The Watergate Scandal - IGCSE
Edexcel History Exam 100% Correct!!
President Nixon - ANSWER1969-1974, Republican. Won a seat in Senate in 1950, making a name for
himself in the McCarthy communist witch hunts. He died in 1994.
CREEP (Committee to Re-elect the President) - ANSWERRichard Nixon's Committee for Re-electing
the President. Found to have been engaged in a "dirty tricks" campaign against the democrats in
1972. it was led by John Mitchell, a close adviser to Nixon, who was encouraged to use any tactics to
ensure Nixon's re-election. They raised tens of millions of dollars in campaign funds using unethical
means. They were involved in the infamous Watergate cover-up.
White House Plumbers - ANSWER1971 - New York Times published an article about the Vietnam War
based on a series of secret documents called the Pentagon Papers. These documents contained
confidential information leaked by Daniel Ellsberg. The documents were not personally damaging to
Nixon but it increased his suspicion and made him worry about what else might be revealed.
The White House Plumbers were set up to prevent more leaks of sensitive information. Their first
task was to 'bring down' David Ellsberg. In September of 1971 the group broke into the office of
Ellsberg's psychiatrist looking for information to discredit him. Despite not finding anything, the
break in showed that the Plumbers were prepared to go to extreme lengths.
Role of the FBI in the scandal - ANSWERAs well as the Washington Post, the FBI were also
investigating the break-in and found links to CREEP, discovering that Howard Hunt and G. Gordon
Liddy had played a role in the break-in.
Over the next 2 years, the FBI revealed the extent of the campaign to spy on/sabotage the
Democrats (also discovering that it had been funded by CREEP, receiving donations from countries
and individuals who believed they were donating to help Nixon be re-elected.)
The Watergate Scandal - ANSWERMost people viewed the break-in as a strange event. Despite direct
connections to CREEP and Hunt and Liddy being White House Plumbers, most believed they were
acting alone. When Nixon publicly stated that the White House lawyer, John Dean, had investigated
and found no involvement from inside the White House, most believed that nothing illegal had taken
place. It was not surprising that he won the 1972 election.
The Watergate Scandal (II) - ANSWER8th January 1973 - trial of the five burglars, and Hunt/Liddy
began. They were charged with conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping. The five were found guilty
along with the other two and all seven were due to be sentenced on the 23rd March.
Edexcel History Exam 100% Correct!!
President Nixon - ANSWER1969-1974, Republican. Won a seat in Senate in 1950, making a name for
himself in the McCarthy communist witch hunts. He died in 1994.
CREEP (Committee to Re-elect the President) - ANSWERRichard Nixon's Committee for Re-electing
the President. Found to have been engaged in a "dirty tricks" campaign against the democrats in
1972. it was led by John Mitchell, a close adviser to Nixon, who was encouraged to use any tactics to
ensure Nixon's re-election. They raised tens of millions of dollars in campaign funds using unethical
means. They were involved in the infamous Watergate cover-up.
White House Plumbers - ANSWER1971 - New York Times published an article about the Vietnam War
based on a series of secret documents called the Pentagon Papers. These documents contained
confidential information leaked by Daniel Ellsberg. The documents were not personally damaging to
Nixon but it increased his suspicion and made him worry about what else might be revealed.
The White House Plumbers were set up to prevent more leaks of sensitive information. Their first
task was to 'bring down' David Ellsberg. In September of 1971 the group broke into the office of
Ellsberg's psychiatrist looking for information to discredit him. Despite not finding anything, the
break in showed that the Plumbers were prepared to go to extreme lengths.
Role of the FBI in the scandal - ANSWERAs well as the Washington Post, the FBI were also
investigating the break-in and found links to CREEP, discovering that Howard Hunt and G. Gordon
Liddy had played a role in the break-in.
Over the next 2 years, the FBI revealed the extent of the campaign to spy on/sabotage the
Democrats (also discovering that it had been funded by CREEP, receiving donations from countries
and individuals who believed they were donating to help Nixon be re-elected.)
The Watergate Scandal - ANSWERMost people viewed the break-in as a strange event. Despite direct
connections to CREEP and Hunt and Liddy being White House Plumbers, most believed they were
acting alone. When Nixon publicly stated that the White House lawyer, John Dean, had investigated
and found no involvement from inside the White House, most believed that nothing illegal had taken
place. It was not surprising that he won the 1972 election.
The Watergate Scandal (II) - ANSWER8th January 1973 - trial of the five burglars, and Hunt/Liddy
began. They were charged with conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping. The five were found guilty
along with the other two and all seven were due to be sentenced on the 23rd March.
