Americana Extra
Remembering Watergate, 1974-2024
Something that has really surprised me about the summer of 2024 is how little noted the fiftieth anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s resignation—one of the most important events in American political history—has been. After all, the 2020s have been marked by repeated attempts to drive a president from office, and one might think that the one time such an effort succeeded would be an event worthy of widespread remembrance. Apparently not. Perhaps because, unlike Nixon, Donald Trump simply won’t go away. The fact that there have been three presidential impeachments since Watergate, including the failed attempt to remove Bill Clinton in 1999, is not exactly a healthy sign for our democracy in the last 25 years, whether as a matter of presidential corruption and/or a tendency toward—to use a neologism that has become increasingly common—“lawfare.”
One exception to this absence is Current, the publication for which I am a contributing editor. The magazine has run a three-day series this week commemorating Nixon’s resignation on August 8, 1974, which took effect the next day. My reflection on the Watergate scandal is in today’s edition. (It is the second of three in the piece.)
Tomorrow, I will post a “Sestercentennial Moments” piece that connects the origins of the American Revolution, the culmination of Watergate, and the state of current presidential politics. (A tall order, I know.) Hope you’ll have a look.
Happy summering to all.
Jim, As always, I enjoy reading your articles. I remember the Nixon resignation like it was yesterday. In fact, I hosted a resignation party the week before, but I was premature. He didn't resign until a week later. I also remember June 17, 1972, when the Watergate Hotel break in occurred and little was made of it. It seemed to most to be just another one of the Nixon CREP group's dirty tricks, but in fact burglary is a felony. Little did we know that all the burglars were being paid hush money so there was little story coming out, until later with the Senate Hearings, John Dean, etc. finally talking. Be well. Pete P.S. I'm finishing a book on U.S. History, written in 1940. I like seeing how things were presented decades, even centuries ago to students, readers. I'll send it to you if you'd like when I'm done. PW