Faust-Robinson+Noah

Noah's Page

Topic Selection: Noah F-R

1. My topic is the Watergate Scandal. The scandal took place in 1972, involving a break in to the democratic National Committee Headquarters, and led to the resigning of president Richard Nixon, and the conviction and incarceration of several Nixon administrators in 1974.

2. I chose this topic because the scandal, and law procedures intrigued me. Also, I feel that had Nixon not resigned, politics in the United States would have been very different in years to come.

3. This topic relates to history because it occurred around 40 years ago. It also relates to law because of the political aspects of the Scandal, as well as the indictments of the Presidential administrators.

4. The primary focus of this topic is political, because It involved the president and his administrators and changed the near political future, however it could be argued that it influenced all the other mentioned spheres because they would be affected by a shift of power.

5.
 * K || W || L ||
 * In 1972, there was a large break in at the democratic national committee head quarters. The resulting investigation ended up leading back to president Nixon, resulting in his resignation, and the conviction of most of his administration in 1974. || learn more of the investigation and the circumstances of the break in, which led to Nixon’s resignation. || Payment of burglars was found by FBI to be linked to a slush fund for a re-elect the president campaign in 1972. Also, the president had recording devices in his offices. In one of these recordings it was reported that he had tried to cover up the break in. In order to escape impeachment in the house of representatives and conviction by the senate, he resigned. President Ford, Nixon’s successor, issued him a pardon after resignation. ||

6. One important issue is the ability of the media to influence political decisions and issues. In this case, the media contributed significantly in increasing pressure on the administration, while questioning them and probing eventually leading to their resignation. Another issue is the ability of one piece of evidence to change an entire investigation. When it was discovered that there were recording devices in the White House, Mr. Nixon was done for. A third issue is the suggestion that The near American future was changed significantly by this event. Had Nixon not had to resign, things may have happened differently, however President Ford lost the 1976 election, and power changed again.

7. How did Nixon’s resignation affect the opinions of the people, and was it a common belief of the people that the president had been actually involve in the break in? Were there any weak spots in the investigation? What would they change?

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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"> **  Noah F-R   ** **  Developing a Hypothesis & Research Questions   **

**TOPIC:** The investigation and resignation of President Nixon as a result of the Watergate Scandal. **OVERVIEW OF TOPIC:** In 1972, the break-in at the Watergate Centre, the location of the National Democratic headquarters. Evidence was related to a presidential slush fund. Further investigation led to the incarceration of many presidential officials and the resignation of President Nixon.

**CONTROVERSIAL QUESTION(S) REGARDING TOPIC:** Was resignation the right thing for President Nixon to do? What rights did President Nixon have during the investigation? Where any of these rights violated? Also, what responsibilities did Nixon still have to the people while under investigation, and was he in violation of his responsibilities when he resigned? **HYPOTHESIS:** The Watergate Scandal was a massive issue for American politics and put a lot of pressure on President Nixon, leading to his resignation in 1974. Though the scandal brought much negative attention to Nixon and put pressure on the administration, resignation was not the right thing for Nixon to do because he had responsibilities to the people and should not have stepped down because of a relatively small scandal.

**RESEARCH QUESTIONS:** //You should have a minimum of TWO (2) questions of each type for your research. These questions should be clear and relate to your hypothesis. Remember, they should guide you in your research not confuse you.//

Ø **Factual Questions** How was the break in at the Watergate Building related to President Nixon? Over the course of what years did these events occur? Who was incarcerated as a result of the scandal and what role did each of them play?

Ø **Clarification Questions** What events led to the resignation of Nixon? Who was Deep Throat? Ø **Interpretive Questions** Was resigning the right thing for Nixon to do? What would an alternative solution have been? Could Ford have been involved in convincing Nixon to resign? Ø ** Inquiry Questions ** What were some direct results of Ford becoming president instead of Nixon staying? Were there any flaws in the investigation? Was Nixon’s resignation an over-reaction?