1.) Why did a break-in at the Watergate office building turn into a major political scandal?

Question 1 options:

The cover-up involved criminal activities and obstruction of justice by the president of the United States.

This was a quiet period in both the domestic and foreign arenas, so the case got a lot of attention.

The press was opposed to Nixon's policies so Woodward and Bernstein wrote an exposé of his behavior.

The Democrats were the party in power in Congress and they wanted to remove Nixon.

2.) Which best describes one lasting effect of the Watergate scandal?

Question 2 options:

Most Americans gained a greater appreciation for the difficulties and hardships of politics.

Many Americans lost faith in their government and became cynical about politics.

The impeachment process was altered through a constitutional amendment.

Presidents were no longer able to be indicted for crimes once leaving office.

The scandal of Watergate is probably one of the biggest cases of political corruption and abuse of power by a leader in the United States, and certainly one of the best known in the world. Initiated in the 1970's, and after the discovery of all that encompassed this scandal, Watergate brought the end of President Richard Nixon's political career and he avoided jail time merely because he was pardoned by the later elected President Gerald Ford.

1. Watergate, in essence was the result of the discovery of the fraudulent actions taken by President Nixon and his re-election campaign managers by wiretapping leaders and members of the opposing Democratic Party and also the discovery of the way that Nixon used his powers, especially with the FBI and other agencies to cover the actions. The answer, then to the first question is A: The cover-up involved criminal activities and obstruction of justice by the president of the United States.

2. The lasting effects of Watergate are many and they range from political to social effects. In the political and legal arena, it forced Congress to take measures to ensure something like this never happened again and passed several Acts to prevent it, like the Freedom of Information Act. Also, politically, the Republicans lost a lot of seats and most importantly, Gerard Ford, who pardoned Nixon, lost the reelection in 1976. But probably the biggest blow was socially. Because after that people became really dubitative of their political leaders and of their government. This is why the second answer is B: Many Americans lost faith in their government and became cynical about politics.