On June 17, 1972, President Nixon was accused of having sent five men working for his presidential campaign to raid the Democratic Party headquarters to avoid impeachment . Once the Watergate scandal was resolved, it left behind major long- and short-term impacts that changed American history. President Nixon's actions changed the way citizens viewed American officials, which later gave future presidents a bad reputation and caused trust among people in government to deteriorate. The Watergate scandal shows how corrupt the American government was and the extent to which leaders were willing to disobey the Constitution to cover up their mess. As the Watergate scandal degraded the American political system, many Americans agreed that some reforms were necessary to prevent another scandal. Many of these effects caused by the Watergate scandal led to many demands that prevented the president from abusing his power, lack of trust and manipulation among political leaders, and changed the way civilians viewed American leaders. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Once Richard Nixon resigned as president in 1974, many citizens believed that several reforms needed to be made to help reshape the American political system and prevent another scandal from happening again. Although the government helped implement these laws, corruption was still found on a daily basis. In the 1970s, Nixon increased conflict in other nations such as Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Congress noticed that Nixon was abusing his power and established the War Powers Act of 1973 which restricted the president from sending troops without congressional approval. For the upcoming election, the United States government decided to institute the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 which limited presidential campaign spending and made all funding public. Corruption among government officials can be traced back to the 1950s, when numerous illegal activities of the FBI and CIA were discovered. This led congress to develop standing committees to observe different agencies. Since many agencies were becoming corrupt, the government wanted different reforms to prevent any scandals. For example, in 1975, Congress passed the Hughes-Ryan Amendment requiring the president to accept and report classified information to Congress. Ultimately, a short-term effect caused the CIA and Congress to sever all association with each other. Congress has also enacted other reforms to help reshape the American political system and hopefully prevent another Watergate scandal. This led to the Ethnicity in Government Act that required disclosing the financial and employment history of executive and judicial officials. Many of these officials were not allowed to enter the private sector and use their knowledge to their advantage in politics. The head of the Justice Department was also required to report any allegations within 90 days to three different judges. During this period, many citizens began to trust the government's efforts at comprehensive reform until Ronald Reagan became president. At the time, Congress was unsure whether to extend the ethnic law in government. On December 15, Reagan decided to sign the act in order to have “a semblance of justice” and improve his reputation as president. However, after Reagan extended the law, Michael Deaver, a former employeeof the White House, was arrested. This was significant because Deaver had a close relationship with Reagan's family and shows another reason why the government was broken. These problems eventually led to a major long-term effect on American citizens because they did not trust politicians especially as the government continued to be corrupt after the Watergate scandal. Once Richard Nixon resigned, many civilians realized that politicians were the ones who were primarily involved in the Watergate scandal. As a result, many members of the Republican and Democratic parties have been impacted in both the short and long term. In the 1970s, many politicians such as Democrats used the Watergate scandal to their advantage to ruin the reputation of Republicans. Although some Republicans were trying to reshape some of the issues they had left, in the short term many Democrats made several efforts to continue to oppress Republicans and ruin their position. Democrats like Samuel J. Erwin have made several efforts to expose those associated with the Watergate scandal. For example, Erwin investigated White House counsel John Dead who admitted to planning to harass “enemies” through tax audits and several other illegal methods so that Nixon could cover up his plan for the Watergate scandal. Furthermore, Dean admitted how the White House was trying to hide its wrongdoing, which was later proven by conversations taken from tape recordings that were in the Oval Office. Cox and Erwin then tried to listen to the Watergate tapes, but Nixon refused. Eventually, thanks to executive privilege and separation of powers, the Supreme Court was able to release the tapes. After the Watergate scandal, the Democratic Party began to enjoy the favor of American citizens, especially since over 70 new members were elected to Congress to help reshape society. Additionally, due to Nixon's actions, members of congress were trying to impeach him, however, he decided to resign to protect his reputation and avoid embarrassment. This led to a long-term effect on future presidential elections due to the distrust and broken political system that Nixon left behind. In the 1976 election, many Americans were reluctant to vote because they did not want to elect a dishonest leader. However, Jimmy Carter emphasized his faith as a devout Christian and his distance from the government in Washington. Carter took advantage of Ford's failure to solve the country's economic problems to his advantage and managed to win over blacks, organized workers, and whites who had voted for Nixon in previous years. The Democratic Party managed to win for a couple of years, however, the 1980 election marked a significant turning point as the Republican Party was able to gain the upper hand again. Like Carter, Reagan also used Christianity as an important factor in his campaign. Although the Republican Party was truly affected by the Watergate scandal, it was able to overcome the difficulties and become the dominant party. If it were not for the failed system of government and the corruption that occurs after Nixon, then the government would have learned the lesson after the Watergate scandal. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The Watergate scandal left behind an ugly history that significantly deteriorated trust in government. One of the most lasting impacts on American society was when William Safire used the suffix gate for.