While we did learn quite a few about the mechanics and overall reasoning behind the Watergate Scandal, we never really touched base on the impacts it had, other than President Nixon resigning.
Not surprisingly, the immediate impact was that it greatly hurt the Republican Party's reputation and also undermined the people's faith in government. In fact, the growing disillusionment and lack of faith in the government that we continue to see today can be linked back to this scandal. Additionally, Watergate immediately led to attempts to make the government more transparent and to limit the presidential power. Three major federal open-record reforms were passed in response to Watergate: the Government in Sunshine Act (1976), the Ethics in Government Act (1978), and the Presidential Records Act (1978). The Sunshine Act required government agencies, with exempt cases, to conduct all meetings open to the public. The Ethics in Government Act required public officials to disclose their financial and employment histories and to create restrictions on lobbying. The Presidential Records Act required preservation of all presidential records and documents. Congress also passed the War Power Act in 1973 to limit the president's power to wage war.
So overall the Watergate scandal damaged the government's reputation, especially the Republican's image. This blow to the Republicans and later on when Ford pardoned Nixon, ultimately helps Carter, an outsider and a democrat, come to office. The Watergate scandal also shed some new light to the people, who realized that their government was not the all trustworthy government they had thought it to be. This brought upon a wave reforms trying to curb the power of the government and the president himself. But even with reforms enacted, how can people be sure there's no "shady" action still going on?
Nice post Oliver! The Watergate Scandal also proved the effectiveness of the system of checks and balances. It showed that this system was not just something written in the Constitution, but something that could actually function to force a president out of power. The Watergate scandal highlighted the many safeguards built into the American Constitution to limit the power of the executive branch when necessary.
ReplyDeleteThough, as Chelsea said, the Watergate Scandal proved that presidents could in fact be impeached, I think it served more as a wakeup call for the American people. It demonstrated that it was possible to elect a president with ill intentions, and that, in some cases impeachment was necessary. The idea of overthrowing a tyrant was no longer theoretical to the Americans, as they got a glimpse of the deceit of politics.
ReplyDeleteNice post Oliver. To answer your question, I think that people need to be ever vigilant, because in the end, the main thing keeping the government in check is the population from which they derive their power. Take a look at the Arab Spring for an example of this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/2011/12/17/143897126/the-arab-spring-a-year-of-revolution