What effect did the Watergate scandal have on American politics

Essential American History
Teaching American History Grant
Lessons from the Cold War
Brittany Bowers
Lafayette High School
Document Based Grant Lesson Plan
Nixon Presidential Library
Nixon Presidential Library: The Public’s Perception of President Richard Nixon Before and After the
Watergate Scandal
Essential Questions:
1. How did the Watergate scandal change the American view of politics?
2. How did the Watergate events cause the American people to view the position
of the presidency differently?
3. How did this scandal change the public’s view of Nixon?
Objectives: American History
1. Students will be able to analyze the domestic policies of the Nixon
Administration by using primary source documents.
2. Students will examine the decisions, actions, events of the Watergate affair to
draw conclusions regarding the public’s perception of President Nixon by using
primary source documents.
3. Analyze Primary Source Political Cartoons
4. Exchange information while recognizing bias and multiple points of view.
5. Analyze sources to recognize bias and points of view.
Procedures:
1. Begin by reviewing the basic facts from the previous lesson to ensure that all
students are aware of the overview of the Watergate scandal. This will be
followed by several political cartoons to ensure the students understand the
scandal and events. See Item 1-2
2. The students will discuss the article from Times Magazine in May of 1973
which examines the citizens’ initial opinion of Richard Nixon several months
after the scandal occurred. They will then analyze another article from
November 1973 that revisits these opinions after more details of the
investigations are released to the public. They will formulate ideas/thoughts
about what Americans were thinking during this period of the investigation
and compare it to how they felt just five months later. They will also draw
their own conclusions about how the opinions are directly related to the region
of the United States they live in or the political party to which they were
affiliated. See Item 3-4
3. A short slide show (projected on Smart Board) will then show students that as
of August of 1973 there were many disputed and undisputed facts that were
shedding light on the investigation. Issues such as the money for wiretappers
are examined. This will show students that this was the information given to
the public and will further help them to make their decision on the public
perception. There will also be a Gallup poll from 1973 that reveals Nixon’s
approval ratings of the people compared to several previous presidents.
The graph points out the major crises that occurred during that particular president’s term.
See Item 5 -7
4. After the students have had a chance to work with the documents they will
answer the Document Based Questions examining the conclusions they
have drawn.
Document Based Questions:
9 Using the documents, how did the Watergate scandal change America’s view of politics?
9 Using the primary source documents analyze the American public’s perception of the
presidency after the Watergate Affair.
9 Using the documents, compare and contrast the public’s perception of Nixon before and
after the Watergate affair.
1. A number of primary documents will be used in the lesson, such as political
cartoons, graphs, and articles. Students will complete a document analysis sheet
2.
3.
4.
5.
when analyzing the political cartoons and graphs.
Students will recognize the bias and point of view of the Times Magazine
documents. All media outlets can be slanted to some degree.
What was the intention of Times Magazine when conducting the poll?
Analyze the documents given to find similarities and differences to show how
the citizens’ opinions of Richard Nixon have changed over a period of time?
What personal background can you suggest about the citizens that were
interviewed after reading their remarks? Political party, Religion, Educational
Background, etc.
Teacher Notes:
Students will have a prior knowledge of the Watergate Scandal events from the previous day’s
lesson. This may include a timeline of events and key players, while understanding the basic facts of
the scandal.
The Watergate Special Prosecution Force Memorandum may also be used to show the students the
evidence for indictment or against indictment.
When analyzing the Time articles, students can be arranged in small groups, approximately 3-4
students per group.
Document Based Questions will be given individually and act as a Summative Assessment directly
aligned to the Essential Questions.
Primary Sources Used:
1. Cartoon Analysis Sheet. National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/cartoon_analysis_worksheet.pdf
2. Political Cartoon. Times Magazine. May 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum.
3. Political Cartoon. Times Magazine. May 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum.
4. “How Main Street Views Watergate.” Times Magazine. May 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum.
5. “Main Street Revisited: Changing Views on Watergate.” Times Magazine. November 1973. Richard
Nixon Library and Museum.
6. “Watergate I: The Evidence to Date”. Times Magazine. August 20th, 1973. Richard Nixon Library and
Museum.
7. “Where the Dubios Money Went.” Times Magazine. May 1972. Richard Nixon Library and Museum.
8. “Popularity Highs and Lows.” Times Magazine. December 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum.
Assessment and Scoring Guide:
Skill Not
Assessed.
Uses four or more documents
accurately to formulate ideas
Makes connections between
documents
Cites Documents
Four or more
documents
are used to
formulate
ideas
3
Makes
strong
connections
between
documents
and supports
their
findings
3
Correctly
cites
documents
with all
information
provided
3
Two or Three
documents
are used to
formulate
ideas
2
Makes
connections
between
documents
but needs
more
supporting
details
2
Cites
information
but lacking
some
information
2
One or no
documents
are used to
formulate
ideas
1
Finds little or
no
connection
between
documents
and provides
little support
1
Does not
cite
document
correctly or
lacks
information
1
/3
/3
/3
Bias and Point of View
Prior historical content
Recognizes change over time
Total
Identifies
the
bias/point of
view and
how it
impacts
public
perception
3
Includes
excellent
prior
historical
content to
accurately
support
findings
3
Recognizes a
change of
views over a
period of
time and
documents
those
changes
3
Identifies
bias/point of
view but does
not
understand
how it impacts
public
perception
2
Does not
identify
bias/point of
view and
does not
understand
how it
impacts
public
perception
1
Prior content
is evident but
lacks details
to support
findings
2
Does not
provide prior
historical
content to
support
findings
1
Loosely
recognizes
changes but
does not
support their
findings
2
Does not
find a
change of
views over a
period of
time
1
/3
/3
/3
/18
Item #1:
Taken from Times, 1973
Item #2:
Taken from Times, 1973
Item 3 and Item 4 Main Street Articles
Item 5 Evidence Disputed
Item #6:
Taken from Times, 1973
Item #7:
Taken from Times, 1973
Taken from www.nixonlibrary.gov