The document summarizes the legacy of the Watergate scandal and the presidency of Gerald Ford. It discusses how (1) Watergate led to Nixon's resignation and restored faith in the rule of law, (2) it affected the 1976 election where distrust of government helped elect Jimmy Carter, and (3) Ford granted Nixon a full pardon to heal the nation despite backlash.

1. The Legacy of Watergate
&
The “Accidental President”

2. Watergate
• Five burglars broke into the
Democratic National Headquarters in
the Watergate building on June 17,
1972.
• They were eventually linked to the
Committee to Re-elect the President
(CRP) and to the top levels of
American government.
• The attempted cover-up of the break-
in ultimately led to President Nixon’s
Watergate Hotel complex dramatic resignation on August 9,
1974.

3. The Legacy of Watergate #1
The Constitution is upheld
• The System works
• “We are a government of
laws, not men”
– Gerald Ford (quoting John
Adams)
• Dozens of Administration
officials will go to jail
• Richard Nixon will resign
in disgrace

4. President Nixon’s Resignation
Nixon’s Resignation (Part 1) Nixon’s Resignation (Part 2)

5. The Legacy of Watergate #2
The Effect of Watergate Itself on the Next Election
• The election of 1976:
• Gerald Ford Republican
– Baggage of the Pardon
– The Fall of South Vietnam
• Jimmy Carter Democrat
– “Make the American Government as Good as the
American People”
– “Clean up” American intelligence operations

6. The Legacy of Watergate #3
The Relationship between the People
and their Government
• Distrust of :
• Government in general
• Public Officials in particular
• Unquestioning patriotism
Vietnam Era Slogan
“America : Love it or Leave it”
is no longer quite so prevalent

7. The Legacy of Watergate #4
Inquiries into other activities of the government
1. Senate “Church Committee Hearings” study
covert activities
(Not merely spying, but sabotage, political
disruption, creating rumors, assassination)
– Illegal wiretapping of US citizens by CIA
– Attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro - Cuba
– Hiring mafia hitmen and informants
– Assassination of Salvador Allende - Chile
– CIA experiments with LSD

8. The Legacy of Watergate #4
Inquiries into other activities of the government
2. FBI
• smear campaign against MLK
• FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s “dossiers”
3. The Tuskegee Study of untreated syphilis
4. Energy Department & DOD studies on the
effects of radiation
(soldiers and children)
5. DOD studies on spread of airborne diseases

9. The Legacy of Watergate #4
Inquiries into other activities of the government
6. After Watergate, Congress passes the
Independent Counsel Law
– Creates an Office of the Independent Council
when the Attorney General determines there is
“credible and convincing evidence that a crime
has been committed” by the president or his
associates, cabinet members or other high
executive branch officials

10. The Watergate Legacy #5
The incredible becomes believable
• The CIA assassinated JFK
• The FBI assassinated MLK
• The FBI assassinated Malcolm X
• The CIA sold drugs in American cities to
finance covert activities OR as a genocidal
plot against African Americans
• The CDC (or the military) created the AIDS
virus as a genocidal plot against African
Americans

11. The Watergate Legacy #5
The incredible becomes believable
• NASA knows about the ruins of ancient alien
civilizations on Mars, the moon, etc.
• The military has a downed alien spacecraft and is
“backward engineering” it
• Bill Clinton ordered the murder of political
opponents while governor of Arkansas
• The “New World Order” is a secret plan to turn
over sovereignty of the US to the UN
• The Bush family allowed the 9-11 bombing in
order to make oil profits
• President Obama is a Muslim who plans to hand
over the U.S. when al-Qaeda asks

12. The Watergate Legacy #5
The incredible becomes believable
Two contradictory forces acting on two separate
groups of people:
1. Some become willing to believe anything.
A. Scandals lose their power to shock us.
B. We gullibly accept outrageous charges
as true about politicians we do not like.
Put together we conclude -
“All politicians are like that”
What is the effect on democracy?

