January 1973: Watergate, Roe v. Wade, Vietnam, and the Month That Changed America Forever

by James Robenalt, John W. Dean (Foreword)

American politics changed forever in January 1973.

In the span of thirty-one days, the Watergate burglars went on trial, the Nixon administration negotiated an end to the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Roe v. Wade , Lyndon Johnson died in Texas (and Harry Truman passed away just a month earlier), and Richard Nixon was sworn in for his second term. The events had unlikely links and each worked along with the others to create a time of immense transformation. Roe in particular pushed political opponents to the outer reaches of each party, making compromise something that has become more and more difficult in our system of checks and balances.

Using newly released Nixon tapes, author and historian James Robenalt provides readers a fly-on-the-Oval-Office-wall look at events both fascinating and terrifying that transpired in the White House during this monumental month. He also delves into the judge’s chambers and courtroom drama during the Watergate break-in trial, and the inner sanctum of the US Supreme Court as it hashed out its decision in Roe v. Wade . Though the events took place more than forty years ago, they’re key to understanding today’s political paralysis.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History

416 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2015

Reviews

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Robenalt's January 1973 covers the hinge point in Richard Nixon's presidency: the first month of his second term, when Vietnam ended, Watergate began to devour his administration and the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade ruling legalizes abortion. Robenalt's book is to be commended for its thoroughness: making heavy use both of White House tapes and trial transcripts, he reconstructs Nixon's White House, increasingly paranoid and resentful at the moments of its greatest triumph, along with the trial of the Watergate burglars which eventually overtook that triumph in the public mind. We see Nixon at his most devious and vengeful, unable to savor victory because there are so many enemies to punish. We see the unctuous Henry Kissinger, defiant Gordon Liddy and a host of other familiar cameos. The book's most compelling portraits are of James McCord, the chief bugger whose resolve gradually cracks during the trial; his letter disclosing perjury to Judge John Sirica blew Watergate wide open. And of Sirica himself; historians have never known quite what to do with "Maximum John," and Robenalt makes clear that his actions during the trial were flagrantly biased and adversarial, albeit essential to unraveling the truth. The Roe vs. Wade material is the weakest, since it's connected only by the thinnest of strands to the main, Nixon-centered narrative; perhaps Robenalt includes it to justify the title's contention that this was a month that "Changed America Forever." Which is a shame, because otherwise this is a smartly observed, engagingly writtne micro-history of the Nixon Administration at the precipice of disaster.

[Randal White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an outstanding book. The author takes a one month term, January 1973, and shows how much important history occurred in (and around) that particular time period. The Watergate trial began, the Vietnam War's end was negotiated, the Supreme Court issued it's Roe v. Wade abortion ruling, and Nixon's second term began. Through a masterful effort, Robenalt weaves together how all the events came about, and how they were related. I thought that I understood before how odd Richard Nixon was, but this book really pulls it all together. An obviously talented and intelligent man, Nixon allowed his own low self-esteem and distrust of others to develop into a full-blown paranoia. This led him to surround himself with self-serving toadies, who were more than happy to feed into his conspiracies and double-dealing. The whole crew eventually brought down Nixon's presidency.
Easy to read, extremely well flowing, hard hitting writing. Read this, and you cannot help but draw parallels with some of today's politicians. God help us!

