|
|
|
|
|
Below is one of our free research papers on The Watergate Affair. If the term paper below is not exactly what you're looking for, you can search our essay database for other topics.
The Watergate Affair
The Watergate affair was the most significant scandal in United States governmental history. Watergate is defined as a scandal involving abuse of power by public officials, violation of the public trust, and attempted obstruction of justice. The Watergate scandal is named after the building complex in Washington D.C., which was the site of the illegal activities that took place in 1972. In this essay I will explain what Watergate was, a few of the key players (many too numerous to mention), and the end result of the people involved. Watergate all started on June 17, 1972 when five men attempted to break in to the Democratic national headquarters in Washington’s Watergate complex. The men were arrested after police were notified from a security guard, and were in possession of cameras and electronic surveillance equipment. They were suspected of attempting to tap the telephones there in order to gain the upper-hand information of the Democratic campaign. The men were tried and convicted in a federal court, but the judge, John Sirica suspected the major cover-up of a possible national conspiracy. Sirica later received a letter from one of the burglars, James McCord which stated that there was definitely a cover-up. This letter led to a nationwide eruption and the trust and tolerance for politicians greatly declined. The five burglars were sent to jail in January of 1973. White House counsel John Dean attempted to buy the men’s silence with 4...
|