Modern American History: 1950 To The 21st Century
HIST101-1401B-04 Modern American History: 1950 to the 21st Century
Phase 2 Individual Project
Professor Mary Cluff
3/3/2014
On June 17 1972 a security guard named Frank Wills had alerted authorities that there was a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate. The Watergate is a complex which has offices, hotel, and apartments. Five men were arrested for breaking into the Watergate complex. They were found with cash, and electronic surveillance equipment. The men were caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret information. It is unknown if Nixon was aware of the heist, however it is known of his attempts to cover it up.
The following day of June 18 1972 it come to light that James McCord,
the security coordinator for President Nixon was linked to the other suspects involved in the Watergate break –in . James McCord formally worked for the CIA. President Nixon had conducted an investigation and had cleared James McCord of any wrong doing. However, on January 30 1973 James McCord was found guilty of conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping. James McCord claimed his guilty plea was due to “political pressure”.
In the summer and fall of 1973 is when Nixon began having trouble keeping his tapes hidden. Nixon used the Presidents executive privilege in order to be able to keep the tapes from being released. However a prosecutor by the name of Archibald Cox fought and demanded for the tapes to be released. Nixon did not like that and ordered Archibald Cox to be fired. That in return led to several Justice Department Officials to resign in protest. Nixon eventually agreed to surrender some tapes, but not all of them.
The 18½ minute silence gap remains a mystery. It occurred when President Nixon and his chief Bob Haldeman were having a discussion. Despite many attempts, the contents have not been recovered. The 18½ minutes contains strange sounds such as buzzing, clicking, and popping. The noises vary from a loud buzz to soft buzzing and loud again. There has been no way to solve what may have been recorded, then deleted in the 18½ minutes before it was erased. There are no explanations as to sequence of the clicking, popping, and buzzing noises that were on the tape.
References; http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/investigations/Watergate.htm http://www.history.com/topics/watergate
http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2011/02/cracking-watergates-infamous-18-1/2-minute-gap#.UxTZqs4VyZR
Phase 2 Individual Project
Professor Mary Cluff
3/3/2014
On June 17 1972 a security guard named Frank Wills had alerted authorities that there was a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate. The Watergate is a complex which has offices, hotel, and apartments. Five men were arrested for breaking into the Watergate complex. They were found with cash, and electronic surveillance equipment. The men were caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret information. It is unknown if Nixon was aware of the heist, however it is known of his attempts to cover it up.
The following day of June 18 1972 it come to light that James McCord,
the security coordinator for President Nixon was linked to the other suspects involved in the Watergate break –in . James McCord formally worked for the CIA. President Nixon had conducted an investigation and had cleared James McCord of any wrong doing. However, on January 30 1973 James McCord was found guilty of conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping. James McCord claimed his guilty plea was due to “political pressure”.
In the summer and fall of 1973 is when Nixon began having trouble keeping his tapes hidden. Nixon used the Presidents executive privilege in order to be able to keep the tapes from being released. However a prosecutor by the name of Archibald Cox fought and demanded for the tapes to be released. Nixon did not like that and ordered Archibald Cox to be fired. That in return led to several Justice Department Officials to resign in protest. Nixon eventually agreed to surrender some tapes, but not all of them.
The 18½ minute silence gap remains a mystery. It occurred when President Nixon and his chief Bob Haldeman were having a discussion. Despite many attempts, the contents have not been recovered. The 18½ minutes contains strange sounds such as buzzing, clicking, and popping. The noises vary from a loud buzz to soft buzzing and loud again. There has been no way to solve what may have been recorded, then deleted in the 18½ minutes before it was erased. There are no explanations as to sequence of the clicking, popping, and buzzing noises that were on the tape.
References; http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/investigations/Watergate.htm http://www.history.com/topics/watergate
http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2011/02/cracking-watergates-infamous-18-1/2-minute-gap#.UxTZqs4VyZR