[victor harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly interesting analysis of the convergence of events in January, 1973. Kissinger was in the final rounds of negotiations ending American involvement in the Vietnam War, the Watergate investigation was just gathering steam, and the explosive Roe v. Wade decision was rendered in that month. Meanwhile Nixon was preparing for his inaugural after his landslide re-election and instead of enjoying the moment, he was already coordinating a counterattack against his "enemies", real and imagined.
Most of the content in the book is in the form of primary source documents with heavy emphasis on the dialogue between Nixon and his staff. This gets a little tedious as they become repetitious. To wit, Nixon resented Kissinger for sharing or trying to steal the spotlight; Nixon and Colson plotted revenge on the press and liberals; Nixon et al were trying to contain Watergate with bribes in exchange for silence.
The Roe v. Wade section is the most interesting part as it brings in cases that shaped the decision. Although Nixon had a stacked Court and thought it would rule to restrict abortion. Needless to say, he was surprised at the 7-2 outcome. Most of the controversy within the Court ranks was not that Roe would permit abortion but when, the vexing issue was " viability."
As for the treaty ending U.S. participation in Vietnam, the biggest stumbling block was getting South Vietnamese leader Thieu on board. Ultimately, he relented to the pressure from the U.S. with assurances that if the North violated the treaty, the U.S. would resume its commitment. It was an ill-considered assurance as the Democrats did well in the 72 election despite Nixon's wide electoral margin, and they were not amenable to continued funding of the war. Although outside of the scope of the book, the upshot was that Thieu and the South were left to their own devices and they would crumble before the North's onslaught.
I give it a high 3 and if one enjoys plowing through legal and bureaucratic minutiae, they might bump it into the 4 range. It does keep each topic in manageable chunks and shows how the events intersect and influence the policy and decision making, thus the solid but not great rating.

[Chad Malkamaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting take on a dramatic period of U.S. and world history. Robenalt while teaching a class on Watergate with John Dean realized that three momentous actions occurred over a period of a couple weeks in the month of January 1973, also the death of Lyndon B. Johnson passed away to add to the eerie epoch.

A lawyer by trade, the author recreates the early stages of the Watergate trial, and the Roe v. Wade decision in an interesting and readable way for the layperson or serious historian. Each chapter, relying on the Nixon tapes, and Dean's help in unlocking the code of how to research with the tapes shows how the Paris Peace Accords, the Supreme Court decision, and the trials of the conspirators were taking up the president's time, along with him watching the Redskins lose to the Dolphins in the Super Bowl.

[F.C. Schaefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We never quite understand history as it is happening around us, only when events are fading into the rear view mirror do we truly grasp what has occurred. That is the premise of JANUARY 1973, by James Robenalt, which takes a single 31 one day period and explains how American history took a decisive fork in the road during that month. A relatively short book, with just over 300 pages, Robenalt focuses on three pivotal events in the month that Richard Nixon was sworn in for what he thought would be full second term: the negations that would end the Vietnam War; the trial of the Watergate burglars and their immediate superiors; and the behind the scenes deliberations at the Supreme Court that ended in the Roe V Wade decision legalizing abortion in all 50 states for the first time. Nixon is the central character here, as he has a hand in everything, from his fateful Supreme Court appointments, and the politics that surrounded them, to the men around him who had no qualms about going outside the law to insure his re-election, to the determination to end what was then America’s longest war on terms that Nixon could call “Peace with Honor.” A secondary story in the book is the passing of Lyndon Johnson, which occurred on the fateful 22nd day of the month, along with the death of Harry Truman on the day after Christmas, 1972, both of which seemed to punctuate the ending of an era.

The sections on the Vietnam negotiations takes the reader behind the scenes as a determined Nixon pulls out all the stops to get a cease fire agreement negotiated in Paris, including the controversial Christmas bombing campaign in December, where American B-52’s unleashed hell on North Vietnam, though the real sticking point was President Thieu, of South Vietnam, who quite correctly suspected the Americans of being willing to sign an accord that left North Vietnam in control of much territory in the South, a move that would put Thieu’s country at a great disadvantage going forward. The real problem for Nixon was that the Democratic Party controlled Congress and was about to end funding for the war altogether, and he was literally under the gun to get an agreement done. Ultimately, National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger was able to hammer out an agreement in Paris, but not before an ultimatum was given to Thieu, along with assurances that the United States would intervene with the full force of its military when the North inevitably broke the terms of the Paris Accords and resumed the war. Robenalt does a good job of giving the low down on Nixon and Kissinger’s relationship, which was anything but smooth. Though Nixon made much of the Vietnam peace agreement, it was greeted with little enthusiasm in an exhausted country at the time, most feeling that the war’s end was coming many years too late. The best that could be said about it was that the brave POWs, like John McCain, were released after far too many years in captivity, and allowed to come home.

