Cold War Containment

The 1970’s was an extremely influential era on American political issues, policies and leaders. The successes and failures of the political endeavors that the United States was involved in has made direct influence in our modern day society. Our country was faced with three different political leaders during the seventies and the way they shaped their policies and how they handled foreign policy shaped the way for America to embrace the future. The seventies were a time of change in America, after the war, Americans were experiencing an economic boom.

The Watergate Scandal was a political scandal where President Nixon had the help of five burglars and the burglars snuck into the Democratic National Committee office and stole documents and recorded phone calls. President Nixon did this so he could find out more about what the democratic side was doing during the election of 1972. This occured on June 17, 1972 and caused President Nixon to resign in August of 1974. After this Americans did not trust the White House and their government. Watergate was a scandal that President Nixon and the five burglars were secretive about and caused Americans to not trust the White House.

Homer Plessy, angered because of segregation laws in the 1890’s, specifically opposed the Separate Car Act. This allowed for a “whites only” car in trains. As a civil rights activist, Homer believed that the rights granted to him by the 13th and 14th amendments were being violated. Although mostly white, Plessy fought for equality for everyone. The passing of new segregation laws in the South spurred Plessy into action.

In the early 1970s the Watergate Scandal rocked America and eventually led to the resignation of Richard Nixon. The Washington Post assigned reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to the incident, and through their investigative journalism, they traced the Watergate break-in back to Nixon. All the President’s Men showcases Woodward and Bernstein’s investigation of Watergate, whereas in The Final Days Woodward and Bernstein tell the story of the last days of the Nixon presidency. In All the President’s Men and The Final Days, Woodward and Bernstein use third person omniscient narration to show the investigation of the media and the lack of morality of the Nixon administration.

The Nixon Resignation How would you feel if you could not trust someone? What if that someone was a great importance to your country? You would most likely feel betrayed, unable to believe a single word uttered from their lips. You would not want them to have any influence on the matters of your country.

Question 7 (for 10 points): After Nixon was connected to the break-in of the offices of the DNC at the Watergate business complex, in part due to the affiliation of his connection to one of the burglars, who was an employee of Nixon’s Committee for the Re-election of the President (CREEP), it gradually became apparent that the Watergate break in was largely a result of Nixon’s beliefs concerning the degree of latitude his office afforded him with regards to transgression of federal law. As the result of an investigation by a senate committee prompted by the Watergate scandal, it was discovered that during his presidency Nixon had committed a number of crimes, which included “extending political favors to powerful business groups in exchange

The Watergate scandal is the name given to President Richard Nixon’s planned break-in of the Democratic National Headquarters and its attempted cover-up (Free Dictionary. 2014). The Watergate scandal hurt the President’s image and caused the American people to distrust the government. Although Nixon accomplished a lot of good during his presidency, it is out shadowed by the Watergate break-in and cover-up. On June 17, 1972, at 2:30 am, five men hired by Richard Nixon broke into the Democratic National Headquarters, the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C., and were arrested for attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other communications (“Brief Timeline of Events.” 2013).

Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States and currently the only president to have resigned from office. From 1969 to 1974 Nixon held office after a new wave of conservatism due to the College students marches that consequently turned into riots over anti-war Vietnam sentiment. Furthermore the Democratic Party split due to polarization over the involvement of the United States in the war. According to The Enduring Vision President Nixon had a tendency to be paranoid and fearful of any political opponent; including an “enemies list” where he kept all political opponents in check.

The day was June 17th, 1972. To most it was an ordinary day. U.S citizens across the country were going to work, school, etc. No one thought the day was ever going to be significant. Until they heard about the burglary.

Despite his questionable Southern Strategy, Nixon was still responsible for social justice for multiple groups. In 1983, he signed Title IX, which would prevent gender bias at colleges and universities. He also supported the 26th amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. Furthermore, he was the “first President to give Native Americans the right to tribal self-determination by ending the policy of forced assimilation and returning their sacred lands” (“Richard Nixon’s Top”).

The Allied victory in World War Two did not create a lasting peace as tensions arose between different ideological views. The Cold War became a period of extreme ideological challenges which attempted to enforce a new economic and political structure on the world. It is clear through Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain Speech’ that imperial struggle still existed in the world as the West saw the Soviet sphere of influence as an issue to “the safety of the world.” Stalin attempted to justify the military and USSR influence in Eastern Europe as a safety net to prevent external imperial influence. Russia’s satellite countries also allowed for the spread of imperial influence and ensure a similar event to World War Two would not occur near the USSR