Watergate: Nixon's Downfall

1. How were the "plumbers" connected to President Nixon?
The plumbers were a covert white house special investigations unit created during Nixon's presidency. They were supposed to stop information from being leaked to the press, and the members were involved in illegal activities such as the watergate break-in.

2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?
The judge was John Sirica, and he handed out maximum sentences so that the possibility of reduction of the sentences would coherse people into talking.

3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
Dean was connected to Nixon because Nixon tried to force him to resign after watergate, and he refused to. He testified against Nixon and said that he was part of the coverup. Mitchell was connected to Nixon because he was the US Attorney General under Nixon, and he served as his campain manager from '68-'72. He was the first attorney general ever to be convicted of criminal activities.


4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
Haldeman was Nixons advances in the campaign and he named him his chief of staff. He kept a diary of his experiences day to day in the white house under Nixon. Him and Erlichman were supposed to keep others away from Nixon, and they were his most trusted aids during his presidency.


5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?

a. Dean told the senate that nixon had a part in the coverup.

b. Butterfield told the senate that everything was taped when Nixon was present which showed that he was trying to cover up the tapes.


6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?
Archibald Cox was dismissed and Elliot Richardson and William Ruckelshaus were forced to resign.

7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?
Investigators werent satisfied with the transcripts

8. What did the tapes reveal?


9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?
Vice President Spiro Angew resigned because of criminal charges. He was allowed to plead no contest to not listing almost 30,000 dollars of income, on the condition that he resign from office.

10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?

11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?