The parts of the book concerning the trial of the Watergate burglars in Judge John Sirica’s courtroom are the best as far as I am concerned, taking us back to an often little discussed part of that momentous scandal that often focuses too much on the men in the White House. It’s the story of a cover up that nearly held despite a motley crew of characters, some of whom were fast losing their nerve as the prospect of a long jail term loomed. There was a Federal prosecutor much too willing to simply accept the defendants stories at face value, and a Federal judge much too willing to exceed his authority when, in his eyes, the prosecution dropped the ball. Behind the scenes was a cover up that went all the way to Oval Office, one which included the paying of hush money for the defendant’s silence about others involved, and willing perjury by the men running Nixon’s re-election campaign. Once familiar names like E. Howard Hunt, G. Gordon Liddy, James McCord, Earl Silbert, Jeb Magruder, Charles Colson, and Hugh Sloan return to play their parts in the drama; I used to listen to Liddy’s right wing radio show, and well remember the contempt he showered on Judge Sirica, the man who sentenced him to more than two decades in prison for a crime Liddy a crime of which he was clearly guilty, and now I much more understand G. Gordon’s animus, though I don’t agree with it.

The driest part of the book is the back story of how Roe V Wade came to be, as it is hard to make the this kind of material riveting, but it is a good window in how things are done at the Supreme Court, and how important junior clerks can be to the final decision. It’s also a good example of the law of unintended consequences, as Harry Blackmun, put on the court by Nixon to be a reliable conservative, law and order justice, manages to fashion a 7 – 2 majority decision legalizing abortion, a cause that would become a corner stone of American social liberalism in the years ahead. What struck me is how free the deliberations were of the kind of political invective this issue would go on to engender, nary a “my body, my choice” or “baby killer” to be heard. What also struck me was how naive the justices were in thinking this ruling would settle the abortion issue in America. Also, I felt that this book, informative as it is, did not begin to do justice to Roe V Wade, and its impact on America, and the way abortion would be weaponized in the years ahead for political gain.

Thanks to the release of his taped White House telephone conversations, the portrait of Richard Nixon that emerges in these pages of one of a hate filled and vindictive man, incapable of being magnanimous, he had just swept the country in a 49 state landslide, yet was determined to see a lone anti war protester prosecuted to the fullest extent when he attempted to disrupt Nixon’s inaugural parade on January 20th. Robenalt makes a convincing case that his legacy, and the legacy of that long January of 1973, is still with us; Vietnam had already divided the country along generational and cultural lines, Watergate would further alienate millions of Americans from their government, while the Roe decision would pour gasoline on the nascent Culture War between the Left and the Right, radicalizing many, and creating a grass roots movement that would help propel every Republican President into the Oval Office from then on. The political consensus that Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson represented disappeared, never to return, as compromise and common ground came to be seen as betrayal.

JANUARY 1973 is a must read for history buffs, especially ones like me, who are fascinated by the latter half of the 20th Century. This book really gives us an insect on the wall view of intimate moments behind closed doors as judges, conspirators, crooked politicians, and even a few patriots, make more history than they probably realized at the time.

[Deb Moehrke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at several major events that all connected, in some way, in January 1973. I'll be honest here and say that as a young adult during the Nixon years, I developed a hatred for Nixon that continues to his day. I have thought of him as devious and a crook and this story didn't change that belief. My son, however, was taught another more balance version of Nixon's presidency and I read this to try to see what he sees in Nixon. What I found instead was the best explanation of the development of the Roe vs Wade decision; the difficulties behind negotiating the end of the Vietnam War; and the beginnings of the Watergate coverup that eventually ended his Presidency. The author uses LBJ's death in January 1973 to discuss the state of the Civil Rights movement at the time. A very clear explanation of several very complex situations. It didn't change my opinion of Nixon, in fact he was more vindictive than I knew, but it was a fascinating look at the times and how several events then sowed the seeds that brought us to our current political situation. Well worth the time to read.

