One of the biggest scandals in US political history, Watergate had far-reaching consequences beyond the presidency of Richard Nixon and his subsequent resignation. The depth of the US president’s involvement in illegal activities shocked the nation and drove the government to take stringent measures against the president. Public perception of the government was changed forever as a result of the scandal, and it affected subsequent presidential elections.
Watergate in a Nutshell
The Watergate Scandal was not just one event, but a series of incidents. It started with a burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office building in Washington DC on June 17, 1972.
Investigations discovered that Nixon and his administration had been involved in the break-in, and he had ordered a cover-up, subsequently impeding further investigations into the incident.
Voice recordings from the Oval Office emerged, proving Nixon’s guilt in the attempt to cover-up the crimes, and the House Judiciary Committee began impeachment proceedings. Faced with this, Nixon resigned his post as president on August 9, 1974.
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What Changed Following the Watergate Scandal?
The Watergate Scandal caused widespread loss of faith in the US government, and reforms were introduced to restore this faith. Of major concern was the surfacing of information in connected investigations which proved the FBI had been spying on US citizens. This caused irreparable damage to the relationship between the government and US citizens, and there still exists a certain level of distrust to this day.
In the immediate aftermath, the Republican Party was hit hard. Following Nixon’s resignation, the Democrats gained five seats in the senate and 49 in the House. President Ford also pardoned Nixon, and this is thought to have contributed to his defeat in the 1976 Presidential Election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
The Watergate Scandal prompted widespread investigations of the US government. Findings were not just localized to the scandal. Irregularities and red flags were found everywhere. It was discovered that the government administrations had declared the US to be in a state of emergency since the 1950s, allowing the government to do things that it usually wouldn’t be permitted to do. In response to this, Congress enacted the National Emergencies Act in 1976 to curb such declarations.
Changes in Power Dynamics
Of importance was the fact that the president had, for decades, been exercising executive power that skirted the scrutiny of the Supreme Court. Watergate prompted this to be rectified. The Supreme Court subsequently took much greater interest in the presidential administration—a dynamic that still exists.
The scandal also had a huge impact on the legal profession, as many of those implicated in the scandal were lawyers. After Watergate, the American Bar Association instituted a code of responsibility, and most legal schools now include compulsory courses on legal responsibility.
In addition, legislation was passed that amended campaign financing, and required more transparency between parties and the US public.
The two journalists who uncovered the scandal, Bob Woodward, and Carl Bernstein, became famous. This led to an era of celebrity journalism, and today there are many journalists far more famous than the stories they present to the US public.
While the specifics of Watergate might not be well-known to many, the term “Watergate” certainly is. The scandal also influenced the English language. The suffix “-gate” is now commonly applied to any political scandal, and is in use across the world.
