Watergate Complex

(noun)

A group of five buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. in the United States; headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in 1972.

Related Terms

Examples of Watergate Complex in the following topics:

  • Watergate

    • Despite attempts at secrecy, the activities were exposed after five men were caught breaking into Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972.
    • After two attempts to break into the Watergate Complex failed, on May 17, Liddy's team placed wiretaps on the telephones of Lawrence O'Brien, the Chairman of the Democratic Convention, and R.
    • Shortly after 1:00 am on June 17, 1972, Frank Wills, a security guard at the Watergate Complex, noticed tape covering the latch on several doors in the complex, allowing the doors to close but remain unlocked.
    • Hearing of the incident at the Watergate complex, the Washington Post started publishing a series of articles probing the link between the burglary and the Nixon administration.
    • Despite his substantial lead in the polls, President Nixon was paranoid enough on the cusp of the 1972 election to authorize a burglary of Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Apartment Complex on May 28th and June 17th.

  • The Nixon Administration

    • However, Nixon resigned before the end of his term on August 9, 1974 amidst a scandal that came to be known as Watergate.
    • On June 17, Nixon was implicated in the burglary of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate complex, and he became the only president in American history to resign.

  • Conclusion: Political Crises in the 70s and 80s

    • Even before his landslide victory, however, evidence had surfaced that the White House was involved in the break-in at the Democratic National Convention’s headquarters at the Watergate office complex.
    • His successor, Gerald Ford, was unable to solve the pressing problems the United States faced or erase the stain of Watergate.
    • At his inauguration in January 1977, President Jimmy Carter began his speech by thanking outgoing president Gerald Ford for all he had done to “heal” the scars left by Watergate.

  • The Effects of Watergate

    • As a result of the Watergate Scandal and Nixon's impeachment hearings, the public lost faith and trust in politicians and elected officials.
    • The impact of the Watergate scandal was intense and far-reaching.
    • Fallout from Watergate led to Democratic victories in the mid-term elections of 1974, in which Democrats gained five seats in the Senate and 49 in the House.
    • Johnson, a professor of journalism at Southern Illinois University, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger predicted during Nixon's final days that history would remember Nixon as a great president and that Watergate would be relegated to a "minor footnote. " In fact, Watergate overshaddows the rest of Nixon's presidency in the memory of many Americans.
    • Examine the far-reaching effects of the Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation.

  • The Cover-Up and the Unraveling

    • In early 1973, the Senate voted to hold hearings on the Watergate break-in.
    • However, one of the new tapes, recorded soon after the break-in, demonstrated that Nixon had been told of the White House connection to the Watergate burglaries soon after they took place, and had approved plans to thwart the investigation.
    • In a statement accompanying the release of the "Smoking Gun Tape"on August 5, 1974, Nixon accepted blame for misleading the country about when he had been told of the truth behind the Watergate break-in, stating that he had a lapse of memory.
    • Nixon attempted a cover-up of his involvement in the Watergate break-in.

  • The Election of 1976

    • The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard Nixon and subsequent inauguration of Vice President Gerald Ford into the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
    • Because many voters found Carter's framing attractive in the wake of the Watergate scandal, it ultimately led to Carter's advantage.
    • Ford, although personally unconnected with Watergate, was seen by many as too close to the discredited Nixon administration; Ford himself provided further support for this opinion when he granted Nixon a presidential pardon for any crimes he might have committed during his term of office.

  • Party Identification

    • For example, a child growing up in the 1970s would associate the Republican party with the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration, a child growing up in the 1990s would associate the Democratic party with the sex scandal of the Clinton administration, or a child growing up in early 2000 would associate the Republican party with the Iraq War and the War on Terror.
    • For example, a child growing up in the 1970s would associate the Republican party with the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration, a child growing up in the 1990s would associate the Democratic party with the sex scandal of the Clinton administration, or a child growing up in early 2000 would associate the Republican party with the Iraq War and the War on Terror.

  • Checks and Balances

    • One of the more famous recent pardons was granted by President Gerald Ford to former President Richard Nixon on September 8, 1974, for official misconduct which gave rise to the Watergate scandal.
    • One of the more famous recent pardons was granted by President Gerald Ford to former President Richard Nixon on September 8, 1974, for official misconduct that gave rise to the Watergate scandal .

  • The Party in Government

    • Mainly in part due to the Watergate scandal which has popularized the idea that a divided government is a beneficial for the country.

  • The Supreme Court as Policy Makers

    • Nixon (1974) to surrender the Watergate tapes.