Watergate overshadowed all of Nixon's other achievements.

I would use the comparison of Bill Clinton.

Nixon didn't do that much apart from getting out of Vietnam. This was overshadowed by Watergate as the all-time Presidential scandal.

Clinton didn't do much except mess about a bit with Bosnia and Northern Ireland. This was overshadowed by be nearly getting impeached - although with hindsight and all the stuff that came out later it all looks a lot worse. So - the common factor is that the two presidents didn't have anything larger than their scandal.

Compare this to say Obama - nothing will ever be bigger than his ethnicity. Compare this to Reagan who saw the end of the Cold War. Compare this to HW Bush who had the Gulf War, W Bush who had 9/11 and Iraq. JFK getting assassinated. Truman dropping the bomb. For all these Presidents, they have maybe one defining moment. For Nixon it was Watergate.

Think about Presidents like Ford and Jimmy Carter. No one remembers them because nothing really huge happened.

I would use the comparison of Bill Clinton.

Nixon didn't do that much apart from getting out of Vietnam. This was overshadowed by Watergate as the all-time Presidential scandal.

Clinton didn't do much except mess about a bit with Bosnia and Northern Ireland. This was overshadowed by be nearly getting impeached - although with hindsight and all the stuff that came out later it all looks a lot worse. So - the common factor is that the two presidents didn't have anything larger than their scandal.

Compare this to say Obama - nothing will ever be bigger than his ethnicity. Compare this to Reagan who saw the end of the Cold War. Compare this to HW Bush who had the Gulf War, W Bush who had 9/11 and Iraq. JFK getting assassinated. Truman dropping the bomb. For all these Presidents, they have maybe one defining moment. For Nixon it was Watergate.

Think about Presidents like Ford and Jimmy Carter. No one remembers them because nothing really huge happened.

Nixon also did the visit to China. I would say that is important.

The question is only about Nixon though, and the course doesn't go beyond Nixon.

Nixon also did the visit to China. I would say that is important.

That's questionable. You're discussing the office of the President, surely the comparison should be explored. Nixon is famous because he's the President. What happend in that office is what makes it important. If Nixon were CEO of some company who spied on another company, it wouldn't have been news.





Sure, but you say "Nixon" to someone, and the first thing that will spring to the mind of most people will be "Watergate", not "China" - and that's the point.

That's questionable. You're discussing the office of the President, surely the comparison should be explored. Nixon is famous because he's the President. What happend in that office is what makes it important. If Nixon were CEO of some company who spied on another company, it wouldn't have been news.





Sure, but you say "Nixon" to someone, and the first thing that will spring to the mind of most people will be "Watergate", not "China" - and that's the point.

This is for A Level history, and the question is about Nixon, not just as President, but his whole career. The other Presidents aren't relevant to Nixon's personal achievements

Ignore that idiot.

Best structure is look at Nixon's other achievements and see how impactful they were. Then relate that and see whether it compares to Watergate. Structure is key for open ended essays.

So for the first factor, I'd discuss how Watergate overshadowed his achievements, and then would I counter-argue that Nixon's achievements weren't overshadowed or that there were other reasons for them being overshadowed, other than Watergate?

Watergate is obviously pretty overwhelming, so the best way to find balance in your essay is to say that there were simply other significant factors which weren't overshadowed.

This is for A Level history, and the question is about Nixon, not just as President, but his whole career. The other Presidents aren't relevant to Nixon's personal achievements

Then you are agreeing with the original statement. Except no one asked for your opinion idiot.

You've been wholly unhelpful here, OP is asking for factors and its clear you havent got a clue about A level history. Stop being a ****ing moron because its completely ****ing dumb advice to tell someone that they should go beyond the syllabus and talk about irrelevant crap like Obama's race.

This is not an academic debate you dumb ****ing moron. This is advice about an a level history question. Obama's not on the spec therefore they dont credit it.

As I said, no one asked for your ****ing opinion. OP wanted advice about structure and what you put in it and you, being a retard, tells her to mention that Obama's blackness. To score top marks you have to dispute that, but obviously being the simple minded c*nt you are, you cant think critically and simply blurt your stupid simple opinion when no one asked for it.

You're a ****ing tool.

Now you're just changing what you're saying. Earlier on you said to compare to other presidencies like an idiot which is completely wrong because it's not in the syllabus.

It's also clear you dont have a clue what happened because theres a lot more but its been long established you're a pseudo-intellectual retard who doesnt know sh*t.

No. I'm saying the same thing. There would be no problem comparing the Presidencies. Why not? It's the Office of the Presidency as it relates to Richard Nixon that's the issue, not Richard Nixon in isolation.

No, it only refers to Nixon in the question

Yes. I am aware of that. What I am saying is that the defining characteristic of Richard Nixon is that he was the 37th President. The defining characteristic of that Presidency was Watergate and his impeachment process.

To answer that question without reference to anything outside of the Nixon Presidency would make for a very narrow and answer. By the same token you might say "no point in talking about China, because the whole relevance of China is outside the question" and the same with Vietnam.

There has to be historical context. Watergate was unprecedented. Clinton had something similar and that's all that he gets remembered for. Same with many modern Presidents.

No, the focus is on Nixon, no other President. This course does not cover Clinton or Obama, so stfu