The Mysteries of the World
Conspiracy theories have always existed since the oldest of times. In the past those who
believed in conspiracy theories were often persecuted, looked down upon, and even thought of as
crazy. While most people thought governments were correct and always moral, most of these
people were in the shadows. Governments and other societies have always hidden secrets from
its members and often got away with it without question. However, this is not the case today. In
modern day society, conspiracy theories have exploded with popularity and supporters. While
many believe general conspiracy theories relating to government operations, attacks,
extraterrestrial life, underground organizations, and many other topics are completely false and
not credible, a lot of these theories have significant evidence to prove these people wrong.
Since the beginning of time humans somewhere in all places have stood up for what was
right. Some of these people met brutal fates for discovering facts that governments and powerful
individuals attempted at hiding. These individuals were the truth seekers of their time. Not all
“conspiracy” theories are just conspiracies. Some of these past theories have actually become
facts discovered by those willing to stand up for what was right. One prime example of this is the
Watergate scandal. This is an example of a conspiracy theory that was proven true and brought
justice to the offenders. The Watergate scandal began in 1972 when Republican President
Richard Nixon was running for reelection. This was also during the time that the United States
was deep into the Vietnam War, and consequently deeply divided. Because of the war, the
candidates were put into a harsh political climate; this is was ultimately caused President Richard
Nixon’s downfall. Due to the harsh politics, one of Nixon’s tactics turned out to be illegal
espionage. Nixon attempted using the illegal espionage when:
Members of Nixon’s Committee to Re-Elect the President, also known as
CREEP, broke into the Democratic National Committee’s Watergate
headquarters, stole copies of top-secret documents and bugged the office’s
phones. (“Watergate Scandal.” N.p.)
However, the wiretaps did not function properly. To fix this, the burglars attempted to break back
into the Watergate building on June 17. This attempt didn’t go as well as the first break in did.
While the burglars were attempting to break in a security guard noticed that the building’s locks
had been compromised. The guard called the police immediately, who arrived just on time to
catch the spies in the act; despite the burglars being caught, it was assumed that the burglars were
not directly connected to Nixon and his campaign team. President Richard Nixon even gave a
speech swearing that White House staff and he himself was in no way involved with the burglars.
The general public assumed that this was true, and in November of that year President Richard
Nixon was reelected in a landslide. However, not all believed that this claim was true.
Conspiracy theories began to arise in individuals across the nation doubting President Richard
Nixon’s honestly. These people questioned the normal and turned out to be correct. The general
public believed that the conspiracies were false, and that their beloved President would never lie
or take part in such an act like that. They were soon to be proven wrong. Soon after President
Richard Nixon learned of the burglars capture, he quickly sent hundreds of thousands of dollars
to the burglars to keep them quiet and also used his presidential power to stop the FBI’s
investigation of the crime. After this Nixon’s plan quickly began to unfold with:
Multiple of Nixon’s aides, in order to avoid a trial, plead guilty. Counsel
member John Dean testified before a grand jury about the president’s crimes, and
admitted that Nixon had secretly taped every conversation that took place in the
Oval Office. (“Watergate Scandal.” N.p.)
After this persecutors began to demand Nixon hand over the tapes. Nixon had difficulty to
protect the tapes during the middle of the crisis in 1973. Leading the prosecution was
Sirica, the Senate committee, and an independent prosecutor by the name of Archibald Cox.
This team of prosecutors was determined to bring President Richard Nixon to justice.
Archibald Cox demanded that Nixon hand over the tapes, but Nixon’s lawyers argued that
since Richard Nixon was the President of the United States he did not have to hand then
over because of his executive privileges. Cox in particular pestered President Richard Nixon
to hand over the tapes, but eventually he stopped, and then:
When Cox refused to stop demanding the tapes, Nixon ordered that he be
fired, leading several Justice Department officials to resign in protest. (These
events, which took place on October 20, 1973, are known as the Saturday
