Watergate: Was The Nixon White House Involved?

Watergate: Was The Nixon White House Involved?

What was Watergate? "Watergate" is a term used to describe a complex
web of political scandals occurring between 1972 and 1974. On January 20, 1969,
Richard M. Nixon had become the thirty-seventh president of the United States.
As Nixon entered the White House, he was “full of bitterness and anger about
past defeats, and about years of perceived slights from others in the political
establishment.” Nixon, a Republican, once stated that, “Washington is a city
run primarily by Democrats and liberals, dominated by like-minded newspapers and
other media.” Nixon's obligation to control his political destiny and to
forestall the damaging of his agenda by incumbents urged him toward the
development of what was, in effect, a “secret government” (Gettlin and Colodny
6). The word, “Watergate”, refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.
In addition to the hotel, the Watergate complex houses many business offices.
It was here that the offices of the Democratic National Committee were
burglarizedon June 17, 1972. Five individuals were arrested at the Watergate
complex after the burglary. Charges were also pressed on G. George Liddy and E.
Howard Hunt ; the “Watergate Seven” were sentenced by Judge John Sirica.
Although Nixon was worried about the break-in, he advised the White House press
secretary, Ron Ziegler, to dismiss the incident as “a third-rate burglary”
(Cannon 107). In the years ensuing the invasion at ...

Watergate: Was The Nixon White House Involved?

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