1. Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

2. Paranoid Politics – all about getting reelected
Nixon had an “enemies list” – list of people who objected to his policies and was “out to get” him.
Ordered tax audits on antiwar protestors and civil rights activists
Fired people in appointed positions within the government
Time of suspicion and espionage, especially in light of the Cold War tensions (“spies in the govt.”)
1970- the Civil Service Commission admitted to having a Security Investigations Index with other 10 million entries
The armed forces revealed surveillance of Americans involved in anti-Vietnam War activities
Excessive use of government power to wiretap or otherwise investigate the activities of citizens that the administration felt were at odds with its policies.

3. The Pentagon Papers and Government
On June 13, 1971, the New York Times began publishing installments of the "Pentagon Papers," a 7,000 page document about American involvement in Southeast Asia from the end of World War II to the mid 1960s.
The leaked documents cast doubt on the justification for entry into the war and revealed that senior government officials had serious misgivings about the war.
When The New York Times and The Washington Post began to publish the Pentagon Papers, the Nixon administration sued them and tried to block further publication of the papers.
Attorney General John Mitchell obtained a temporary injunction against The New York Times.
Other papers picked up the series, until June 30, when the Supreme Court rejected the government's request for a permanent injunction and ruled that the newspapers could continue to publish the documents.
This was seen as an attempt by Richard Nixon to restrict public information, partly through government control of broadcast stations owned by newspapers.

4. The White House Plumbers
After the release of the Pentagon Papers, the White House created a unit to ensure internal security.
This unit was called the “Plumbers” because they stopped leaks.
In 1971 the Plumbers burglarized the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, seeking material to discredit him.
It was later revealed that Nixon’s domestic advisor John Ehrlichman knew of and approved the plan.
Howard Hunt
G. Gordon Liddy
James McCord
Chuck Colson

5. 1972: Nixon Runs for Reelection
Nixon was a popular president by the end of his 1st term.
CREEP: The Committee to Reelect the President
His domestic policies reduced gov’t spending & revitalized middle-class, conservative, & Southern voters
His foreign policies led to the end of an unpopular war in Vietnam and détente with the USSR and China.