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CR 5.2 - Impact of Watergate - Coggle Diagram
CR 5.2 - Impact of Watergate
Impact on Nixon
The most obvious impact was the end to Nixon's political career.
He claimed he resigned for the good of the people but he clearly had no other option.
Due to Ford's pardon he never faced criminal trial but people still suspected him of organising and covering up the burglary.
Not only did the tapes reveal the truth behind the situation it also opened up the reality of what happened behind closed doors in the President's office.
The phrase 'Expletive deleted' was used so frequently it became a part of normal language and there were examples of him verbally attacking minorities such as Jews and Italians.
He also never admitted to doing anything wrong or apologised.
He didn't think he had acted any worse than previous presidents and believed he was above the law.
During his presidency he did achieve many other things.
He managed to desegregate schools.
He set up the Environment Protection Agency.
In foreign policy his efforts led to better relations with the Soviet Union and China.
However after Watergate all these things were disregarded.
In years later he did gain some respect as an author and was asked to events to make speeches often regarding foreign affairs.
Many presidents would come to him for advice afterwards.
However most people only remembered him for Watergate and he frequently polls as the least favourite President.
Impact on Politics
Nixon escaped criminal punishment however many government officials were tried and 30 received prison sentences.
The Republican party tried to repair its image and separate itself from Nixon and his advisors. Still at the next election they lost many seats in the House of Representative and a few in the Senate.
In the next election the Democrats chose Jimmy Carter as he was likeable, religious and not seen as part of the 'Washington set'.
Carter won the election despite lacking skills to be a strong President.
Some people think that Watergate has caused people to value honesty more than capability in Presidential candidates.
Watergate caused the American people to lose faith in their government and view both the Democrats and Republicans to be corrupt and possibly criminal.
In the years after many politicians began publishing their financial records and open meetings to seem honest.
Less people were voting or wanting a part in politics and it was harder to recruit people to work for Political parties and the Federal government.
The media was greatly impacted and more journalists tried to uncover scandals in years to come.
Often journalists began to publish 'scandals' without real evidence.
New Laws
1973 House and Senate open meeting rules: all committee meetings had to be open and public.
1973 War Powers Act: stopped a President going to war without Congress's approval.
1974 Election Campaign Act: set limits on election campaign spending and contributions.
1974 Freedom of Information Act: gave people the right to access any government documents in which they featured.
1974 Privacy Act: set rules on how the government could collect information on individuals.
1974 Congressional Budget Control Act: set rules on how the President could use government money.