ipl-logo

Richard Nixon Research Paper

794 Words4 Pages

What contributed to the downfall of Richard Nixon? Richard Nixon’s paranoia in office contributed to the deterioration of his political career. The Watergate scandal was a break in at the Democratic National Committee building organized by Nixon to gather files and information on his opposing candidate. Nixon’s insecurities and his lack of confidence diminished his reputation and damaged public perceptions of his leadership abilities. His paranoia led him to participate in illegal activities such as the Watergate Scandal, an attempt to gain an advantage over his political opponents. His paranoia contributed to the downfall of his political career through impulsive decisions such as the Watergate scandal, secret recordings inside the White House, …show more content…

The fallout of the scandal ultimately led to public shaming and the resignation of President Nixon in 1974. “The break-in and subsequent cover-up by Nixon and his aides culminated two years later in the president's resignation” (Watergate 1). The article provides supporting evidence that Nixon’s impulsive decisions, which stemmed from his insecurities, contributed to the diminishing of his reputation. Additionally, the scandal eroded public trust in the government and highlighted the importance of transparency and credibility in leadership. Ultimately, Nixon’s image was forever damaged because of his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Nixon's actions during his presidency backfired against him and painted a negative image of the president. In an attempt to protect himself, he recorded audio in the White House, which would eventually be used as evidence against Nixon and force his resignation. “Nixon, citing executive privilege, refused to turn them over and sought to fire Cox” (Tapes 1). Nixon’s efforts to hide the recordings only further damaged his reputation and led to widespread mistrust in the …show more content…

Ultimately, Nixon’s lack of transparency and untrustworthiness eroded his credibility in the eyes of the public and led to his resignation as president. Nixon’s reputation will always be linked to the decisions he made in an attempt to minimize his paranoia. Works Cited "If there are tapes, can the White House be forced to turn them over?" CNN Wire, 11 June 2017, p. 113. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A495339597/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=0de064b6. Accessed 31 May 2024. "Security Clearance Revocation Reminds Mullen Of Nixon's 'Enemies List'." Morning Edition, 20 Aug. 2018. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A552000283/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=7638cfa5. Accessed 31 May 2024. The "Watergate". Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, edited by Michael J. Tyrkus and Carol A. Schwartz, 4th ed., vol. 10, Gale, 2022, pp. 113-122. 371-373. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX8276204638/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=c1224b13. Accessed 31 May

Show More
Related
888 Words | 4 Pages

However, both of these presidents careers would be destroyed by similar cases and similar felonies. Nixon’s case was a matter of political coverup and corruptness known as Watergate. “On June 17, 1972, the watergate complex attracted attention as the site of a failed burglary. At around two o’clock in the morning five men dressed in business suits and wearing surgical gloves were arrested during an attempt to break into the Democrat national committee headquarters” (Fienberg 15). This is what started the entire Watergate scandal that ruined Nixon’s entire reputation and career.

Read More
850 Words | 4 Pages

This further shows the disintegrity of Nixon, as he tried to make up powers supposedly given to him by the Constitution to make himself more powerful than the rest of the government. Soon after his subpoena, a “smoking gun” tape of Nixon confessing to knowledge of the cover-up was presented before Congress, eventually leading to his resignation. After the entire investigation, Congress finally exposed Nixon’s corruption, along with the help of Woodward and Bernstein. The White House tapes ultimately played a large role in both Woodward’s and Bernstein’s investigation and the downfall of

Read More
280 Words | 2 Pages

So the early morning of June, 1972 Nixon ordered his plumbers to break and bug/wiretap the Democratic National Committee Headquarters located in Watergate apartments(The scandal’s name was named after the location of where the crime occurred). Unfortunately for the president, the mission was a failure and the plumbers were arrested. The White House administration were quick to deny any wrongdoing in the Watergate scandal, stating “no one in the White House staff, no one in this administration presently employed was involved in this bizarre incident... ”(The

Read More
1015 Words | 5 Pages

Richard Nixon, our 37th president of the United States, is best remembered for his involvement in the Watergate scandal in the 1970’s. The Watergate scandal is mainly known for the break in at the Watergate building which is where the Democratic National Committee is located at in Washington, D.C. The break in consisted the undertaking of wiretapping of phones and the act of stealing confidential documents. After time had passed by, the FBI started growing suspicious about Nixon’s role in the scandal especially when he tried covering up the issue by providing hush money for the people who were involved in the break in. He also tried stopping the FBI from doing their job by not allowing to investigate the break in and as well as firing any disobedient

Read More
947 Words | 4 Pages

Pierre Trudeau was one of the iconic leaders of Canada who brought forth a new verve of energy in the country. It was his charismatic personality coupled with revolutionary ideas and beliefs that helped him climb up the ladder to serve the most prestigious and responsible chair of the country.  Pierre Trudeau was born on October 18, 1919 in Montréal, Quebec. His terms of office were from April 20, 1968 to June 3, 1979 as well as March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984. Pierre Trudeau had been a Liberal political party leader from 1968–1984.

