Unit 11—Chapter 18 A Crisis of Confidence

CSS 11.8, 11.9, 11.10, 11.11

Daily Start 1

• Under what circumstances should we impeach the president?

• The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

—Article II, Section 4

Are these examples of high Crimes and Misdemeanors?

• tax evasion• mismanagement of political donations• perjury• drug use• reckless driving• speeding (30 miles over limit)• car jacking• vandalism• trespassing• conspiracy to commit murder• drug trafficking• using the FBI to search enemies• drunk driving• using the IRS to harass enemies• accepting money for favors• assault• renting natural resources to businesses• sexual harassment• using the CIA to eliminate enemies• keeping information from Congress

Part OneNixon and the Watergate Scandal 11.10.2, 11.11.4

EQ 1: What events led to Richard Nixon’s resignation as President in 1974?

New Federalism

• Silent Majority• Nixon made his

comeback in 1968• 1947 – 1951 House• 1951 - 1953 US senator• 1953 – 1961 Vice President• 1960 lost to JFK• 1962 lost governor’s race in CA

• the Silent Majority voted for Nixon

1968

R Richard M. Nixon 31,785,480 301

D Hubert Humphrey 31,275,166 191

AI George Wallace 9,906,473 46

New Federalism

• New Federalism• shift power back to the

states• the federal government

gave $ to the states for social programs• welfare

• the states decided how to spend it

New Federalism

• New Federalism• Nixon added more

power to the national government• OSHA• EPA• DEA

• Medicare and public housing increased under Nixon• Philadelphia Plan

New Federalism

• Stagflation• a combination of recession

and inflation in the late 60s and early 70s

• cost of Vietnam• foreign competition in steel and

cars• rise of cost of oil• lack of modernization• many unskilled workers• entire 1970s sees less economic

growth than any single year of 1950s or 1960s

• Nixon froze wages and prices for 90 days in 1971 to fight stagflation

1972 Election

• Southern Strategy• Nixon opposed civil

rights to win the support of union workers and southerners

• appointed conservative judges• criticized court-ordered busing

• this “southern strategy” got Nixon 61% of the vote in 1972

R Richard M. Nixon 47,169,911 520

D George S. McGovern 29,170,383 17

Watergate

• Watergate Overview• the nation’s worst political

scandal forced Nixon to resign• more than 30 officials were

convicted• many went to jail

• bugging of Watergate Hotel, 1972

• burglary of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office, 1971

• misuse of FBI and CIA• firing special prosecutor Cox• smoking gun--evidence Nixon

discussed a week after Watergate

Watergate

• The Plumbers• five men broke into the

Watergate Hotel and bugged the offices of the Democratic National Convention• these “plumbers”

included one ex-CIA agent and two Cubans

James McCord, Jr., Roman Gonzalez, Frank Sturgis, Eugenio Martinez, and Bernard Baker

June 17, 1972, 2:30 a.m.

Watergate

• Woodward and Bernstein • Washington Post reporters

who investigated the break in

• someone seemed to be blocking their investigation

• a secret source verified their investigation

• implicated higher authorities involved in Watergate cover-up including possibly Nixon himself

FBI Associate Director

Mark Felt

AKA “Deep Throat”

Watergate

• Committee to Re-Elect the President• C.R.E.E.P. raised money

for Nixon’s 1972 campaign

• the FBI found that C.R.E.E.P. paid the plumbers $250,000• one deposits check into

bank account

• James McCord claimed Nixon’s people hired him John Mitchell

Watergate

• Congressional Investigation• the Senate began

televised hearings under Sen. Sam Erwin• Nixon’s lawyer, John Dean,

testified Nixon kept an enemies list

• Joe Namath, Barbara Streisand, Paul Newman

Sam Erwin

John Dean

Watergate

• Watergate Tapes• Butterfield testified Nixon

taped all conversions in the oval office• the tapes were

subpoenaed• Nixon sent 1200 pages of edited

transcripts instead

• Cox and Congress insisted that the tapes must be turned over

• Nixon tried to fire Cox

Justice John Sirica

Butterfield

Watergate

• United States v. Nixon, 1974• executive privilege: Nixon claimed he

had the rights as president to keep secrets

• the Supreme Court order Nixon to turn over the original tape recordings

• White House can’t explain an 18 1/2 -minute gap in one of the subpoenaed tapes

• Congress started the impeachment process

• blocking the Watergate investigation• not complying with the Senate’s

subpoena for tapes

Watergate

• 25th Amendment 1967• VP Agnew resigned

because of tax evasion in 1973

• fined $10,000 and three years’ probation

• he denied accepting over $100,000 in bribes

• Ford appointed VP in 1974

• Ford pardoned Nixon in 1974

• the public was outraged

“Our long national nightmare is over.”

Watergate

• Watergate’s Legacy• Americans lost trust in

the government• checks and balances

works

• a 1997 CNN Poll asked about Nixon and Watergate

• 44% -- deserved impeachment• 38% -- no different than other

presidents

Watergate

• Federal Election Campaign Act, 1974 • put limit on campaign

donations• set individual donation

limit

• requires records of funds

“I am not a Crook!”

EQ 1:

• What events led to Richard Nixon’s resignation as President in 1974?

Time Period Crisis President

Civil War

Great Depression

Cold War

Oil Embargo

9-11

Hurricane Katrina

Great Recession