Annotated Sources
All the President's Men: iTunes
I used the movie as a source to gain information on the Watergate Scandal. From the movie I got to learn the process that Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein went through to uncover the mysteries of the Watergate Scandal. Many of the artifacts in my exhibit were inspired by those that were found/mentioned/used in the movie; the typewriter, Bob Woodward's notes, the Dalhberg check, the Washington Post article.
This is where I did my initial research on Watergate before watching the movie so that I would have a better understanding of what was going on. Here, I learned the names of the 5 burglars that broke into the DNC headquarters on the morning of June 1, 1972. In addition, I learned the prosecuting judge, John Sirica, who the Washington Post reporters were, Saturday Night Massacre, and Nixon's resignation.
From this source, I learned that President Nixon was the first to resign office and how Watergate changed "American politics forever." Here, I learned more about those who were involved behind the scenes, Haldeman who got the FBI to back off the investigation, Hunt and Liddy who worked in the White House with Nixon (later indicted for guiding the burglars with walkie-talkies from a hotel across the street) and Maurice Stans, Nixon's Chief fundraiser. The site revealed who "Deep Throat" was and how they were involved with the unveiling of the truth about Watergate, but also their real identity.
Here, I learned that Senator Edward Kennedy proposed to establish a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. It's purpose was to investigate President Nixon's campaign activities for the 1972 election. This committee empowered 4 democrats and 3 republican to subpoena materials and witnesses. The committee also led an aggressive media coverage of Watergate and received higher rankings than any scheduled entertainment. I also learned that Congress passed a Federal Election Campaign Act that put restrictions on "expenses and contributions, required regular reporting by election committee and established a means for public financing."
Watergate: American History Textbook
From the history textbook used in class, I learned about the "evolution of the institution of the presidency over time" and how presidents were able to usurp power so quickly. After WWII, Americans were desperate for resolutions to their crises which led to the presidents given the duty to "take whatever measures might be necessary" in order to fix the nation. This led to the "gradual usurpation of more and more power." The author describes Nixon's actions in the Watergate Scandal as a "culmination of long and steady expansion of covert presidential power." The textbook let me learn more about Nixon's nature as a president: one who "felt the need to defend himself from extraordinary measures," he was "defensive, secretive, and resentful of critics." Stanley Kutler argued that "Watergate was rooted in the personality and history of Nixon himself." Lastly, I learned that Watergate was a call for restoration of order and stability.
In his biography, I learned that Nixon was the 37th president and the only one to ever resign from office. He was a US representative and senator before becoming President. He "successfully ended American fighting in Vietnam" and "improved international relations with USSR and China." In addition, I learned that his first goal as president was reconciliation. He graduated from Whittier College and gained a law degree from Duke University's Law School. President Nixon was a "Navy lieutenant commander in the pacific" during WWII. He was Vice-President for President Eisenhower and lost the presidency to JFK in 1960. Things that President Nixon accomplished in office were "revenue sharing, ending the draft, established new anticrime laws, created a broad environmental program, and successfully landed astronauts on the moon."
From this movie review, I learned that Frank Wills, the security guard who reported the break-in actually played himself in "All the President's Men." The author wrote that "students of the history of journalism may marvel at how immensely more difficult all the investigative work was back then" referencing the scene where Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein sort though the hard copy borrowing records at the Library of Congress by hand. He wrote that the film accurately depicted their "mysterious source, Deep Throat" a high government official and whistleblower. Their appropriately named Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP) led to the discovery of how Hunt and Liddy were involved. Liddy's memory of Deep Throat, however, is not accurate. The author wrote that the hand over the candle story is stolen from the movie, "Lawrence of Alaska." The producers are able to correctly display how the scandal seems to "suck in nearly everyone in Washington." Deep Throat's famous line telling Woodward and Bernstein to "follow the money" was never actually said by Mark Felt himself. But the author argues that despite the twists and turns and exceptionally complex detail of Watergate, "All the President's Men manages to make it both comprehensible and watchable."
Ebert argues that "All the President's Men" is "truer to the craft of journalism than the art of storytelling." He argues that the movie is more about the "details than the result," that "thousands of details led up to Watergate and the Nixon resignation." He wrote that while most newspaper movie's play up the excitement and ignore the boredom and waiting, "All the President's Men" is "all about the boredom, waiting and tireless digging." Ebert admires how the director is able to develop an illusion of momentum even when Woodward and Bernstein are "getting doors slammed in their faces." Here, I learned that Robert Redford bought the rights to All the President's Men and also played Bob Woodward. Most movies portray reporters are movie stars but Pakula does the opposite. Ebert writes that "they sink into their characters and become wholly credible."
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