The Watergate Scandal: Primary Sources Essay

Introduction

The Watergate scandal is a significant event in the political life of the USA in the early 1970s which resulted in President Nixon’s resignation. The conflict emerged because of a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex, Nixons administrations attempts to conceal this intrusion; the scandal was investigated by the U.S. Congress¹. For this reason, there are numerous primary sources devoted to it.

Main body

The first piece of evidence is the Memorandum of the Department of Justice which outlines reasons for and against pursuing an indictment against Nixon². The given document is an extremely important source as it helps to understand all claims and problematic issues related to the case. The Memorandum states that Richard Nixon obviously participated in the scandal and tried to conceal it³. For this reason, it enumerates factors for and against prosecution.

The second primary source that can be used for the investigation of the case is the typescript of a recording of a meeting between the President and H.R. Haldeman in the oval office⁴. The importance of this piece of evidence is proven by the fact that it was used in the trial. In the conversation, speakers discuss the opportunity to halt the investigation of Watergate by using the CIA as a tool to press the FBI⁵.

Another source is the book by Shepard The real Watergate Scandal. It could be considered an important work that includes all legal documents related to the case and provide a detailed description of all collisions that resulted in the emergence of the conflict, its development, and the Presidents resignation⁶. The author conducts in-depth research of the issue resting on historical documents.

Conclusion

Finally, the book All the Presidents Men could also be used as the primary source as it traces the development of the scandal, its basic stages, and reviews documents related to the given incident. The authors provide an informative description of the most significant political scandal associated with the presidency⁷.

Bibliography

Shepard, Geoff. The Real Watergate Scandal: Collusion, Conspiracy, and the Plot That Brought Nixon Down. Chicago: Regnery History, 2015.

“Transcript of a Recording of a Meeting Between the President and H.R. Haldeman in the Oval Office on June 23, 1972 from 10:04 to 11:30 am.”Nixon Library. 2018. Web.

“Watergate and the Constitution.”National Archives. 2017. Web.

Woodward, Bob and Carl Bernstein. All the President’s Men. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014.

Footnotes

1. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, All the President’s Men (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014), 21.
2. “Watergate and the Constitution,” National Archives, 2017, Web.
3. Ibid.
4. “Transcript of a Recording of a Meeting Between the President and H.R. Haldeman in the Oval Office on June 23, 1972 from 10:04 to 11:30 am,” Nixon Library, Web.
5. Ibid.
6. Geoff Shepard, The Real Watergate Scandal: Collusion, Conspiracy, and the Plot That Brought Nixon Down (Chicago: Regnery History, 2015), 11.
7. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, All the President’s Men (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014), 22.