I. Political Turmoil Objective 11.06: Identify political events and the actions and reactions of the government officials and citizens, and assess the social and political consequences

A. Assassinations From 1963-1968, several major leaders were shot and killed: President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X Robert Kennedy: JFK’s brother, ran for President in 1968. Was doing well in his campaign, but he was assassinated as well. Impact: Fear from the American people; they didn’t know what to believe about who was responsible. More Red Scare.

B. Violent Protests Protests broke out at the 1968 National Democratic Convention in Chicago. About 10,000 protestors vs. police officers 200 people injured from the violence. Protesters wanted to end the Vietnam war and were upset by the recent assassinations. Impact: Everyone watched this on TV and didn’t trust the Democrats.

C. Election of 1968 Richard Nixon (Republican) wins easily. What have we learned about Nixon before? Détente – foreign policy of easing tensions.

D. Watergate Scandal 1972: Nixon is running for re-election Members of his campaign broke into the Democratic Party’s headquarters in the Watergate building and are arrested. The White House and Nixon panic, begins to cover up burglary. The cover-up unravels when Mark Felt form the FBI leaks information about the burglary to newspapers – Bob Woodward and the Washington Post

D. Watergate Scandal Senate committee led by Senator Sam Ervin (NC) got confessions from White House employees about the scandal. Wanted to get recordings of Nixon’s meetings in the White House to see if he tried to cover up the Watergate burglary. Nixon refused, saying that releasing them would damage national security. United States v. Nixon (1974) Supreme Court said Nixon had to release tapes, which showed that Nixon tried to cover up the burglary.

E. Watergate Scandal August 1974: Nixon resigns – becomes the 1st President to resign. New President: Gerald Ford Pardoned Nixon so he could never be taken to trial/put in jail for the cover up. Public reaction: people lost even more trust in the government.

Guided Practice Imagine you are someone who lived between 1963 and 1976. Write a 6-8 sentence paragraph about how recent events have affected your confidence/trust in the government. Be as creative as you want: You can talk about how it affected your job or take part in one of the major events we’ve talked about.

Exit Ticket 1) Which U.S. president’s administration is most closely associated with détente and the Watergate scandal? a. Jimmy Carter b. Gerald Ford c. Richard Nixon d. Ronald Reagan

Exit Ticket 2) Which statement best describes the effect that Watergate had on the public in the United States? a. It caused a new surge of anti-communist hysteria. b. It made many people lose trust in the government. c. It caused feelings of patriotism to rise. d. It was seen as a minor, unimportant episode.

Exit Ticket 3) Explain the causes of political turmoil and their impact on the people of the United States.