Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation [CA]

Description

The Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Foundation serves three main functions. First, the Foundation aids in the operation of the presidential library for Richard Nixon. As such, the library offers an enormous amount of documents and information about the Nixon presidency, including all primary sources relevant to the administration. For research access and information, visit http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/, the official website of the Nixon Library. Secondly, the site serves as a historic house museum, and gives visitors a view of Richard Nixon aside from his presidency. Finally, the Foundation helps to raise interest and scholarship in the Nixon presidency by hosting events at the Nixon Library throughout the year.

The site offers an events calendar, a very short virtual tour of the museum, links to the the Nixon presidential library, an event planner, and limited information about current exhibits.

Watergate and the Constitution

Teaser

To indict or not to indict? Watergate raised complicated questions concerning Constitutional interpretation.

lesson_image
Description

Students analyze a primary source document which sets forth points both for and against the indictment of Richard Nixon, before considering Constitutional interpretations of Watergate.

Article Body

The strength of this lesson is that it is centered around a document which presents compelling arguments both for and against the indictment of former President Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. The featured document, a memo to the Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski, was written by Jaworski's staff as he was considering whether or not to indict Nixon.

The memorandum’s language should be accessible to most high school students. Both a copy of the original document and a transcribed version are available.

The question at the center of the lesson is, "Should the Watergate Special Prosecutor seek an indictment of the former President?" If teachers want to make this lesson more of an historical inquiry, we recommend modifying that question to read: "What were the main arguments for and against the indictment of former President Richard Nixon?"

An additional strength of this lesson is two activities that use the Constitution as a lens to understand the Watergate affair. One of the suggested activities asks students to identify the specific role each branch of government played in the Watergate affair. Another activity asks students to apply specific sections of the Constitution and determine the role particular constitutional powers and rights played in the Watergate affair.

This lesson would likely work best after an introductory lesson on Watergate. While there is no formal assessment included in this lesson, the questions presented by the document easily lend themselves to an essay or a discussion.

Topic
Watergate, the Constitution
Time Estimate
1 day
flexibility_scale
3
Rubric_Content_Accurate_Scholarship

Yes
Historical background is detailed and accurate. The document is from The National Archives.

Rubric_Content_Historical_Background

Yes
Th lesson includes background information for teachers and students, as well as a chronology of the Watergate affair.

Rubric_Content_Read_Write

Yes
The lesson is centered around a primary document from the Watergate scandal, and requires students to read the Constitution.

Rubric_Analytical_Construct_Interpretations

Yes
Students are asked to weigh the reasons for and against indicting Nixon.

Rubric_Analytical_Close_Reading_Sourcing

Yes

Rubric_Scaffolding_Appropriate

Yes
The main document is appropriate and accessible for most high school students, as are the teaching activities.

Rubric_Scaffolding_Supports_Historical_Thinking

Yes
The lesson includes the Archives' worksheet for analyzing primary source documents, asking students to consider source and contextual information when interpreting the document.

Rubric_Structure_Assessment

No

Rubric_Structure_Realistic

Yes
The lesson is clearly presented and is easily adapted to emphasize either History or Civic standards.

Rubric_Structure_Learning_Goals

Yes
Appropriate for one class period.

Presidential Recording Program

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Annotation

More than 2,500 hours of White House recordings by six American presidents between 1940 and 1973 are available on this website. Presidents include Franklin Roosevelt (eight hours), Harry Truman (10 hours), Dwight Eisenhower (four and a half hours), John Kennedy (193 hours), Lyndon Johnson (550 hours), and Richard Nixon (2,019 hours). A substantial introduction to each set of recordings is provided and edited transcriptions of the Kennedy tapes are available. "From the Headlines" relates current events to the recordings. Eight exhibits with short scholarly essays feature such topics as the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, Johnson's "War on Poverty," and the Space Race. Additionally, the site presents 16 preselected multimedia clips that include recordings of Kennedy discussing withdrawal from Vietnam, Johnson talking to McNamara about leaks, Johnson discussing women in politics, and Nixon discussing Mark Felt during the Watergate cover-up. The site provides links to more than 40 related articles and links to related presidential libraries, document collections, websites, and articles.

Watergate Revisited

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Annotation

This is a thorough introduction to the Watergate scandal. Created by the Washington Post, the newspaper whose investigative journalism led to President Richard M. Nixon's downfall, the website provides more than 80 relevant news stories. It also offers links to 20 documents—speeches, tape transcriptions, and Nixon's letter of resignation—in the National Archives and the Nixon Library. A detailed timeline links to Post stories, and brief biographies introduce 26 "key players" in various phases of the scandal.

Users may listen to eight audio clips and view 11 video clips, such as Nixon's "I am not a crook" speech, announcement of his resignation, and farewell to his staff as well as John Dean's testimony. The Post's Bob Woodward and Ben Bradlee discuss the scandal in the transcript of a 1997 interview and a video recording of a 2002 forum. The site also includes a link to 20 cartoons by the Post's Herblock, photographs, and an interactive quiz.