Nixon
The presidential election of 1968 and Nixon’s victory
Background:
● Eisenhower’s VP 1953-61.
- Goodwill ambassador (eg goes to Venezuela and is attacked by communists)
- 1969 Kitchen Debate- US exhibition in Moscow
● Corruption-
- ‘Checkers speech’ (1952)- defended himself against allegations of him keeping political donations.
- ‘Tricky Dicky’ reputation- associated with scandals & corruption.
● 1960 election vs JFK
- Lost to JFK
- Voter fraud in the 1960 election- Dead people were ‘voting’ in key swing states like Illinois and Texas
which were key for JFK winning the election.
- One of the closest elections of the 20th century.
- The first TV debate vs. Kennedy was not seen as ‘presidential’
- Visited all 50 states in campaign
● Nixon’s poorer background from California contributed to his paranoia of being targeted by elites. ‘People out to
get him’
● Moderate on social issues despite his socially conservative campaign
● 1968-72, Helped republican party out of right wingers
● Anti Communist-
- Red Scare. Lawyer- involved in the Alger Hiss Trial#
- Member of HUAC group- used for his political gain
- Accused political rivals in the election of being communists
Democratic Divisions
● LBJ is fearful of losing the nomination to RFK
● LBJ
- March 12 1968- Won new Hampshire primary against but not by much (49%), he withdrew from the race
- Persuaded LBJ not to seek re-election and tempted RFK to seek nomination (March 16)
● Eugene McCarthy (42%)
- Liberal wing’s candidate
- Senator from Minnesota, not well known
- Opposed Vietnam War- appealed to students
- Cold & distant personality
- Alienated party leaders by constantly attacking the Democratic Party and blaming them for the Vietnam
War.
● RFK
- Charismatic & empathetic
- Appealed to marginalised groups (those excluded from American dream). Wanted to unite US (‘we
(America) are in two worlds’)
- Impressed Mexican american farmworkers and impoverished native americans
- Attacked racial prejudice and riots
- Anti war
- Stronger candidate than McCarthy who seemed arrogant, cold and distant
- June 5- wins California primary
- June 6 1968- Assassinated in by Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian who believed RFK was too pro-Israel
- Conspiracies- chaos
- Caused widespread disillusionment. ‘I won’t vote. Every good man we get they kill’
Democratic National Convention, Chicago August 1968
● Marred by violence inside and outside the convention
● Outside
- 10,000 Youth International Party (Yippies) protestors clashed with 12000 police officers and National
Guard
- Threw bags of urine at police- police removed badges and retaliated with clubs shouting ‘kill kill kill’
- National Guard joined in and used tear gas on protestors
, - Humorously nominated a pig, Pigasus, as their presidential candidate
● Inside
- Anti war democrats harassed by police
- Flag put up on statue, threw rocks at police
- LBJ and VP Hubert Humphrey won without winning a primary- ‘Establishment candidate’- he was the one
that people with power wanted. Majority may have wanted someone more radical. Nomination seemed
rigged alienating more voters.
● Impact on Democratic Party
- Televised violence damage party’s image
- Signified party’s demise for a generation
- Mayor Daley accused of creating a ‘police state’
- Reminded votes of violence and disorder under LBJ
- Humphrey’s nomination seemed rigged alienating more voters. Attacked his nomination ‘Dump the hump’
- Nixon capitalised on disorder to present himself as the ‘law and order’ candidate
● Chicago 7
- Seven political activists arrested for their anti vietnam war activities at 1968 DNC
George Wallace:
● Ran as an independant
● Gained 20% approval rating
● Support from southern segregationists and northern working class whites
Winning Middle America and the presidency:
● Middle America/ ‘the silent majority’
- made up 55% of population, earning between $5000 and $15000
- Blue collar workers, schoolteachers white collar workers etc
● Economic frustrations
- 1956-1966- income increased by 86% but inflation (4.7%) made it hard for them to maintain their
standard of living
- Resented high federal taxes going to the ‘undeserving poor’ through LBJ’s great society programmes
● Anger towards social unrest & Vietnam war
- Upset with anti-war student protestors who avoided draft while their children were sent to fight in Vietnam
- Disapproved of racial riots and rising disorder in US cities
● Traditional Democrats shift to Nixon
- Nixon appealed to their conservative values
- Throughout 1967 and 1968 he attacked LBJ leadership and promised ‘law and order’, ‘peace with
honour’ in Vietnam and less government spending
- Campaign slogan ‘for these critical years, america need a new leadership’
- 1970- Times magazine described him as ‘the embodiment of middle america’
- Appealed to the ‘unyoung, unpoor, unblack, middle aged, middle class and middle minded’
- Tv advert ‘nixon’s the one’ campaign slogan
- Promised to bring ‘peace with honour’ in Vietnam
- Restoring law and order
- Less and cheaper government- attacked welfare and poverty programmes
- Focused on conservative right wing values
The sunbelt:
● Sun belt- states in the south with warm climates, stretching from north carolina in the east to california in the west
● Population doubled 1945 and 1968- key demographic
● Nixon's appeal
- Many white voters felt disillusioned with Democrats after LBJ ended segregation in the south. Nixon
wooed them by promising to slow down the pace of school desegregation in South. (does the opposite-
under Nixon Southern Schools desegregated)
- ‘Southern Strategy’- very effective & transformed southern voting patterns
- Proposed ‘New Federalism’- recalibration of balance of power. Shared federal revenue directly with
states to reduce bureaucracy and give local gov more control
- The Sunbelt had a high population of evangelical Protestants, who shared Nixon’s conservative values
and Middle America’s social prejudices.
