate Scandal

Nixon’s Personality

Long term cause of the scandal was his personality and psychological make-up
He was an introvert with a strong sense of inferiority
His humble Quaker background helps explain this
Suffered physical abuse from his strict father
He was in awe of his mother whom he adored
Constantly referred to her throughout his life as a ‘saint’
Result of this background – resented those with more privileged backgrounds especially the East Coast liberal elite
He was suspicious of others and feared ‘enemies everywhere’
The problem became clear to him in 1971 when the press were given ‘The Pentagon Papers’ by Dr Daniel Ellsberg, a State Department Official
The papers showed that the government had lied to the public about the reasons for US involvement in Vietnam
Nixon now determined to prevent any more leaks to the press
His psychological make-up meant he was almost bound to engage in actions which spied on both political opponents and anyone else perceived to be a threat to his position as President
Ordered surveillance of opponents and made plans to discredit them
It led to a break-in of the Democratic National HQ during the 1972 Presidential election campaign
It involved bugging the offices of Larry O’Brien, the Democrat National Chairman
Successful attempts were made to discredit leading Democrats who posed a formidable challenge to Nixon in the election
A malicious rumour was spread that the wife of Edmund Muskie of Maine, who was Catholic, had had an abortion
Senator Scoop Jackson of Washington was accused of having an affair
The overall aim was to secure the nomination of liberal George McGovern of South Dakota as his opponent

Nixon’s hopes of a landslide victory

1960 he suffered a narrow defeat in the presidential election
Believed JF Kennedy’s supporters in Chicago had tampered with the votes, thus securing Illinois and the election
1968 Nixon narrowly defeated Hubert Humphrey in a 3 way contest that included George Wallace of the American Independent Party
Nixon wanted a big win in 1972 to secure his second term
It would mean that he would be President during the bicentennial celebration of 1976, the 200^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
Nixon was prepared to use any means to secure this victory
Like other Presidents before him, such as LB Johnson, he bugged the opposition to discover their campaign strategy
1977 Nixon stated that Watergate emerged ‘exactly how the other side would have played it’

The Imperial Presidency

Nixon’s presidency can be seen as a longer-term process identified by Arthur Schlesinger as the rise of the ‘Imperial Presidency’
By early 1970s the office of President had amassed enormous power
The President could, for example, launch nuclear war
Within the US he was limited by the terms of the Constitution
This was obvious in Nixon’s first term when he had to work with a Democratic-controlled Congress
With his power over the intelligence agencies he had the power and authority to spy on others
From 1970 the White House coordinated the work of the intelligence agencies as part of a plan to end the social disorder caused by radical and left-wing groups
Once established, this network was used against his political opponents, the Democrats

The CIA Trap Theory

This is the belief that the CIA tried to stop the agency falling under the control of the Nixon White House
Supporters of the Theory say that CIA agents such as James McCord deliberately botched the bugging of Democrat HQ to create political problems for Nixon
At the Senate Committee hearings McCord said that political control by the White House meant that the CIA and FBI were no longer able to conduct their own business

The Work of Nixon subordinates

Nixon has always claimed that the burglary and other illegal activities were the work of his overzealous subordinates
Some such as Gordon Liddy were regarded as having acted on their own initiative
If the White House was involved it was associated with Nixon aides Bob Haldeman and John Erlichman rather than Nixon himself
As President he was forced to accept responsibility for the actions of others
Maurice Stans, Chairman of CREEP (The Committee to Re-elect the President) said that Nixon’s fall was the result of excesses of loyalty by campaign staff through a burglary unknown to him, and second by his endorsement of a cover up to protect his staff and, through them, his re-election

Why Nixon was forced to resign over the Watergate Scandal

August 1974 Nixon due to be impeached
Accused of using FBI and CIA to discredit opponents
Also accused of lying about his involvement in criminal acts
Also that he used his position as President to obstruct justice
He refused to cooperate with the Senate Investigating Committee, the Special prosecutor into the affair and the Supreme Court
Claimed ‘executive privilege’ – ie he used the issue of national security to refuse to give evidence
It formed the basis of his refusal to hand over tapes of White House conversations on the affair
There are 4 key issues to consider when ascertaining why he resigned:

The role of 2 Washington Post reporters

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein - both investigative reporters with the ‘Washington Post’
1994 published book ‘All the President’s Men’
They played a major role in linking Nixon with the Watergate break-in
19 June 1972 they wrote an article linking the burglars with Howard Hunt a White House aide
Uncovered an illegal ‘slush fund’ of hundreds of thousands of dollars which had been used by CREEP for illegal activities during the 1972 election
Later investigations highlighted the roles of Maurice Stans and other senior republican officials, including the Attorney General John Mitchell
An anonymous White House official nicknamed ‘Deep Throat’ aided Woodward and Bernstein – though it is now thought that there were several anonymous sources

The Congressional Investigations

The Senate Investigating Committee was the main driving force behind the impeachment
John Dean, Nixon’s legal adviser, linked Haldeman, Erlichman and Nixon to the burglary and other illegal acts
Alexander Butterfield revealed to the Committee that Nixon had installed a tape system which recorded all the conversations in the White House
With extensive national TV. coverage the hearings built up opposition to Nixon
In the House of Representatives, the House Judiciary Committee collected enough evidence to recommend the impeachment of Nixon
This forced his resignation

The Role of the Supreme Court

24 July 1974 the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon should hand over to the House Judiciary Committee tapes of 54 conversations made during 1972
When they were published in written form they linked Nixon to the cover-up
They also revealed that he made racist comments about other politicians, and that he swore constantly
Swear words were edited out –‘expletive deleted’ inserted instead
It brought things to a head
In three weeks he was on the verge of impeachment by the Judiciary Committee
9^th August he resigned

The Impact of Watergate on US Politics

An increase in Congressional control of the Executive

The Watergate affair led to major attempts by Congress to hold the President, federal government and intelligence agencies more accountable
They passed laws relating to freedom of information, campaign finance, and more openness of government
Congress built on the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 by imposing limits on fundraising in elections
The 1974 law limited individual campaign contributions to $5,000
These encouraged the growth of Political Action Committees (PACs) which circumvented the law
1974 Privacy Act was passed allowing any person to see information kept on them in federal files
1975 Hughes-Ryan Amendment required that the President report to Congress on all undercover operations
1977 Senate and House Committees formed to monitor the intelligence agencies
1978 Ethics in Government Act – all senior government officials to disclose their finances
It also set up the Office of Government Ethics to monitor the process
October 1978 the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act required the CIA to have a court order before it could place a wiretap
1980 Intelligence Oversight Act mean the CIA had to report its activities to Congress

The Zenith of the Imperial Presidency

Watergate had altered the public’s perception of the Presidency
American attitudes to both the government and Presidency were transformed by the scandal of Watergate
The episode had bestowed a new vulnerability on the Presidency which now seemed diminished
These changes in US public opinion helped the election of President Jimmy Carter in 1976
The prestige of the Presidency didn’t recover until the 1980s under Ronald Reagan
The Iran-Contra Affair of 1986-87 smeared the Presidency with scandal once again though

The Democrat and Republican Parties

Democrat Party helped by Watergate in the short term
Increased their control of the Senate and the House in the 1974 elections
In the longer term it led to a revitalised Republican Party, which was more conservative
It would be fair to say that Watergate helped to lay the foundations for the Reagan Revolution of the 1980s

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