Nixon Background

Question 1

When did Nixon win the election

Answer 1

Nixon, a Republican, won the 1968 presidential election against Democrat Hubert Humphrey and independent candidate George Wallace.

Question 2

Why did Nixon win the election?

Answer 2

• Ran on a platform of “law and order”, appealing to the “Silent Majority” (white, middle-class Americans frustrated by civil rights protests, crime, and anti-war movements).
• Capitalized on divisions within the Democratic Party (due to Vietnam and the assassination of Robert Kennedy).
• Endorse by Ike and his daughter was engaged to Ike’s grandson

Question 3

What was Nixon’s campaign promise?

Answer 3

Promised “Peace with Honor” in Vietnam and to restore stability after the turbulent 1960s.

Question 4

What were the results of the election?

Answer 4

Nixon: 32 states; 43.4%, 301 EC
Humphrey: 13 states; 42.7%, 191 EC
Wallace (independent): 5 states; 13.5%, 46 EC

Question 5

What did Nixon do with South Vietnam during his presidential campaign?

Answer 5

• Contacted SV telling them to refuse to participate, as he would get them better terms when he won
• ‘Took wind out of Humphreys’ sails’

Question 6

What happened during the election campaign?

Answer 6

• Raw numbers do not demonstrate the level of division in the US during 1968- the standing president had pulled out of the race due to opposition to his policies
• Hubert Humphrey became the Democratic candidate
• The Democratic race saw the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, who had won the California primary
• George Wallace, a segregationist Democrat Governor of Alabama, attracted votes in the South and the Midwest
• Wallace’s candidacy collapsed towards the end in part due to his running mate LeMay calling for Vietnam to be ‘bombed back to the stone age’

Question 7

What were the outcomes of the eleciton?

Answer 7

• Democrats kept onctrol of house and the senate
• Nixon won 2.5 million fewer votes than he had in 1960 when he lost of JFK

Question 8

What divisions were there within the Democratic party?

Answer 8

• Eugene McCarthy was persuaded to run against Johnson. He received support from young anti-war Democrats
• Bobby Kennedy then entered the race: key spokesman in the plight of the poor and minority groups in America
• Kennedy appealed to the poor, McCarthy to the middle-classes
• Kennedy won California primary but was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan who believed he was too pro-Israel