A professor asked 3 students to contact those who were involved during the fall of Nixon.

[Nevilledog]

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Karl Grubaugh
@kgrubaugh
A story ...

In 1994, I was teaching U.S. history and American government at Oak Ridge HS in El Dorado Hills, California.

I had three bright students who were my TAs. The 20th anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation was a few months away. I decided to have ... 1/
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Unrolled thread here (view here to see pics of actual letters)
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1341277717975580672.html

A story ...

In 1994, I was teaching U.S. history and American government at Oak Ridge HS in El Dorado Hills, California.

I had three bright students who were my TAs. The 20th anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation was a few months away. I decided to have ... 1/

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my students -- Sherilyn Peek, Aaron Leahy and Nicole Poimiroo -- take on an extra project. They contacted dozens of people who were in some way involved with the Watergate saga. Politicians, lawyers, political appointees, journalists and others. 2/

They spent weeks, before the internet existed, tracking down addresses. Then they sent a short letter that asked the recipients to respond to one question: What should America learn from Watergate?

Before long, responses started to show up in my mailbox at school. 3/

Archibald Cox replied, and I'm especially struck by this sentence: "...we should be reminded of the corrupt influence of great power, especially when the power is in the hands of someone who is willing to resort to any tactics, however wrong, to retain and increase his power."4/

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Richard Kleindienst wrote his response by hand ... "Our Constitution worked! The federal judiciary worked. The Congress and a free press worked. That our Constitution works is the magic of America." 5/

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Sen. George McGovern, the former Democratic presidential candidate who ran against Nixon in 1972, also wrote his short response by hand: "Heed the Constitution. Upholding the Constitution is the only oath a President takes." 6/

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George H.W. Bush and Edmund Muskie sent signed photos without a written response. 7/

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Donald Rumsfeld sent a bio and a copyrighted copy of reflections on his public service through 1980, a document he titled "Rumsfeld's Rules." Charles Colson sent a copy of a piece he wrote for Christianity Today, "My Journey from Watergate." 8/

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Bob Woodward: "I believe the lesson that America should learn from Watergate is to be more careful in voting for political candidates and not to be misled by damagoguery (sic) and appeals to imaginary fears. " 9/

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Former Congressman Pete McCloskey offered to meet with my students. U.S. District Judge Lee Gagliardi politely declined, citing his policy of not commenting on trials. (He didn't say which trial -- not Nixon's, of course, because there never was an impeachment trial.) 10/

Charles Wright, an attorney to Nixon, also declined to comment. 11/

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Former Illinois Senator Charles Percy said he and Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona were assured by Nixon that "he knew nothing of the Watergate break-in. When the tapes subsequently proved that he did have knowledge of the break-in, it shattered us ... " 12/

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John Wilson, who defended Bob Haldeman and John Erlichman and later became a judge, let his friend and author James Michner help answer the question and then concluded with this: "... The people must be eternally vigilant if our liberties are to be preserved." 13/

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Ron Rotunda was assistant majority counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee ... 14/
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The longest response came from Ron Ziegler, Nixon's former press secretary who worked for Nixon in San Clemente after the resignation before eventually becoming president and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. 15/

He pumped up Nixon's accomplishments, attributed Nixon's resignation to having "lost the ability to lead," and then offered this partisan conclusion: "I learned from that experience that regardless of how disgraced a person might be, or how extensive ... " 16/

"... one's humiliation and failure is, only an individual can destroy himself. President Nixon clearly chose not to destroy himself. Instead, he learned from his past and as he had done throughout his career, made a comeback to become America's elder statesman ..." 17/

" ... a prolific author and a devoted husband, father and grandfather." /18

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After the semester ended, and Sherilyn, Aaron and Nicole graduated, I put all these letters in a file. The goal had been to compile them and put together an article looking back, 20 years later, at Watergate. /19

But I was busy, with young kids, and it just didn't happen. I'd see the file once in a while, think about the article, and then get back to teaching, being a husband and raising one, then two, then three kids. But now, more than 25 years later, I've just retired. 20/

I've been going through old files, and throwing most of them away ... but then I found this one. These recollections about a political scandal that happened almost 50 year ago (!) still seem, in these fraught days, especially timely. /21

Oh, and that 3x5 card I started this with? I had to puzzle that one out a bit, but then I saw it. That signature belongs to Spiro Agnew, the vice president who pleaded no contest to felony charges and resigned to avoid prison. 22/

What did Agnew say America should learn from Watergate?

"That a mountain can be made of a mole hill if one listens to media with a political agenda." 23/

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All of these men who played a role in Watergate are dead now. But many of their words still resonate for me, through the mists of history. A few defended Nixon, or themselves. Most celebrated the Constitution and its effectiveness. 24/

But the most meaningful, for me, were those who made it clear that we must be vigilant. We have to pay attention.

Because as we've seen these last four years, the wrong person in the presidency can be catastrophic.

I hope we learn the lesson this time.

