Essential American History Teaching American History Grant Lessons from the Cold War Brittany Bowers Lafayette

High School Document Based Grant Lesson Plan Nixon Presidential Library Nixon Presidential Library: The Publics Perception of President Richard Nixon Before and After the Watergate Scandal Essential Questions: 1. How did the Watergate scandal change the American view of politics? 2. How did the Watergate events cause the American people to view the position of the presidency differently? 3. How did this scandal change the publics view of Nixon? Objectives: American History 1. Students will be able to analyze the domestic policies of the Nixon Administration by using primary source documents. 2. Students will examine the decisions, actions, events of the Watergate affair to draw conclusions regarding the publics perception of President Nixon by using primary source documents. 3. Analyze Primary Source Political Cartoons 4. Exchange information while recognizing bias and multiple points of view. 5. Analyze sources to recognize bias and points of view. Procedures: 1. Begin by reviewing the basic facts from the previous lesson to ensure that all students are aware of the overview of the Watergate scandal. This will be followed by several political cartoons to ensure the students understand the scandal and events. See Item 1-2

2. The students will discuss the article from Times Magazine in May of 1973 which examines the citizens initial opinion of Richard Nixon several months after the scandal occurred. They will then analyze another article from November 1973 that revisits these opinions after more details of the investigations are released to the public. They will formulate ideas/thoughts about what Americans were thinking during this period of the investigation and compare it to how they felt just five months later. They will also draw their own conclusions about how the opinions are directly related to the region of the United States they live in or the political party to which they were affiliated. See Item 3-4 3. A short slide show (projected on Smart Board) will then show students that as of August of 1973 there were many disputed and undisputed facts that were shedding light on the investigation. Issues such as the money for wiretappers are examined. This will show students that this was the information given to the public and will further help them to make their decision on the public perception. There will also be a Gallup poll from 1973 that reveals Nixons approval ratings of the people compared to several previous presidents. The graph points out the major crises that occurred during that particular presidents term. See Item 5 -7 4. After the students have had a chance to work with the documents they will answer the Document Based Questions examining the conclusions they have drawn. Document Based Questions: 9 Using the documents, how did the Watergate scandal change Americas view of politics? 9 Using the primary source documents analyze the American publics perception of the presidency after the Watergate Affair. 9 Using the documents, compare and contrast the publics perception of Nixon before and after the Watergate affair. 1. A number of primary documents will be used in the lesson, such as political cartoons, graphs, and articles. Students will complete a document analysis sheet

2. 3. 4. 5.

when analyzing the political cartoons and graphs. Students will recognize the bias and point of view of the Times Magazine documents. All media outlets can be slanted to some degree. What was the intention of Times Magazine when conducting the poll? Analyze the documents given to find similarities and differences to show how the citizens opinions of Richard Nixon have changed over a period of time? What personal background can you suggest about the citizens that were interviewed after reading their remarks? Political party, Religion, Educational Background, etc.

Teacher Notes: Students will have a prior knowledge of the Watergate Scandal events from the previous days lesson. This may include a timeline of events and key players, while understanding the basic facts of the scandal. The Watergate Special Prosecution Force Memorandum may also be used to show the students the evidence for indictment or against indictment. When analyzing the Time articles, students can be arranged in small groups, approximately 3-4 students per group. Document Based Questions will be given individually and act as a Summative Assessment directly aligned to the Essential Questions.

Primary Sources Used: 1. Cartoon Analysis Sheet. National Archives http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/cartoon_analysis_worksheet.pdf 2. Political Cartoon. Times Magazine. May 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 3. Political Cartoon. Times Magazine. May 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 4. How Main Street Views Watergate. Times Magazine. May 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum.

5. Main Street Revisited: Changing Views on Watergate. Times Magazine. November 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 6. Watergate I: The Evidence to Date. Times Magazine. August 20th, 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 7. Where the Dubios Money Went. Times Magazine. May 1972. Richard Nixon Library and Museum. 8. Popularity Highs and Lows. Times Magazine. December 1973. Richard Nixon Library and Museum.

Assessment and Scoring Guide: Skill Not Assessed. Uses four or more documents accurately to formulate ideas Four or more documents are used to formulate ideas 3 Makes strong connections between documents and supports their findings 3 Correctly cites documents with all information provided 3 Two or Three documents are used to formulate ideas 2 Makes connections between documents but needs more supporting details 2 Cites information but lacking some information 2 One or no documents are used to formulate ideas 1 Finds little or no connection between documents and provides little support 1 Does not cite document correctly or lacks information 1

/3

Makes connections between documents

/3

Cites Documents

/3

Bias and Point of View

Identifies the bias/point of view and how it impacts public perception 3 Includes excellent prior historical content to accurately support findings 3 Recognizes a change of views over a period of time and documents those changes 3

Identifies bias/point of view but does not understand how it impacts public perception 2

Does not identify bias/point of view and does not understand how it impacts public perception 1 Does not provide prior historical content to support findings 1 Does not find a change of views over a period of time 1

/3

Prior historical content

Prior content is evident but lacks details to support findings 2 Loosely recognizes changes but does not support their findings 2

/3

Recognizes change over time

/3

Total

/18

Item #1:

Taken from Times, 1973

Item #2:

Taken from Times, 1973

Item 3 and Item 4 Main Street Articles Item 5 Evidence Disputed

Item #6:

Taken from Times, 1973

Item #7:

Taken from Times, 1973

Taken from www.nixonlibrary.gov