13. The Watergate Legacy #5
The incredible becomes believable
Two contradictory forces acting on two separate
groups of people:
2 . We hear the most bizarre ideas/ plots and they
become easy to dismiss
For group #2 the result is:
• All conspiracy theorists are viewed as
crackpots and untrustworthy.
• Even when they are telling us the truth.
What is the effect on democracy?

14. The Watergate Legacy #5
The incredible becomes believable
When the incredible becomes believable the
political system is threatened
1. Informed and dedicated citizens become
cynical about necessary policy.
2. Rejection of being an informed and
dedicated citizen.
• not voting
• not paying attention to policy issues
What is the effect on democracy?

15. The Watergate Legacy #6
The relationship between national leaders & the
media
The relationship
between the
media and
national leaders
became more
combative,
confrontational,
and intrusive.

16. President Ford
• August 9, 1974, Gerald Ford assumed the
presidency making him the only person to
assume the vice-presidency and the
presidency without having been voted into
either office.
• Immediately after taking the oath of office,
he spoke to the assembled audience in a
Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th President of speech broadcast live to the nation.
the United States by Chief Justice Warren Burger
in the White House East Room.
“I am acutely aware that you have not elected me
as your president by your ballots, and so I ask
you to confirm me as your president with your
prayers.”

17. Policy of Openness
• Ford came into office wanting to create an
open exchange between the press and the
White House.
– He planned to hold press conferences
every three weeks.
– He moved his press briefings to the
Grand Hallway of the White House
Gerald Ford, 1974-1977 instead of the traditional location in
front of a blue, imperial backdrop.
– He hired Jerald terHorst to be his press
secretary. He was a member of the press
and the reporters were comfortable with
his honesty.

18. Ford’s First Press Conference
• Ford came into his first press conference with
high hopes and expectations that he could answer
questions about the economy, foreign policy, and
the new directions that he would take the
country.
• He was asked many questions about the economy
and foreign policy.
• He was also asked several questions about Nixon,
a potential pardon, and what he planned to do
with Nixon’s tapes.
• Ford was angry after the press conference
because he felt the press only wanted to focus on
Nixon.
• Ford was very intent on healing the nation and
wanted to shut the book on Nixon for good.

19. President Ford
Ford Pardons Nixon

20. The “Accidental President”

21. Press Reactions
• Press reaction to pardon was negative primarily but not totally negative.
• The Washington Post and New York Times were very vocal in their
opposition to the pardon.
• Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, Shreveport Journal, Charleston
News and Courier, and the Birmingham News ran favorable stories on
the pardon.
• International newspapers: Fiagro of Paris, Aftenpostem of Oslo, Daily
Mail of London, Daily Express of London, and the Financial Times of
London all were supportive of the pardon.

22. Congressional Reactions
• Congress, as a whole, was
against the pardon.
– Democrats were more vocal
than Republicans.
• Congress also acted by
passing Senate Resolution
401.
– Advised Ford not to pardon any
other Watergate defendants.

23. Why did Ford pardon Nixon?
• Ford was obsessed with healing the Nation.
• August 28, 1974 Press Conference angered Ford and he
wanted to clear Nixon out of the picture.
– Ford had a tendency to get angry and come to rushed
decisions.
• Ford did not think Americans could focus on economy
and real issues while hearing about Nixon’s trial.

24. Ford’s Presidency
• President Ford granted a full pardon to Richard Nixon for any
crimes he may have committed against the U.S.
• Ford tried to cut government spending to curb inflation but the
Democratic Congress passed many spending bills against his
wishes.
• In foreign affairs, Ford continued the policy of détente and kept
Kissinger as secretary of state.
• Ford won his party’s nomination after a close struggle with
former California governor Ronald Reagan.

25. 1976 Election
Ford was blamed for the slow economy
and he paid a political price for his
pardon of Nixon.
Jimmy Carter ran as a Washington
“outsider” and reformer and won a
narrow victory.