Retired Wayne State professor discusses lasting importance of Watergate

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Retired Wayne State history professor Melvin Small doesn’t think enough people know information about Watergate.

Monday evening in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium, Small gave a detailed history of what took place from 1971 through 1974 in the Watergate affairs.

“Most of my students in the last 15 years knew almost nothing about Watergate,” Small said. “Students don’t take enough history in high school and avoid it in college.”

The presentation consisted of Small reading from a prepared lecture that mostly focused on the background of the scandal. Small discussed the use of censorship by the Nixon White House when turning documents over to courts. A large part of Small’s lecture concerned tension in the Nixon cabinet.

Small said he is not an expert on the Constitution, but gave a description of the constitutional issues raised by Watergate.

After the lecture, Small took questions from the audience about topics including the role of the Constitution in Bill Clinton’s impeachment, which is the first step in removing an official from office.

Before retiring in 2010, Small worked for 45 years at Wayne State University. He has written and edited 15 books and over 70 articles, including ‘The Presidency of Richard Nixon,” published by the University of Kansas Press in 1999.

Small explained history’s importance to the audience, while reminding them how difficult it could be.

“History is hard because you have to write and read lots of books,” Small said.

Students listened on as Small listed the people who were involved in the Watergate scandal. He mapped out events in the affair from the arrests of  Bernard Barker, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, Frank Sturgis and James W. McCord Jr., the five people who broke into Watergate, to the resigning of President Richard Nixon.

“As far as the different people involved, I had no idea about that stuff,” Illinois freshman Reid Gardner said. “He was way more in-depth about the affair than I could ever imagine.”

Small stressed the importance of Watergate and how it relates to the Constitution.

“It is important for students to understand how (President Nixon), got into that position and how it applies to our Constitution,” Small said.

History department chair Mitchell Hall said the department plans to continue bringing in speakers to assist in educating students.

“We bring people that are experienced in different areas than the faculty,” Hall said. “It lets us appreciate different perspectives.”