During the Watergate Scandal years, 1972-1974, there were many things going on within the US government that people were not made aware of until later. After Nixon was impeached and more and more information became available about his indiscretions many Americans shared mixed feelings about the United States government as a whole. Many American people felt abused and taken advantage of because the President they had put their trust and faith in had lied and taken advantage of his Presidential powers. This was a scandal unlike any other at this point and the American people had to sit back and watch it unravel without knowing what would come next. Should they trust the government? Should they trust anyone? These were questions that people started to ask themselves.
According to Finney (2012), Watergate “dented Americans’ faith in their government and tainted public servants with a distrust that stretches still from inside the Washington Beltway to town halls across the USA”. Neal Smith, a former Congressman, stated that after Watergate Americans adopted a cynical attitude towards the government and no one believed their public officials (as cited in Finney, 2012). It was hard for people during this time to understand how they could have trusted someone who was so dishonest. It made people question their own choices and really question the government officials that they had elected themselves.
According to Finney (2012), Watergate “dented Americans’ faith in their government and tainted public servants with a distrust that stretches still from inside the Washington Beltway to town halls across the USA”. Neal Smith, a former Congressman, stated that after Watergate Americans adopted a cynical attitude towards the government and no one believed their public officials (as cited in Finney, 2012). It was hard for people during this time to understand how they could have trusted someone who was so dishonest. It made people question their own choices and really question the government officials that they had elected themselves.