What was Watergate?
Answer
A 1974 scandal leading to Nixon's resignation
Explanation
Watergate was a major political scandal that began with a June 17, 1972 burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., grew into a sweeping investigation of abuses by the Nixon White House, and culminated in President Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, the only resignation of an American president. Five men working for the Committee to Re-Elect the President, sometimes called CREEP, were arrested while attempting to wiretap Democratic offices and copy documents. They had ties to former CIA officer E. Howard Hunt and former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy.
Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, drawing on a confidential source later revealed to be FBI Associate Director Mark Felt, code-named Deep Throat, traced the burglary back to senior White House officials and the president's reelection campaign. Their reporting won the Pulitzer Prize. Despite the growing scandal, Nixon won reelection in November 1972 by a landslide.
A federal grand jury indicted the burglars and Hunt and Liddy in September 1972, and at trial in early 1973 Judge John J. Sirica pressed defendant James McCord, who in March 1973 wrote a letter alleging that the burglars had been pressured to plead guilty and that other government officials were involved. The Senate Watergate Committee, chaired by North Carolina Democrat Sam Ervin, held nationally televised hearings beginning May 17, 1973. Witness John Dean told the committee on June 25 that he had discussed a White House cover-up with Nixon.
White House aide Alexander Butterfield revealed on July 16 that Nixon had a secret taping system in the Oval Office. Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox subpoenaed the tapes. On October 20, 1973, Nixon ordered Cox fired in the Saturday Night Massacre, leading Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to resign rather than carry out the order. Solicitor General Robert Bork eventually fired Cox. Public outrage was overwhelming.
The House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment in late July 1974, and the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on July 24, 1974 in United States v. Nixon that he must release the tapes. The smoking gun tape showed Nixon ordering an obstruction of the FBI investigation. Facing certain impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, and Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded him.
Why this matters for your test
USCIS asks about Watergate because it is the most famous example in modern American history of constitutional checks on presidential power. The scandal demonstrates that no one is above the law and remains the standard reference point in debates over executive accountability.
Source: USCIS 128 Civics Questions (2025)