[Judie · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the time, most people didn’t realize that January 1973 was one of the most important months in American history. With the use of the released Nixon tapes, James Robenalt presents a day by day diary of what happened some of which is still affecting America almost forty four years later. As Robenalt points out, January was named for the Roman god, Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions. He has two faces, one looking back and one looking forward.
The events actually began before that. In November 1972, President Richard M. Nixon was looking for scapegoats to blame for the break-in at the Democrat National Committe office at the Watergate. On the day after the election, he called for the resignation of everyone who had worked on his campaign, afraid they were “burned out.”
On Christmas Day 1972, the US conducted massive bombing raids on North Vietnam and suffered many casualties. Thirty one pilots and crews became POWs and there were 93 more missing in action. Twenty eight aircraft including fifteen B-52s were shot down, (cost nearly $8 million each). The purpose of the attacks was to break the deadlock in Paris over ending the Vietnam war but President Nixon didn’t want anyone to know that. In 1968, Nixon had secretly persuaded the South Vietnamese to not agree to a peace treaty until the US election was over.
On December 26, 1972, Harry S Truman died. His funeral was held in The Washington Cathedral in DC on January 5, 1973. Nixon did not attend the service because it was being conducted by the Dean, Francis B. Sayre, an anti-war activist. Sayre was also Woodrow Wilson’s grandson, born in the White House. Nixon and his wife, Pat, had already paid their respects in Independence MO.
On January 2, he called Lyndon Baines Johnson to see if he was going to attend. Johnson said he wasn’t and also would not be attending the memorial for Senator Hale Boggs in Louisiana. He said he wasn’t feeling well. After he hung up the phone, Nixon told his special counsel, Charles Colson, that Johnson “was a hypochondriac. He’s unbelievable.” That was the last time they talked. LBJ died twenty days later.
On the same day, Colson, complained to Nixon that Congress was back. “God, it is just so painful to go [up to the Hill] and have to listen to these people whine around, and they want briefings, and they want fact sheets.”
The main issue that concerned Nixon during January 1973 was the trial of the Watergate burglars. Judge John Sirica, who was conducting the trial, acted more like a prosecutor than a judge, even going so far as to meeting with lawyers ex parte representing only one side. Nixon’s main concern was that the White House, himself especially, not be tied to the break-in.
When LBJ was sworn into office on November 22, 1963, after President Kennedy’s assassination, Judge Sarah Hughes administered the oath of office. She is the only woman to ever do so. A few years later, she was one of the three judges who ruled on the Roe v. Wade case to determine the right of a woman to have an abortion. The case reached the Supreme Court. The decision in favor of Roe was read the morning of January 22. Five hours later, LBJ died. Nixon had planned to give a speech scuttling Johnson’s Great Society but decided to delay the announcement because of LBJ’s death.
On January 20, Nixon was sworn in as President for the second time. He spoke of what was called the Nixon Doctrine The US was no longer going to be world’s policeman. It would play a key role but other nations had to do their part as well and take responsibility for their own futures. The doctrine applied to domestic policies as well. Individuals had the responsibility of solving their problems. They shouldn’t expect the government to do so..
On January 23, the US, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam initialed a peace treaty. South Vietnam did so reluctantly and under great pressure from the US administration.
On January 30, the verdict for the first Watergate trial was pronounced.
Other points of interest:
In October 1971, Nixon talked to Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger about people to appoint to fill vacancies. Chief Justice Warren Burger threatened to resign if a woman was appointed to fill a vacancy. Nixon agreed saying that he didn’t think women should have government jobs.
Some of Nixon’s plans backfired. The end of combat increased the likelihood of battles with Congress which saw the imperial presidency as a threat to their oversight. When the issue of
investigating White House involvement in Watergate arouse, Nixon said he had appointed John Dean to conduct a special internal investigation. He hadn’t.
The Republicans worked to reorganize their party and establish a new political order. It determined that the typical voter was “unyoung, unpoor, and unblack” and raised an anti-intellectual, blue-collar, patriotic, Southern`based coalition. That started a culture war setting them against the elites. Most voters were concerned with the economy, The attitude of the public was very similar to what the US saw during the 2016 campaign. The average voter felt threatened and fearful especially because of social change that affected their lives. Congress eventually veered off into a no compromise attitude.
According to Robenalt, the legacy of January 1973 was “The ‘me generation’ found its voice, religion became a political force, poverty and civil rights became some else’s problem, and the national will for concerned action for the common good was scattered into ‘a thousand points of light.”
JANUARY 1973 goes back to explain the circumstances that led to some of the events that month. There is a lot of detail (thanks to Nixon’s use of secret tape recorders) and some repetition. There are sections that could have been eliminated such as descriptions of sporting events.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I may be done with books centering around years of history (1969, 1968, 1920, 1927, 1865 etc.) and added to that books about months within that year of history. It's not that they're not informative, they are. It's not that they're not well-written, although this one depended on verbatim prose too much. It's just the theses are forced, as if the phases of the earth around the sun, or the month around the earth, somehow forced the history.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content wise I learned more on some of my favorite topics- History, Watergate and Vietnam. - which is always a plus.

