On June 17, 1972, President Nixon was accused of sending five men who worked for his presidential campaign to break into the headquarters of the Democratic Party in order to avoid impeachment. Once resolved, the Watergate scandal truly left behind major long-term and short-term impacts that changed American history. President Nixon's actions changed the way citizens viewed American officials, which then gave future presidents a bad name and deteriorated citizens' trust in government. The Watergate scandal shows how corrupt the American government was and how willing leaders were to disobey the Constitution to cover up their mess. Since the Watergate scandal degraded the American political system, many Americans have agreed that certain reforms are necessary to avoid another scandal. Many of these effects brought about by the Watergate scandal led to numerous demands that prevented the president from abusing his power, to lack of trust and manipulation among political leaders, and changed how civilians perceived American leaders. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayOnce Richard Nixon resigned as president in 1974, many citizens felt that there should be several reforms to help reshape the American political system and prevent another scandal from happening again. . Although the government helped implement these laws, corruption was still present on a daily basis. In the 1970s, Nixon increased conflicts in other countries 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 prohibited the president from sending troops without congressional approval. For the upcoming elections, the U.S. government decided to establish the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974, which limited spending on presidential campaigns and made all funding public. Corruption among government officials dates back to the 1950s, when a plethora of illegal FBI and CIA activities were uncovered. This led Congress to develop standing committees to observe different agencies. As many agencies were corrupt, the government wanted various reforms to avoid any scandal. For example, in 1975, Congress passed the Hughes-Ryan Amendment which required the president to accept and report classified information to Congress. Eventually, a short-term effect caused the CIA and Congress to sever all relations with each other. Congress also implemented other reforms to help reshape the American political system and hopefully prevent another Watergate scandal. This led to the Ethnicity in Government Act, which required disclosure of the financial and employment histories of officials in the executive and judicial branches. 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 Ministry was also required to report any accusations within 90 days to three different judges. During this period, many citizens began to trust the government's total reform efforts until Ronald Reagan became president. At the time, Congress was unsure whether to expand ethnic law in government.On December 15, Reagan decided to sign the act so he could have a "semblance of justice" and improve his reputation as president. However, after Reagan expanded the law, Michael Deaver, a former White House employee, was arrested. This was important because Deaver had a close relationship with Reagan's family and shows another reason why the government was broken. These issues ultimately had a major long-term effect on American citizens, as 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 primarily involved in the Watergate scandal. As a result, many members of both the Republican and Democratic parties have been affected in both the short and long term. In the 1970s, many politicians, especially Democrats, used the Watergate scandal to their advantage to ruin the reputation of Republicans. Although some Republicans attempted 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 such as 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 his intention to harass "enemies" through tax audits and several other illegal methods so that Nixon could cover up his planned scandal of Watergate. Dean also admitted that the White House was trying to cover up its wrongdoing, which was later proven through conversations recorded from video recordings kept in the Oval Office. Cox and Erwin then tried to listen to the Watergate-related tapes, but Nixon refused. Ultimately, due to executive privilege and separation of powers, the Supreme Court was able to release the recordings. After the Watergate scandal, the Democratic Party began to shift in favor of American citizens, especially as more than 70 new members were elected to Congress to help reshape society. Additionally, due to Nixon's actions, members of Congress attempted to impeach him, but he decided to step down to protect his reputation and avoid embarrassment. This had a long-term effect on future presidential elections due to the distrust and broken political system 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 devoted Christian and his distance from government in Washington. Carter used Ford's failure to solve the country's economic problems to his advantage and managed to win over blacks, labor unions, and whites who had voted for Nixon in previous years. The Democratic Party was able to achieve victory for a few years, but the 1980 elections marked an important turning point as the Republican Party was able to regain power. Like Carter, Reagan also used Christianity as an important role in his campaign. Although the Republican Party was truly affected by the Watergate scandal, it managed to overcome its difficulties and become the dominant party. If it hadn't been for the failed system of government and the corruption that was rampant after Nixon, then the government would have learned its lesson after the Watergate scandal. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a Trial.