Watergate Scandal Claim Americans lost trust in their

Watergate Scandal Claim: Americans lost trust in their government and politicians after the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration.

Basics: • Who: Richard Nixon, Committee to Reelect the President, Deep Throat • Nixon attempted to obstruct justice in covering up the Watergate breakin. • DNC headquarters, Washington D. C. • June 1972 break-in, August 1974 resignation Evidence 1 Nixon requested that his Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General fire the Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox, who was investigating the Watergate break-in. When Nixon’s AG and Deputy AG declined Nixon’s orders, Nixon fired both and hired a new AG to fire Cox. This act is a clear violation of the intentions the framers of The Constitution had to prevent one single person from obtaining too much power in the government. Nixon essentially fired the person investigating his illegal activities and disbanded the Watergate task force. This abuse of power had never been experienced in the American democracy. The American people will hold on to this feeling of abuse for generations. This event has gone down in history as The Saturday Night Massacre (Kilpatrick). Evidence 2 At the start of the Nixon administration, 60% of Americans trusted their government. By the end of the Nixon administration, that number dropped to 35%. No president since Nixon has been able to make up for that 25 point drop, therefor starting every president since Nixon at a historical disadvantage. Also, no President since Nixon has witnessed such a change in trust levels, outside of George W. Bush who experienced an artificial bump due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Even the overall trust level has never reached pre-Nixon levels (Thompson). MLA Works Cited: At least 2!