Students, reflect and respond to one of the prompts. It should only be roughly one paragraph.
On June 17th, 1972, five men broke into the Watergate Hotel complex. They were nearly perfect at the burglary, yet they made one mistake. The tape that was used to keep the locks from closing on the doors was left behind. A custodian noticed the tape on the locks and changed the course of American History. The money found on the burglars was connected to the Committee of the Re-Election of the President (CREEP). They weren't after typical burglary target items; money, jewelry, or expensive handbags. They were after incriminating evidence related to the illicit affairs of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Party, and their presidential nominee, George McGovern.
Nixon was trying to trash the Democrats', particularly McGovern's, reputation right before the election, even though it was clear to everyone that Nixon would have won in a landslide regardless.
a) What element of Nixon's personality drove him to enact this risky plan?
b)Can you think of another time something similar was done by another political or historical figure?
c)What is the significance of Watergate and what impact has it had on our national politics?
Watergate has had a significant impact on our political history in a profound way. Nixon’s cunning and narcissist manner threatened the integrity of the presidency and the United States. During his re-election. a scandal evolved which involved Nixon and his co-conspirators spying on the opposing. Candidate.. conversations in the White House without The aim was to get dirt on his opponent to ensure a win for himself in the presidential election. The crime (conspiracy) was not as severe as the cover up and the efforts that he chose to hide his commission. In doing so, Nixon lost the confidence of the American people with his deceitful-actions.
ReplyDeleteMany Political Scoentists today compare this past presidential election (Trump-Clinton) to the the Watergate scandal. The Trump-Russia scandal has even been compared to Nixon’s Watergate because of Clinton’s stolen- leaked emails. Many pundits believe that Trump and his campaign’s involvement with leaks coming from the DNC were purely politically motivated.