What Was Watergate?

Mr. Beat explains the Watergate scandal.

Produced by Matt Beat. All images and video by Matt Beat, used under fair use guidelines, or found in the public domain. Music by @Electric Needle Room (Mr. Beat's band) and Underbelly & Ty Mayer. Thanks to Steven Beat for helping me with this video!

Sources/further reading:
All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
The Watergate: Inside America's Most Infamous Address by Joseph Rodota

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Watergate is the biggest political scandal in American history. It led to a major setback for the Republican Party, especially as they lost many seats in Congress in the 1974 midterm elections. Watergate dramatically increased cynicism and distrust of the federal government, which had already been on the rise due to its lies revolving around the Vietnam War. #watergate #ushistory #apush

[iammrbeat]

How would Americans respond differently if Watergate happened today?

[PsychoSavager]

As a non-American, I always thought the Watergate scandal came out to the public, and then Nixon resigned shortly afterwards. I didn't realise there were several years and an election in between!

[wglattli]

I was born in 1968 so this happened before I came along. But when I was a teenager, I asked my grandfather, who was a lifelong democrat and followed political news avidly, about his views on this event. He said that, "In my opinion, Nixon did not do anything that previous presidents had not done. He just got caught."

[patrickking]

I had a teacher who was asked what watergate was and he said “a hotel and office complex in Washington DC.” Gotta love that history teacher humor

[gummy]

It's weird learning about this as someone born in the 2000s because I'm listening and I can't truly grasp the significance. Like, corruption and coverups are just something I've grown to expect and even accept.

[gordonhaire]

The security guard removed the tape, and didn't call the cops until he found the locks retaped open. The Watergate scandal made me change my major from psychology to journalism. It changed my life.

[NoahRamseysGhost]

You gotta love how Nixon dropped 2.5 Million tons of bombs on Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, backed and armed Pakistan in the Bangladeshi genocide, and was involved in numerous coups and regime changes in Latin America, (including Pinochet’s regime, which imprisoned, tortured and killed 40, 000+ people) but he’s only remembered as bad for this.

[mrl]

I remember back in 1992 there was joke by NPR that said Nixon was running for reelection. His slogan was "I didnt do anything wrong, and I wont do it again"

[zacharyparker]

Amazing to me that Wills was only 24 at the time he discovered the break in. He had the wisdom to know something weird was going on and the composure to do the right thing about it. If it wasn't for him, Nixon might've gotten away with it.

[cryingemoji]

My mom told me that the watergate scandal was the only thing she ever saw make her dad cry. She was watching him while he looked at the tv screen and he looked at her with tears in his eyes and said, “Lisa… we can’t trust our government anymore.” To hear a story like that about my hard ass militaristic grandfather was pretty jarring. I never met him but my mom stressed that he’d never question the government before that time

[vizzraak]

17:10 ah yes, the system of checks and balances worked seamlessly. Nixon was able to escape all legal recourse by simply stepping down, allowing his own vice president to give him a full pardon. I sure am glad this executive branch power to pardon whoever you want isn't ridiculously overpowered.

[MomentsInTrading]

I was 7 when this happened. One thing that cannot be understated was how much this changed the public view and trust of government.

[JJMcCullough]

Along with "All the Presidents' Men, " another good, and often forgotten film about Watergate is Oliver Stone's "Nixon" starring Anthony Hopkins. Although if I recall correctly, it also implies the 18 minute gap has something to do with Nixon knowing about the Kennedy assassination.

[matthewdrews]

Honestly, the greatest part of this story for me is the investigative reporting by Woodward and Bernstein.

[levi-ymjv]

Who ever named the sub oceangate is some kind of prophet

[ChevailerHere]

"Water-Gate is arguably the biggest political scandal in American history" the timing of this video being months before the Jan 6th Commission is too perfect

[barbarakiewe]

Seems so quaint by today's standards. It seems like something similar happens everyday now and the public is just like "yawn". The only difference I see is the politicians today say "oh I disputed that so it's debunked" and the press is just like "oh, okay". The press's dereliction of duty is most likely what will ultimately be the cause of America's demise

[leftyguitarist]

The funny thing is that the break-in was completely unnecessary since the 1972 primaries were a 3 way tie between George McGovern (who only won Massachusetts), George Wallace (wouldn't've done much better than he did in 1968), and Hubert Humphrey (who would've held his own but still likely would've lost to Nixon).

[mrsnufflegums]

Watergate is huge, I'm studying law and I don't think I've had a semester where we haven't discussed Watergate since fall 2020. Apparently Barry Goldwater told Nixon that the votes for impeachment were there in the Senate the day before Nixon's resignation, by a long shot from members of both parties.

[onlythingtofearis]

As a non-American kid I thought that Watergate was a scandal relating to a water dam