- ‘War on Drugs’ - mass incarceration of African Americans
- Californian
The presidential election of 1968 and Nixon’s victory
Background:
● Eisenhower’s VP 1953-61.
- Goodwill ambassador (eg goes to Venezuela and is attacked by communists)
- 1969 Kitchen Debate- US exhibition in Moscow
● Corruption-
- ‘Checkers speech’ (1952)- defended himself against allegations of him keeping political donations.
- ‘Tricky Dicky’ reputation- associated with scandals & corruption.
● 1960 election vs JFK
- Lost to JFK
- Voter fraud in the 1960 election- Dead people were ‘voting’ in key swing states like Illinois and Texas
which were key for JFK winning the election.
- One of the closest elections of the 20th century.
- The first TV debate vs. Kennedy was not seen as ‘presidential’
- Visited all 50 states in campaign
● Nixon’s poorer background from California contributed to his paranoia of being targeted by elites. ‘People out to
get him’
● Moderate on social issues despite his socially conservative campaign
● 1968-72, Helped republican party out of right wingers
● Anti Communist-
- Red Scare. Lawyer- involved in the Alger Hiss Trial#
- Member of HUAC group- used for his political gain
- Accused political rivals in the election of being communists
Democratic Divisions
● LBJ is fearful of losing the nomination to RFK
● LBJ
- March 12 1968- Won new Hampshire primary against but not by much (49%), he withdrew from the race
- Persuaded LBJ not to seek re-election and tempted RFK to seek nomination (March 16)
● Eugene McCarthy (42%)
- Liberal wing’s candidate
- Senator from Minnesota, not well known
- Opposed Vietnam War- appealed to students
- Cold & distant personality
- Alienated party leaders by constantly attacking the Democratic Party and blaming them for the Vietnam
War.
● RFK
- Charismatic & empathetic
- Appealed to marginalised groups (those excluded from American dream). Wanted to unite US (‘we
(America) are in two worlds’)
- Impressed Mexican american farmworkers and impoverished native americans
- Attacked racial prejudice and riots
- Anti war
- Stronger candidate than McCarthy who seemed arrogant, cold and distant
- June 5- wins California primary
- June 6 1968- Assassinated in by Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian who believed RFK was too pro-Israel
- Conspiracies- chaos
- Caused widespread disillusionment. ‘I won’t vote. Every good man we get they kill’
Democratic National Convention, Chicago August 1968
● Marred by violence inside and outside the convention
● Outside
- 10,000 Youth International Party (Yippies) protestors clashed with 12000 police officers and National
Guard
- Threw bags of urine at police- police removed badges and retaliated with clubs shouting ‘kill kill kill’
- National Guard joined in and used tear gas on protestors
, - Humorously nominated a pig, Pigasus, as their presidential candidate
● Inside
- Anti war democrats harassed by police
- Flag put up on statue, threw rocks at police
- LBJ and VP Hubert Humphrey won without winning a primary- ‘Establishment candidate’- he was the one
that people with power wanted. Majority may have wanted someone more radical. Nomination seemed
rigged alienating more voters.
● Impact on Democratic Party
- Televised violence damage party’s image
- Signified party’s demise for a generation
- Mayor Daley accused of creating a ‘police state’
- Reminded votes of violence and disorder under LBJ
- Humphrey’s nomination seemed rigged alienating more voters. Attacked his nomination ‘Dump the hump’
- Nixon capitalised on disorder to present himself as the ‘law and order’ candidate
● Chicago 7
- Seven political activists arrested for their anti vietnam war activities at 1968 DNC
George Wallace:
● Ran as an independant
● Gained 20% approval rating
● Support from southern segregationists and northern working class whites
Winning Middle America and the presidency:
● Middle America/ ‘the silent majority’
- made up 55% of population, earning between $5000 and $15000
- Blue collar workers, schoolteachers white collar workers etc
● Economic frustrations
- 1956-1966- income increased by 86% but inflation (4.7%) made it hard for them to maintain their
standard of living
- Resented high federal taxes going to the ‘undeserving poor’ through LBJ’s great society programmes
● Anger towards social unrest & Vietnam war
- Upset with anti-war student protestors who avoided draft while their children were sent to fight in Vietnam
- Disapproved of racial riots and rising disorder in US cities
● Traditional Democrats shift to Nixon
- Nixon appealed to their conservative values
- Throughout 1967 and 1968 he attacked LBJ leadership and promised ‘law and order’, ‘peace with
honour’ in Vietnam and less government spending
- Campaign slogan ‘for these critical years, america need a new leadership’
- 1970- Times magazine described him as ‘the embodiment of middle america’
- Appealed to the ‘unyoung, unpoor, unblack, middle aged, middle class and middle minded’
- Tv advert ‘nixon’s the one’ campaign slogan
- Promised to bring ‘peace with honour’ in Vietnam
- Restoring law and order
- Less and cheaper government- attacked welfare and poverty programmes
- Focused on conservative right wing values
The sunbelt:
● Sun belt- states in the south with warm climates, stretching from north carolina in the east to california in the west
● Population doubled 1945 and 1968- key demographic
● Nixon's appeal
- Many white voters felt disillusioned with Democrats after LBJ ended segregation in the south. Nixon
wooed them by promising to slow down the pace of school desegregation in South. (does the opposite-
under Nixon Southern Schools desegregated)
- ‘Southern Strategy’- very effective & transformed southern voting patterns
- Proposed ‘New Federalism’- recalibration of balance of power. Shared federal revenue directly with
states to reduce bureaucracy and give local gov more control
- The Sunbelt had a high population of evangelical Protestants, who shared Nixon’s conservative values
and Middle America’s social prejudices.
- ‘War on Drugs’ - mass incarceration of African Americans
- Californian
