History is all about learning from the past, however man does not always learn from the lessons of history. For this assignment we had to analyze a primary document from either the Watergate Scandal, Suffrage Movement, Brown v. Board of Education case, or the Zimmerman Telegram. I chose to analyze Nixon’s oval office recording deemed the “smoking gun” tape, because of my fascination with the 1970s and politics. This assignment proved difficult to stay on the task of analyzing the actual transcribed recordings instead of the political culture surrounding this time. I also had trouble finding who transcribed the tapes, but once I did it was not hard to analyze why this is a potentially unreliable source.
The attached essay was written by me in April of 2019, which I have chosen to attach for this class because of the high grade I received on it and how much I learned from completing this assignment. I have been fascinated with the culture of the 60s and 70s, mainly with the music that was created in this era, so naturally I am also interested in the political culture in this era. The way that Nixon changed the presidency and the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Nixon is unique and fascinating. With my writing in the future, my main goal is to have prettier writing, utilize better metaphors and make the deeper connections, which I felt I lacked slightly in this assignment. I want to move away from pointing out the obvious and look deeper into what others might not see.