WATERGATE SCANDAL

ETHICAL DILEMMAFrancisco Ramírez A00812234

Sofía Elosúa A01175220

Mariana de la Garza a00802026

CONTEXT

When was it? June 17, 1972.

What was it? A political scandal that occurred in the United States.

Principal actors. CIA, FBI, IRS, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, William

Mark Felt and Nixon’s administration.

What is “Watergate”? A term used to describe a political scandal in the

USA between 1972 and 1974. The word specifically refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.

DEVELOPMENT

Richard Milhous Nixon became the nation’s 37th President on January 20, 1969.

These series of events happened at the time of Nixon's re-election campaign.

In June 17, 1972 there was a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.

Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement.

The affair began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972.

The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, the official organization of Nixon's campaign.

In July 1973, as evidence mounted against the president's staff, including testimony provided by former staff members, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices and he had recorded many conversations.

DEVELOPMENT

After a series of court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators.

Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing he had attempted to cover up what had taken place after the break-in.

The House of Representatives and the Senate were about to charge Nixon with misconduct in office.

Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974.

Gerald Ford became the 38th President of the United States when Nixon resigned

President Ford then issued a pardon to him on September 8, 1974.

ETHICAL ISSUES

Obstruction of justice: The president denied for a long time

his involvement in the break-in taken place at the Watergate hotel.

Abuse of power: Nixon and his team used his political

power to steal information from the opponent’s party.

Contempt of Congress: Obstructing the work of the United

States Congress

CONCLUSION

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln

“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.” David Brin

REFERENCES

Hosansky, David. Eyewitness To Watergate : A Documentary History For Students. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 6 Feb. 2014