Big Picture Theme : To what extent did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?
Overview:
Under Nixon, the office of the President became more powerful, threatening the balance among the three branches of government. Although Nixon used presidential powers chiefly in foreign affairs, he also expanded them for his own purposes at home. Although he projected a new image during the 1968 campaign, the specter of the ruthless Richard Nixon of his early career haunted the White House. His time in office became known as the "imperial presidency."
The public disclosure of Richard Nixon's involvement of the Watergate scandal culminated in his resignation from office in 1974. It also led Congress and the Supreme Court to reassert itself and their constitutional powers. Although confidence in the government was shaken by Watergate, the Bicentennial, or the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution in 1976 was cause for celebration.
In the wake of the Watergate crisis, Nixon's successors, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter both tried to restore the image and sense of trust in the Presidency. However, by the mid-1970s, an economic recession bred from the costs of the Great Society and the Vietnam War, drastically effected the mood of the American people and caused an overall distrust and lack of confidence in the government.
World events by the end of the 1970s pushed the United States towards a new kind of conservatism that called for large increase in military spending and cutting waste and fraud in government. These set of circumstances led to the landslide victory of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and the rise of the New Right.
Under Nixon, the office of the President became more powerful, threatening the balance among the three branches of government. Although Nixon used presidential powers chiefly in foreign affairs, he also expanded them for his own purposes at home. Although he projected a new image during the 1968 campaign, the specter of the ruthless Richard Nixon of his early career haunted the White House. His time in office became known as the "imperial presidency."
The public disclosure of Richard Nixon's involvement of the Watergate scandal culminated in his resignation from office in 1974. It also led Congress and the Supreme Court to reassert itself and their constitutional powers. Although confidence in the government was shaken by Watergate, the Bicentennial, or the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution in 1976 was cause for celebration.
In the wake of the Watergate crisis, Nixon's successors, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter both tried to restore the image and sense of trust in the Presidency. However, by the mid-1970s, an economic recession bred from the costs of the Great Society and the Vietnam War, drastically effected the mood of the American people and caused an overall distrust and lack of confidence in the government.
World events by the end of the 1970s pushed the United States towards a new kind of conservatism that called for large increase in military spending and cutting waste and fraud in government. These set of circumstances led to the landslide victory of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and the rise of the New Right.
The Nixon Years 1968-1974
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