 starter activity

1. On 17th June 1972 five intruders were apprehended by the authorities in the offices of the Democratic Party in Washington in the Watergate Building. The moment was caricatured in cartoons and films such as Forest Gump. How serious was the Watergate Scandal? starter activity Describe the picture or source here.

2. Key words: attorney general ‘imperial’ president How scandalous was the Watergate Scandal?  Learning objectives TBAT explain the key events of WC To assess the reputation of Nixon as a president

3.  Your task • Read Walsh, p.394-5 and complete the chart provided. • How far do you agree with this statement by the biographer Fawn Brodie, who specialised in psychological analyses of her subjects, ‘There’s a little bit of Nixon in all of us’

4. Is it too simplistic to describe Nixon as a crook? Study the information from Walsh, p.396 and Pennington p.260. What did Nixon have to say about his own reputation? Read Pennington, p.265

5. A photograph taken on 9th August 1974 from inside the presidential helicopter as it leaves the White House. Draw a picture of yourself and place it over the face of Richard Nixon. What are you thinking? Now place your face over the faces of other key players in this picture and explain to your table what you are thinking.

6. Extension task – watch the portrayal of the work by investigative journalists from the Washington Post, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward in the classic movie on this subject, ‘All the President’s Men’

7. This House believes history has been unfair to the reputation of Richard Nixon.

8. Find out more about ‘-gate’ scandals from recent political history.

9. Key words: attorney general ‘imperial’ president How scandalous was the Watergate Scandal?  Learning objectives TBAT explain the key events of WC To assess the reputation of Nixon as a president