The rise of Joe McCarthy, J. Edgar Hoover and Richard Nixon represented a dark period in American history. Their relentless pursuit of communists, homosexuals and social deviants knew no bounds. Their willingness to forge documents and doctor photos to accomplish their goals created a deep and lasting sense of distrust in the American political system. This distrust reached a critical mass during the Watergate scandal, when President Nixon's many lies were exposed. McCarthy, Hoover and Nixon created the politics of personal destruction, and we are still learning more about the dark side of their professional lives.
J. Edgar Hoover
· 1924-1972: Director of the FBI
· Violated civil liberties
· Directed illegal acts against Martin Luther King
· Secret files of private lives
Hoover's early life
· "Speed" nickname: fast talker
· Edgar's dance book shows that his parents came along as chaperones
· Lived with his mother until he was 43
· Worked in the mailroom of the Justice Department
From the mailroom
· Hoover discovered it was possible to spy on people and hunt them down because of their political beliefs
· The Red Raids
· Chain-smoked a Turkish brand of cigarettes called "Fatima"
May 10, 1924
· a date that will live in infamy
· Hoover becomes director of FBI
· wears a wedding ring
· 1925: centralized fingerprint file at the Identification Division
· 1932: created crime laboratory
· 1935: created the National Police Academy
Secret files
· Hoover kept secret files that were not officially part of the FBI's system
· Hoover's secretary spent days after Hoover's death in 1972 destroying the files
· Most important files: politicians
· 883 files on senators
· 722 files on congressmen
Hoover's quirkiness
· Obsession with germs
· G-men: "G" stood for government
· Clyde Tolson: a constant companion
· Ate lunch at the same place every day with Clyde: Harvey's in Washington
· Waitress: "I used to give him six miniatures when he arrived with club sodas to go along with them."
"Johnnie and Clyde"
Truman Capote, himself a homosexual, wanted to write a story about their love affair
Anthony Summers: "The deception must have been a constant strain. But deception it was."
Edna Daulyton, Clyde's fiancee: "Are you some sort of abnormal faggot?"
Truman creates CIA
January 1946
Hoover's dream of conducting international investigation is destroyed
FBI refuses to cooperate or share files with the CIA
The Red Scare
Hoover installs FBI agents at more than 50 colleges and universities in the 1950s and 1960s
Agents identified communists, homosexuals and radicals
Richard Nixon: the Arrogance of Power
Nixon at a glance
· 1947: Nixon elected to the House
· 1950: Alger Hiss is found guilty
· 1950: Richard Nixon is elected to the Senate
· 1952: Dwight Eisenhower chooses Nixon as V.P.
· 1960: Nixon loses to JFK
· 1968: Nixon wins against Hubert Humphrey
· 1974: Nixon resigns in disgrace
Election 1960
· John F. Kennedy: 49.72%
· Richard Nixon: 49.55%
Election 1968
· Richard Nixon, Republican: 43%
· Hubert Humphrey, Democrat: 42.72%
· George Wallace, Independent: 13.53%
The Hiss case
· 1930s: a collaboration between Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers
· 1948: Chambers accused Hiss of passing military secrets
· Claims secret documents were on microfilm and stored in a pumpkin on Hiss' farm
· 1950: Hiss is found guilty and imprisoned
· 1992: KGB archives are opened; Hiss' innocence is proven
Nixon's early career
· 1913: born in Yorba Linda, California
· 1947: Nixon elected to the House
· 1948: Whittaker Chambers testified before HUAC
· 1950: Alger Hiss is found guilty
· 1951: Nixon is elected to the Senate
Checkers
· 1952: Nixon delivers "Checkers speech" on national television
1968
· Nixon is once again the Republican candidate
· George Wallace gets the conservative white Democratic vote
· Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon are in a tight election
· Nixon barely wins
George Wallace
· 1919: born in Alabama
· 1963-1987: governor of Alabama
· Outspoken opponent of civil rights, busing
· 1968: ran for president; 10 million votes
· 1972: assassination attempt; Wallace paralyzed
· 1987: retired from politics
The legacy of President Nixon
· Opened relations with China
· Ended military conflict in Vietnam
· Resigned in disgrace after Watergate
Watergate
· Series of political scandals
· June 17, 1972: five men were arrested breaking into the Democratic National Headquarters at Watergate
· Burglars were hired by CREEP(Committee to Re-elect the President)
Secret tapes
· Senate learned of tapes and demands to hear them
· Nixon claims executive privilege
· Special Prosecutor demands tapes
· Nixon fires Special Prosecutor
· House Judiciary Committee prepares impeachment proceedings
Disgrace
· August 8, 1974: Nixon resigns
· Gerald Ford become president
· September 8, 1974: Gerald Ford pardons Nixon
· 1976: Jimmy Carter runs against Ford
The real crime of Watergate: The CIA was used against FBI
· FBI was investigating Watergate burglars
· Nixon ordered the CIA to stop FBI investigation
· Senators learned about CIA cover-up of FBI investigation
