A Handwritten Introduction of G. Gordon Liddy at the University Forum

On October 20, 1981, G. Gordon Liddy spoke at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) about his involvement as a major conspirator in the Watergate scandal. Liddy, who planned the crime and was meant to keep lookout from across the street on the night they were caught, was introduced at the University Forum by Dr. William K. Scarborough, a professor of history at USM. In preparation for introducing Mr. Liddy, Dr. Scarborough wrote an outline of his points in pen, on a small piece of paper.

On June 17, 1972, burglars were caught trying to break into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Office building complex. With four of the burglars being formerly active with the Central Intelligence Agency, and the fifth culprit the Chief of Security of the committee to re-elect the President, police and journalists formed an undeniable connection to then-President of the United States, Richard Nixon, and his attempt to obtain information against his opponent in the upcoming presidential election. Nixon became the only U.S. President to resign from office, while facing the possibility of impeachment. That September, his successor, President Gerald Ford, granted Nixon an unconditional pardon, making the former's popularity drop overnight.

On the night of the arrests, G. Gordon Liddy was across the street from the Watergate complex, orchestrating the plan he devised. After an information leak from the White House in the form of the Pentagon Papers, Liddy was put in charge of a "plumbers" unit, and finally became General Counsel in the re-election campaign, where he designed plans to kidnap, spy on, and assassinate "enemies" of Nixon. Liddy was the only defendant that refused to testify and served 52 months. He began to write and finally published Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy, which included his version of events of Watergate. He became popular on the university speaker circuit and hosted a talk-radio show in his name. By the time he died in 2021, he had acted, written novels, and sold nutritional supplements.

The note, found in the Dr. William K. Scarborough collection in University Libraries' Special Collections, suggests that Professor Scarborough was well aware of how divided the audience would be. The note reads, "controversial figure, to say the least…we will reserve our comments + judgments until we hear him." Born in 1933, William Scarborough served on active duty in the Navy after graduating from college. He began teaching at USM in 1964 and was a nationally recognized scholar who served as the chair of the History Department. Due to the nature of handwritten notes, the document allows us to see his errors and additions. Above his last numbered point, he references the popularity Mr. Liddy had found across the country as a lecturer.

This year celebrating its 50th anniversary, the USM University and Honors Forum were less than a decade old at the time but worked in similar collaboration to present day. Wanting to keep the event free for the public, the Honors College paid an amount equaling the revenue of ticket sales for a full house at Bennett Auditorium to the University Activities Council. Other letters in the Scarborough collection mention that his lectures were great successes, and coordinators had to turn people away at the door.

To view this item in person, visit Special Collections in McCain Library and Archives, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This item of the month was written by Asmita Zurafa Rahman, a junior applied economics major.

**Items of the Month featured in 2024-2026 will be the work of Southern Miss students who took HON 303, a seminar held in Fall 2024 focusing on archives and special collections.