Idaho Social Studies 9-12.US2.34
The Standard
Examine the causes and consequences of the constitutional crisis that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Affluence, Cold War, and Social Revolutions 1945-1974
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how the Watergate break-in and Nixon's cover-up led to investigations by Congress and the courts. They connect the White House tapes to his resignation and identify a consequence, such as Ford's pardon or declining public trust.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can use a timeline to show how the tapes undercut Nixon's denials. They can explain why the Supreme Court ordered him to release the tapes and state that he resigned before the full House voted on impeachment.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Nixon ordered the break-in, though the evidence at issue centered on his role in the cover-up. They may think the Supreme Court removed him or that he was convicted after impeachment.
How to Assess It
- Ask students to write three sentences: How did the cover-up lead to a fight over the tapes? Why did Nixon resign? What happened afterward?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups paper strips labeled break-in, cover-up, tape subpoena, court ruling, and resignation to arrange with cause-and-effect arrows.
Ask students to write: Why did Nixon's claim of executive privilege fail when the Supreme Court ordered him to release the tapes?
Play card match: pair the Senate with hearings, House with impeachment inquiry, Court with tape order, and Nixon with resignation.
Print a page from the FEC campaign donation search and ask how public records can help voters check candidates' funding.
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