How Scandalous

Government is corrupt. This is what I have been noticing after reading these three chapters. Chapter fifteen was probably my favorite because, until now, history books do not give much insight into this subject. The Watergate Scandal made America look foolish, since our elected leader is suppose to represent our values and principles. President Richard Nixon easily fooled many Americans, many thought of Nixon as humble, reaching all of the requirements for being a great president. However, the citizens of America were deceived. Nixon consequently showed the country his real side through his tapes. The American public were stunned to see the vindictive, small-minded personality of their once believed to be great leader. I believe the thesis of this chapter is to be, people can be easily deceived by the exterior view of our political leaders. Also, there is the ironic theme that what Nixon thought would be beneficial to him, in actuality, the recording system in his office turned out to be the beginning of his defamation.


In my opinion, Nixon should have been worrying about other details instead of being concerned with his re-election. Also, millions of dollars are wasted away every election year to gain supporters. This money could be used to help find much more valuable things such as the following: a cure for cancer, saving the environment, or funding research for the creation of more medicine.

Watergate has become synonymous with abuse of power. Nixon abused his role as president to try to cover up the White House’s involvement with the break in to the Watergate Hotel. The abuse of power was also evident by attempting to set the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency against one another. After reading this, my opinion of Nixon had completely shifted. At first, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but turning his own agencies against one another to cover up such a scandal was a just imprudent. Nixon, after being pushed by the House Judiciary Committee left office on August 9, 1974.

Before the summer of 1972, Watergate meant nothing to the citizens of America. It merely was a luxurious hotel used by the Democratic office. However, it became the focus of 1973 until 1974 after a “third-rate burglary.” As one of the greatest political scandals ever, Watergate, ruined many lives and reputations, forever changing the life of President Richard Nixon.

Fight Against Two Nations

Sacco and Vanzetti caused a whirlwind of chaos across America. In chapter eleven, the thesis can be derived from the prejudice seen in the courtroom of the Sacco and Vanzetti case. Their cultural background caused them to be degraded by the jurors, and unfortunately, the judge. Both Italian born men were being forced to fight for their lives against a trial at a time where Nativism was a strongly controversial idea. White supremacy was on the mind of many males during this era of the roaring 20’s. Many judges and lawyers reviewed this case and it was clear that the juror Ripley’s quote, “Damn them, they ought to hang anyway,” was the mindset of many during this case trial. As many prominent men during this time strayed away from the principles of the founding fathers in 1776, the fight over the matter of guilty or innocent for Sacco and Vanzetti flourished into something much more. It became a fight between two nations; the arrayed immigrants, workers, and the poor being represented by the Sacco and Vanzetti versus the “men of Norfolk,” or rather, the men having a similar outlook to Thayer.


It is my opinion that many that the men were clearly innocent, and that the Supreme Court should have taken notice of the pulsating prejudice values seen throughout this trial. After Celestino E. Medeiros sent in that letter to Sacco, and much investigation took place, it was obvious that the Morelli gang should have been considered as suspects. However, Thayer’s hate for these two men was a wonder to me. Where did his strong hate for these men come from? Even after the defense made a prevailing case on the Morelli gang, Thayer still refused to even consider the thought. Also, an initial thought that came to mind after reading the first few pages was what happened to Boda? Why was he not more involved in this trial? Thankfully for this case, many protocols and orders must be followed now before evidence and witnesses can become support for a case.

This case became much more than innocent versus guilty, but rather an issue on the principles our founding fathers created in 1776. Riots and tears broke out after it was announced that the “good shoemaker and the poor fish peddler” were dead. This exemplifies just how much more this case called for. The unjust and unfair ways of the lawyers, judges, and leaders in this case will always be remembered.

The Fight for Better Health

Teddy Roosevelt fought for a better inspection of the meat being produced in the early 1900’s. This is what I learned after reading the chapter on how the USDA inspection system was created. The Jungle was the epicenter for the confusion, panic, and outcry in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. After Upton Sinclair exposed the unsanitary production of canned-meat products, many steps of action had to take place. On a government level, varied procedures took place that brought about a fight between the packers and the people who wanted a better inspection service of their meat. Inevitably, there was a compromise made and each side had to give up a few things. Neither of the sides had a total victory, which is often in the political system. The Meat Inspection Act, in my opinion, was the first thing that showed America just how the legislative process ran its course. For the first time, Americans saw that a decision can only be made if there is public discourse that causes serious debate and negotiation. I believe the thesis of this chapter supports the complexity of the governmental processes that must occur in order for there to be a change in the order of life.


I learned a great deal while reading this chapter. I never knew that so much goes into the process of creating a bill. It was interesting to learn that one book alone could call for so much chaos, but I guess these days we have Harry Potter and Twilight that seem to cause the same pandemonium in America. Along with The Jungle arousing the attention of America, cartoonist even displayed a big role in causing more destruction. Cartoonist always chose a side, which showed clearly in their drawings because the other side would always be portrayed as something evil. I believe that it is necessary for a better understanding of how the three branches of government come together to produce an outcome for a proposed bill or act. This chapter provides this information; which if every American understood this, we would elect more adequate people into office.

My opinion of the book is that the author was good at showing how a historian must come to write facts, this I like a lot. However, the author became abstracted during the story many times. At times I would find myself wondering where he is going with this thought. But overall, it was very interesting to learn about Teddy Roosevelt and governmental processes.