Read More
228 Words | 1 Pages

Although it is debateable whether or not Nixon knew of the break-ins, he did behave very suspiciously. He became very secretive, resentful, and defensive towards his critics, even going so far as to make

Read More
918 Words | 4 Pages

Watergate affected how our presidents would be treated by the other branches of the government with the way Nixon acted and lied to the whole entire country of America. A weakened president seat would give the congress and house of representatives more power over how Americans rule until presidents can regain the trust that they had prior to Watergate (U.S. News Staff). Americans also feared that the two-party system would go away because people were becoming more independent. Nixon at first said that he had no involvement in the break-in of the Watergate building, which was a complete lie and would later get him into even more trouble. Nixon fired a special prosecutor who wanted to look into the tapes that he refused to hand over (President Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal).

Read More
455 Words | 2 Pages

First, Richard Nixon did many things to abuse his presidential powers. Outside of the knowledge of Congress, he ordered the American military to invade Cambodia and Laos. He was responsible for multiple bombing raids there which had major repercussions for our armed forces as well as America. Nixon also bugged the oval office to listen to

Read More
122 Words | 1 Pages

Most say Richard Nixon is one of the most interesting political figures of the 20th century. Nixon began his long political career in 1947 when he was elected to the House of Representatives. During the course of his presidential campaign, Senator George McGovern had complained about the various number of “dirty tricks” performed by members of the Nixon administration during the campaign. Nixon resulted in ordering aides to harass Democratic party leaders. The Attorney General Mitchell would later call these “dirty tricks” the “White House horrors.”

Read More
1560 Words | 7 Pages

Nixon supports himself by saying, “...the records will show that -- the records which are in the hands of the administration.” With this statement, Nixon puts forth some of his innocence within the secret fund situation. He knows the public will not take his word alone to prove that he did not call these organizations for money. In order to validate what he is saying, Nixon adds in the fact that his phone records are in the hands of the administration, providing someone to vouch for him on the situation.

Read More
509 Words | 3 Pages

Nixon’s presidency is considered very controversial and people have widely different opinions about whether or not he was a good president. During his regime he established many important policies and political reforms, some of which still affect the U.S. today. However, at some point the seriousness and amount of his mistakes outweighed his accomplishments, leading him to be the first and so far only president to resign from office. After years and with the information that has been made available for public today, become all Nixon’s hidden and less hidden fails as clear as the countryside sky.

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon made a speech that would guarantee him a special spot in American History books for many, many years to come. Although Nixon is known for the Watergate Scandal, many presidents have had scandals; however, he is the only president to have resigned from office (Nixon, 1974). Stuck in a media frenzy of accusations pointing to him being guilty, many of course question Nixon’s credibility at this point. As a rich, white man holding such a high political position, many would not question his credibility. However, his reputation is now tainted by accusations of him being a crook and dishonest to the American people.

Read More
1668 Words | 7 Pages

This helped Nixon in the election and many people learned to like the “new Nixon” (101). With his new image, Nixon won the election, and as he predicted, was back in the White House. Once Nixon took office, the major obstacle presented to him was what to do with the Vietnam war. This was a rocky road he had to try and overcome and many people were against some of his policies, but he did end up getting the “silent Americans” to speak up and voice their opinions who ended up being behind him. Nixon did not have a level head when it came to the war however, he did what he wanted even though it may have been against what everyone said.

Read More
584 Words | 3 Pages

He had amassed a collection of government fills, tape records, and intelligence on the common people in the Watergate building. After it was broken into, files were stolen and released to the public. It was the first real time that the general public learned just how paranoid Nixon was, but also how much he wanted to keep the power he already had. As these precious documents surfaced, one could see in full light that Nixon exhibited all the symptoms of Paranoid Personality Disorder. He was always distrustful of people, he recorded every encounter he had, so that one could twist his words against him.

Read More
669 Words | 3 Pages

All of this deceit only made Nixon viewed as dishonest and shady to the American people, making his impeachment seem almost predictable. But something that was not predicted was Richard Nixon’s

Read More

More about Richard Nixon Research Paper

Open Document