Sam Ervin

Sam Ervin
United States Senator from North Carolina
In office June 5, 1954 – December 31, 1974
Preceded by	Clyde R. Hoey
Succeeded by	Robert Morgan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 10th district
In office January 22, 1946 – January 3, 1947
Preceded by	Joseph Ervin
Succeeded by	Hamilton C. Jones
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the Burke County district
In office 1931–1933
Preceded by	John Mull
Succeeded by	Francis Garrou
In office 1923–1927
Preceded by	Joseph Cooper
Succeeded by	John Giles
Personal details
Born	Samuel James Ervin Jr. (1896-09-27)September 27, 1896 Morganton, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	April 23, 1985(1985-04-23) (aged 88) Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Margaret Bruce Bell ​ (m. 1924)​
Children	3, including Samuel
Education	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA) Harvard University (LLB)
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Purple Heart (2)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1919
Rank	Private
Unit	28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War I

Watergate scandal
The Watergate complex in 2006
Events
List Presidency of Richard Nixon Timeline Nixon White House tapes Operation Sandwedge Operation Gemstone 1972 presidential election "Saturday Night Massacre" Impeachment process against Richard Nixon United States v. Nixon Resignation speech Inauguration of Gerald Ford
People
Watergate burglars Bernard Barker Virgilio Gonzalez Eugenio Martínez James W. McCord Jr. Frank Sturgis
Groups Master list of Nixon's political opponents Nixon's Enemies List Watergate Babies Watergate Seven White House Plumbers
CRP Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP) Fred LaRue Jeb Stuart Magruder Robert Mardian John N. Mitchell Kenneth Parkinson Hugh W. Sloan Jr. Maurice Stans
White House Richard Nixon Alexander Butterfield Charles Colson John Dean John Ehrlichman Gerald Ford H. R. Haldeman E. Howard Hunt Egil Krogh G. Gordon Liddy Gordon C. Strachan Rose Mary Woods
Judiciary Archibald Cox Leon Jaworski John Sirica
Journalists Carl Bernstein Bob Woodward Barry Sussman Harry M. Rosenfeld Howard Simons Ben Bradlee Katharine Graham Lesley Stahl The Washington Post
Intelligence community Mark Felt ("Deep Throat") L. Patrick Gray Richard Helms James R. Schlesinger
Congress Howard Baker Sam Ervin Peter W. Rodino U.S. Senate Watergate Committee Impeachment process
Related Frank Wills (security guard) James F. Neal (prosecutor) All the President's Men (book, film) The Final Days (book, film) Blind Ambition (miniseries) Dick (1999 film) Mark Felt: The Man who Brought Down the White House (2017 film) Watergate (2019 board game) Slow Burn (2020 series) Gaslit (2022 series) White House Plumbers (2023 miniseries)
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Samuel James Ervin Jr. (September 27, 1896 – April 23, 1985) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1954 to 1974. A Southern Democrat, he liked to call himself a "country lawyer", and often told humorous stories in his Southern drawl.^[1] During his Senate career, Ervin was at first a staunch defender of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation, as the South's constitutional expert during the congressional debates on civil rights.^[2][3] However, unexpectedly, he became a liberal hero for his support of civil liberties.^[4] He is remembered for his work in the investigation committees that brought down Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954 and especially for his leadership of the Senate committee's investigation of the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.^[5][6]