25/end

@mentions
and ... Given your recent Agnew book, podcast and research assistance, I thought you might find this interesting ...

Correction: I said all these people who were connected to Watergate are dead. But the Washington Post's Bob Woodward is very much alive. My apologies.

Oh my, this seems to have taken off ... I don't even know what a Soundcloud is, but @SPLC is an organization that supports young student journalists and their teachers/advisers. Worth your consideration.

Student Press Law Center | Donate
Your generous support is essential to protect the rights of student journalists who are telling the story of their time during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Student Press Law Center provides expert in…
https://splc.org/donate/
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[SCantiGOP]

1. Very interesting

especially for those of us who lived through that time.
And I am not at all surprised that Agnew and Ziegler turned out to be the two biggest assholes in the group.

[colorado_ufo]

11. Indeed!

[BobTheSubgenius]

14. Ziegler is probably the seminal case of shitty, hyper-partisan press sec's.

I find it mildly paradoxical that he had a fairly good capacity for humour at his and Nixon's expense. He was once guest host on SNL, and I still remember the opening - Nixon saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Press Secretary to the President of the United states."

[Butterflylady]

2. An excellent read.

[LakeArenal]

3. Hope this makes the fron t page.

History.

[RainCaster]

4. Thanks for sharing

[abqtommy]

5. Good op. To paraphrase a saying, "We've learned a lot, Baby, but we still have a lot to learn"!

[UpInArms]

6. Fascinating

Thank you

[KS Toronado]

7. The one line that stood out for me......

"if one listens to media with a political agenda.", points fingers right at faux news.

[Hekate]

12. You misunderstand Agnew, then. Nixon was brought down by the Washington Post...

In other words, the genuine free press.

Agnew was a career bribe-taker who, like Nixon, thought he had bee victimized by the free press.

[KS Toronado]

13. I was merely saying that today....

Faux news is the media with a political agenda, and should be avoided at all costs.

[Hekate]

17. Yes indeed

[burrowowl]

8. Very interesting!

[seta1950]

9. Someone on tv was saying

Our first criteria for a presidential candidate should be character first , then go from there. I think that is very good advice.

[BarbD]

10. Power fills a vacuum. We must be vigilant.

Thanks for this.

[Hekate]

15. Upholding the Constitution is the only oath a President takes....

Last edited Sat Jan 23, 2021, 05:46 PM - Edit history (1)

Sen. George McGovern, the former Democratic presidential candidate who ran against Nixon in 1972, also wrote his short response by hand: "Heed the Constitution. Upholding the Constitution is the only oath a President takes."

This is a wonderful story — and Karl Grubaugh must have been a marvellous US history and American government teacher. I became a history major because of a few good teachers, but Mr Grughbaugh and his assignment would have changed the trajectory of my life.

[jayschool2013]

19. Karl also taught journalism

He recently retired from Granite Bay HS in California. He was one of the best journalism teachers in the U.S., greatly owing to his expertise in American government and history.

[curthayden]

16. John Dean?

Did you try to contact John Dean?

[Hekate]

27. Since they sent out dozens of requests and this is only a representative sample of replies...

...probably yes.

[jayschool2013]

18. Addendum about the "professor"

Karl Grubaugh is an acquaintance, and he taught journalism as well as social studies classes for decades at Granite Bay HS. His former journalism students could fill any newsroom with bright, nonpartisan and hard-working reporters who are dedicated to the truth.

What a great teacher.

[treestar]

20. Woodward's is the best

We have self government. We could use it and pay attention rather than letting ourselves be led. We always have that option. We don't have to immediately believe all the media says.

[EarnestPutz]

21. I saw the title to your post and said "this is going to be interesting" and it really is. As one....

.......who lived through the Nixon imbroglio it's interesting to revisit that crazy time. I just mentioned Ron Ziegler on a post recently as a press secretary who once was thought to be the worst ever but after Trump's parade of idiots, now seems not so bad.
Thank you so much for posting this. I would suggest that you pass it along to some presidential historian.

[yonder]

22. Thanks for this insightful post.

Interesting that Muskie and Bush senior could only muster sending promo photos; that Ron Zeigler couldn't take his rah-rah Nixon press secretary hat off and that Agnew was, well....still his press-hating, crooked, asshole self.

[liberalla]

23. I immediately think of Southern Poverty Law Center when I see SPLC...

this is beside the point...

I'll never remember Student Press law center as SPLC...

Unfortunate they have the same initials.

[Pacifist Patriot]

25. Same here

[WinstonSmith4740]

24. Can't say I'm even remotely surprised by the response from Pete McCloskey

I think he was the only Republican I ever voted for. He was a great rep...actually sent out questionnaires (without a fund raising plea attached to it) about the bills coming up, wanting to know what we thought and how did we think he should vote. He sent us the results, too, explaining why he voted why he did. His kind of Republican simply doesn't exist anymore.

[Stuart G]

26. Thank You, Thank You & Thank You.