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Watergate and All the President’s Men
A
Lesson Plan for Secondary Educators
Created
by Chris Shaw, SED 741 2003-2004
I.
Topic:
The Watergate scandal which culminated in Richard Nixon’s resignation
from the post of President of the
II.
Themes: 1)
III.
California Standards: 11th
grade: 11.11 Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy
issues in contemporary American society in terms of: (3) the constitutional
crisis originating from the Watergate scandal.
IV.
Organization and Timeline: This lesson
should take a week and includes two question/discussion portions, a lecture,
screening of a film, and an evaluation homework assignment.
V. Resources:
Needed for this lesson are: Television footage of Nixon’s resignation, and the
film All the President’s Men,
VI.
Introductory Hook
Television footage should
be shown of Nixon’s resignation.
Students should be made to understand that the lesson to be taught
focuses on events that lead to the resignation of an American President in
1974. It should be explained that two no
name reporters were responsible for gathering and exposing much of the evidence
that contributed to Nixon’s resignation.
Students should be asked how these facts and the footage makes them
feel. They also should be asked whether
they have any comments on the expected behavior of presidents and the
press. Students write down these
feelings and it should be explained that opinions on these issues will be again
asked for at the end of the lesson.
VII.
Lesson Content.
A. The class should be involved from the beginning
of the lesson by posing a few questions.
1. The class should first
be asked if they know anything about Watergate, Woodward and Bernstein, Nixon, or
any other related topics.
2.The class should also be asked if there is anything
they would like to know or have wondered about regarding these topics. References to prior class coverage of Nixon,
such has the 1960 presidential election, should be made.
3. All responses should be
written down where they can be seen by the class and should all be covered in
the lesson. If any discussion develops
it should be encouraged to continue.
B. Background information on Watergate and the film
is necessary prior to watching All the
President’s Men.
1. Republican Richard
Nixon was elected to the presidency of the
2. The
most famous of these acts was the attempt to plant surveillance devices in the
headquarters of the Democratic National Committee located in the
3. While most of the
country would never have implicated Nixon’s administration and party in the
break in, two junior reporters for the Washington Post, one of the most read
newspapers in the country at the time, went after these men.
4. Bob Woodward and Carl
Bernstein were the two Washington Post reporters. With
the help of the Washington Post’s Editor in Chief Ben Bradlee
and an anonymous White House source known only as “Deep Throat” Woodward and
Bernstein investigated the burglary and began the process, which was completed
by the US Congress, of exposing Nixon and his associates.
5. When all was said and
done, 30 of Nixon’s closest advisors, including two former attorney generals,
were convicted of crimes stemming from Watergate and other illegal
activity. Of the individuals convicted, nearly half served jail sentences. Richard Nixon resigned following a suggestion
by the US House of Representatives to impeach him on three counts. Gerald Ford, Nixon’s Vice President, became
president following Nixon’s resignation.
Ford promptly used his power of Presidential powers to pardon Nixon of
all wrongdoing.
C. Following presentation of background information,
the movie should be shown.
1. Showing the movie will take two+ class
periods. Prior to the movie being shown
the class should be introduced to the Director Alan J. Pakula,
Actors Robert Redford (Bob Woodward) Dustin Hoffman (Carl Bernstein), and Jason
Robards Jr. (Ben Bradlee). They should also be informed that the movie
was filmed in 1976.
2. There are a number of
questions that can be posed at this point.
These are not questions that should be written down during the
screening, as the students should be allowed to give their full attention to movie. However, the questions should be written on
the board and briefly discussed prior to the viewing. These questions are:
a. How did President Nixon
and his associates violate the
b. Do Woodward and
Bernstein do the right thing in working to expose and eventually contributing
to the resignation of a
c. What Comparisons can be
made between Nixon’s impeachment and that of Andrew Johnson in 1868. Explain Johnson’s
acquittal by one vote and how simply opposing congress can result in
impeachment of a President.
d. Should Nixon have been
impeached (explain impeachment) and why?
Compare and contrast Nixon’s actions to those of President Bill Clinton
in the Monica Lewinski affair. Which actions
were more serious and why? A brief
overview of the Lewinski affair may be necessary.
e. Should a President be
able to be impeached for an offense that an ordinary citizen cannot be arrested
for?
3. The movie can become
very confusing because there are so many people that are investigated and
interviewed and because the investigation process moves so fast at times (not
to mention that Dustin Hoffman is very difficult to understand and the movie is
over twenty five years old. To keep
students interested it is necessary to outline the different names and agencies
involved in the movie.
4. It is important to stop
the movie a few times if students look confused or begin to lose interest,
because this could be a sign that they are becoming overwhelmed.
5. Following the movie, a
few moments of reflection on the movie and the posed questions should be
given. A discussion should then take
place. Students should be asked to take
a stance on the questions. There is a
possibility that the class may have split opinions on one of the issues if this
is the case then a mock debate could take place. Students should always be encouraged to
discuss how such issues and questions apply to them personally. Reference to the original reaction sheets
should be made at this point.
VIII.
Conclusion:
The Watergate affair and
the film, All the President’s Men express in clear terms the very real
possibility of high ranking public officials involving themselves in extremely
immoral activity. Sometimes this
activity can even violate the tenants our nation was founded on. This event teaches us that we can never
blindly assume that our federal government is incapable of corruption. The effects of such behavior are powerfully
damaging to a nation and discussion of them is important.
The responsibility that
our nation’s press has to inform its readers, viewers, and listeners of such
activity is of paramount importance.
They are the effective go-between for the government and the people of a
nation. The Watergate affair expresses this
point very clearly. If the American
people did not find out about such an event, then the will of the people with
regard to the election of a president would be compromised. These are fascist actions.
IX.
Evaluation
As assessment for this lesson,
students should discuss whether they feel that President George W. Bush has
been accountable to the will of the people since being elected? Was his election questionable with regard to
our nation’s Democratic Values? Has he
been honest to the American people, and does this affect our democratic
process. What do you think about the way
the press has covered the major events of Bush’s term as President (9/11,
Material © 2003 Chris Shaw,
All Rights Reserved.
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