The book should’ve been titled 1972-January 31, 1973 as a good portion maybe two-thirds dealt with 1972 whereas the author spent much time on events leading up to a certain day in Jan ‘73 vs the day it self. Case in point, 90% of one chapter was all 1972.

Only til about 2/3’s through did the book become chronological.

Disappointed in its structure; enjoyed the content.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Had No Idea. And am speechless!

I was 20 something when all this was going on and had an idealistic view of life. I am amazed at what I missed. If you grew up during the 70's, and the events in this book are important to you, then this book is a must read.

[Craig Schwinden · Rating 5 out of 5]

WoW! So much tucked into a month...a very important month in American History that, of course, has been largely forgotten.

[Rob Pruden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book and with so many events to cover, the author did a wonderful job weaving it into a narrative that is easy and compelling to read. I certainly recommend this book

[Joey Sharpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting View on Historical Events

"January 1973" pulls together their major historical events and shows how they share and shape today's political landscape. The footnotes are as interesting as the book itself and she'd even more detail about the synchronicity of Watergate, Vietnam, and abortion decisions made by the Supreme Court.

[Israel Macario · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great history on 3 major events that shaped the country. The author did a great job of making details of the events interesting. I would definitely recommend the book especially to see how coverups bring down a presidency. History may repeat itself.

[Leila · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book that was about a single month in US history, this was a long read. The level of detail in the recounting of the several threads in the book is commendable, but it did feel like details were repeated more than was necessary and there were times when the book bogged down. It took me around a month to read, which seems too long. The last half of the book was more interesting to me than all the set-up in the first half.

Overall, interesting and substantively dense. I feel like I have a much better grasp on some of the workings of the Nixon administration which were always hazy to me at best. So it was a worthwhile read. The Epilogue tries to do too much, tracing Nixon's politics through Reagan and the modern era. I would have preferred just a tie-up of the threads of the story, as opposed to the author trying to put together an entire worldview for the reader to agree with or not.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was 12 years old in January of 1973. Truly a pivotal time in America's history. This book tells of world and nation changing policy and politics, and delves lightly into the personal lives of some of the main political persons of that time. I did detect a bias in the telling and am sadly afraid that true journalism, where the facts are reported without trying to lead the audience toward the journalist's world view, is perhaps unattainable. It took me longer to read this book than I anticipated. Not quite as dry as a high school history book, I still found it a chore to read at times.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

January 1973:Watergate,Roe V. Wade,Vietnam,And The Month That Changed America Forever was interesting and most importantly, easy to read. James Robenalt is an excellent and sophisticated writer. Brillant author. This book should be a mandatory read in high schools and colleges. Glad I won this book from Goodreads!

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found the narrative extremely boring. Feel as if these are regurgitated facts about a number of interesting subjects, written in a he said, she said style.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is at times an interesting historical review and analysis of events that converged in January 1973. Nothing overly surprising in the book, but generally well written.