The American people were blindsided by Richard Nixon and his Republican committee to re-elect him in the early 1970s. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, journalists at the Washington Post, put their lives in danger just to uncover the truth. They cracked the Watergate scandal: one of the biggest scandals in U.S. political history. Nixon might never have been exposed if Bernstein and Woodward didn’t push to learn more. Had they not investigated the story, Richard Nixon could have gone down in history as one of the most successful presidents of the United Stated. The American people would truly believe Nixon won his election fairly.
Movie poster for “All the President’s Men”.
The publication of Bernstein and Woodward’s story eventually resulted in President Nixon’s resignation as president of the United States. The lessons we can take from Bernstein,Woodward, and executive editor Ben Bradlee are that Persistence is key. It’s important to follow any lead no matter how small. The lessons that we can take from the Watergate scandal are that even the most powerful people need to be held accountable for their actions. The higher ups are not immune to the laws.
We should build upon these lessons in that no matter how powerful or well-respected a person is, they can make dreadful mistakes that will be covered up. If journalists do not look at the details of a story, they might miss a piece of key evidence that other readers do not notice.
If they did not pursue this story in fear of what would happen, numerous people involved in the scandal would have been silent for the rest of their lives, restricting their freedom to talk openly about what happened. If they did not pursue the story, they would have never exposed the connection between the committee to re-elect Richard Nixon and the break-in at Watergate.
