The Watergate Scandal’s Sources and Documents Essay

Introduction

The first document is the Memorandum of the Department of Justice which is devoted to the Watergate scandal and outlines issues that can be used either to protect or to punish Nixon and pursue an indictment against him¹. In the paper, a special committee cogitates about points against and for the punishment. For instance, the probable political division in the country, difficulties with a fair trial, and the Presidents resignation are considered factors against the procedure². At the same time, members of the committee provide issues for indictment which include the necessity of fair punishment regardless of the status, the further division of the country by Nixon, the need for sufficient retribution, etc.³ This discussion was fundamental to the process as it revolved around the most important issues in the scandal. In such a way, the document becomes critical to the investigation of the case and its impact on the political society of the USA.

Main body

The second document is a typescript of a recording of a meeting between the President and H.R. Haldeman in the oval office⁴. The given source is an extremely important piece of evidence proving an apparent abuse of power by the President. The typescript reveals the dialogue between President Nixon and the White House Chief of Staff Haldeman about the opportunities to use the CIA as one of the tools in concealing the scandal in Watergate⁵. The speakers are sure that the CIA can be used to make the FBI stop an investigation or provide false conclusions⁶. Regardless of the fact that there was no legal basis for these acts, the President and Haldeman were sure that it would help to improve the situation and avoid punishment for the abuse of power and inappropriate actions against the Democratic Party in Watergate.

The book by Shepard The real Watergate Scandal also provides an in-depth investigation of the given event. The author uses credible historical documents as the basis for his cogitations about the real causes and consequences of the scandal. The book reveals hidden motifs of all parties to the conflict. For instance, having conducted archival research, Shepard provides credible evidence of a secret arrangement between the Watergate special prosecutors and judges in criminal trials⁷. He proves that the Presidents resignation was inevitable because of the use of diverse tools to bear pressure upon all participants⁸. Moreover, the author manages to find new facts that demonstrate unknown aspects of the Watergate scandal and explains to readers all peculiarities that resulted in the emergence of the greatest conflict within the political environment of the USA which altered the central patterns of power distribution.

Conclusion

Woodward and Bernstein in their book All the President Men also delve into the Watergate scandal. The authors start the description of the given event from the burglary at Democratic headquarters and the way it impacted the further development of the situation in the state⁹. Additionally, using historical documents and newspapers devoted to the scandal, they create the full image of the conflict and its impact on the U.S. society of that period of time. At the same time, the book suggests another perspective on the problem by revealing unknown motifs of all participants of the given opposition and their actions that affected its specific resolution. For this reason, it remains one of the sources recommended to investigate the basic peculiarities of the Watergate scandal, its hidden motifs, and how it evolved.

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. “Watergate and the Constitution,” National Archives, Web.
2. Ibid.
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. Ibid.
7. Geoff Shepard, The Real Watergate Scandal: Collusion, Conspiracy, and the Plot That Brought Nixon Down (Chicago: Regnery History, 2015), 10
8. Ibid., 11.
9. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, All the President’s Men (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014), 22.