Summer of 1969 and Nixon's Presidency

The Miracle Mets won the World Series after being historically terrible.
Apollo 11 landed on the moon in July 1969, fulfilling Kennedy's commitment from the beginning of the decade to achieve this goal despite being behind the Soviets in the space race. This required significant technology and financial investment. Margaret Hamilton was a primary software engineer responsible for writing the code for the lunar module.
The Stonewall Riots occurred, marking a turning point for the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Before Stonewall, the LGBTQ+ community was largely closeted, but police harassment of gay bars like the Stonewall Inn led to the patrons fighting back. This event is seen as the genesis of the LGBT liberation movement, with demands for civil rights and an end to employment discrimination. Initial focus was on basic rights, not yet on issues like same-sex marriage.
Woodstock took place in August 1969, drawing 400,000 hippies to Upstate New York for a three-day music festival. Seen either as the culmination or the last gasp of the hippie movement, Woodstock was notable for its orderliness and lack of violence, unlike the Altamont Festival. Max Yasger provided his farm as the venue after another location cancelled, and the event was organized in a short time.

Elected in 1968 and assuming office in 1969, Nixon's presidency is often associated with Watergate, similar to how Johnson's is linked to Vietnam.
Nixon's administration implemented "New Federalism," where the national government identifies problems and leaves the solutions to the states, recognizing that each state may have unique circumstances. This is analogous to setting a goal (e.g., achieving a passing grade) and allowing individuals to choose their own methods to achieve it.

Several significant pieces of legislation were passed during Nixon's tenure, including the Clean Air Act of 1970, which aimed to reduce industrial and automobile emissions. This was crucial due to significant industrial pollution and the presence of lead in gasoline, which had detrimental health effects.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in 1970, coinciding with the first Earth Day.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was also created to ensure workplace safety.
Climate change wasn't a primary concern in the 1970s; these acts were responses to visible pollution and its immediate health impacts, such as smog and acid rain.
Polarization of political parties began in the 1970s, with some Republicans holding views to the left of some Democrats, and vice versa. Over time, the parties became more consolidated around specific ideologies.

Nixon's strategy for Vietnam was "Vietnamization," which involved making South Vietnam more responsible for fighting the war. This led to a reduction in U.S. troops and the end of the draft after 1973, resulting in an all-volunteer force.
The 26th Amendment was passed, lowering the voting age to 18, reflecting the idea that if 18-year-olds were being sent to war, they should have the right to vote.
Many states lowered their drinking age to 18, which led to a spike in DWI/DUI incidents until the federal government intervened.

Nixon faced an oil shock in 1973 due to the Yom Kippur War, which led to oil-producing nations cutting back on oil and prices shooting up. Inflation also occurred during this time.
Social programs like Social Security, welfare, and Medicaid were expanded.
In 1972, Nixon ran against George McGovern and won in a landslide, with McGovern only winning Massachusetts and not even his home state of South Dakota. This victory makes the subsequent Watergate scandal even more puzzling.

Watergate was not an isolated incident but part of a broader strategy of political espionage by the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP), also known as CREEP, formed in 1972.
The scandal involved a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters located in the Watergate Hotel in 1972. This was actually a second break-in to place bugs (electronic surveillance devices) on phones.
The initial bugs were placed on the phones of secretaries and were not yielding useful information. The second break-in aimed to get photos of documents belonging to the DNC's executive director, Larry O'Brien, and to bug the phones of more senior officials.
Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt, who had previously worked in the White House, arranged for James McCord, the director of security for CREEP, to organize the break-in. They hired Cuban exiles, some of whom had been involved in the Bay of Pigs.
The burglars were caught during the second break-in.

The security guard finding tape on the door led to the discovery of the break-in.
Initially, the FBI thought it could be a CIA operation due to the burglars' connections to the Bay of Pigs.
Nixon's administration tried to use the CIA to halt the FBI investigation, which constituted obstruction of justice.
The investigation linked the burglars to McCord and CREEP, raising questions about White House involvement.
Hush money was paid to the burglars to ensure their silence.
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post played a crucial role in investigating and reporting on the scandal.
John Dean, counsel to the president, fearing he would become the scapegoat, testified before the Senate committee and disclosed the existence of tapes of conversations in the White House. He was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony.
A special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, was appointed by the Department of Justice to investigate the matter independently.

Archibald Cox subpoenaed the White House tapes, but Nixon refused to release them, citing executive privilege.
After Nixon ordered the firing of Cox, the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General resigned in protest, an event known as the "Saturday Night Massacre".
A new special prosecutor was appointed, who also pursued the tapes.
The case U.S. v. Nixon went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that executive privilege did not cover withholding evidence of a potential crime.
Nixon was ordered to release the tapes, which revealed his involvement in the cover-up.
Facing impeachment, Nixon resigned from office, becoming the only president ever to do so.

Woodward and Bernstein's investigation was documented in their book All the President's Men.
Deep Throat, a confidential source, provided crucial information to Woodward. The source was later revealed to be Mark Felt, the number two guy in the FBI during Watergate.
Woodward had a specific arrangement with Deep Throat, operating on "deep background," meaning the information could be used but only with the most general attribution (sources say).
The name "Deep Throat" was given by one of the editors. There were only a few people who knew the identity of Deep Throat until his revealation decades later.