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From 1932 to 1964, the Democratic Party was undoubtedly the majority party, winning seven out of nine presidential elections, and their agenda influenced policies undertaken by the Republican Eisenhower administration. The 1968 election reversed the situation completely.
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United States presidential election of 1968, American presidential election held on November 5, 1968, in which Republican Richard M. Nixon defeated Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey.
The run-up to the 1968 election was transformed in 1967 when Minnesota’s Democratic senator, Eugene J. McCarthy, challenged Democratic Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson on his Vietnam War policies. Johnson had succeeded to the presidency in 1963, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and had been overwhelmingly reelected in 1964. Early in his term he was immensely popular, but U.S. involvement in Vietnam, which had escalated invisibly during the presidential administrations of both Dwight D. Eisenhower and Kennedy, became highly visible with rapidly increasing U.S. death tolls, and, as the war’s unpopularity mounted, so did Johnson’s.
The 1966 elections reinstated the Republicans as a large minority in Congress, and social legislation slowed, competing with the Vietnam War for the available money. Despite the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965), many African Americans became disenchanted with progress on civil rights. Thus, a “Black Power” movement arose, hitting into Johnson’s popularity even among African Americans. A general crime increase and sporadic violence in the cities raised apprehension in white communities. A call for “law and order” was the response, and it became not only an issue but, many believed, a code word for African American repression.
Early in 1968, Michigan Republican Gov. George Romney announced his candidacy for the presidency. Many believed New York’s governor, Nelson Rockefeller, might also be a challenger, and George Wallace, former Democratic governor of Alabama and a segregationist during his tenure, began hinting of his interest in the office. Peace factions and black militants talked of nominating their own candidates, and a rerun of the four-way race of 1948 seemed possible.
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In this setting, McCarthy, whose criticism of the administration on its Vietnam policies had become increasingly caustic, announced his candidacy for president and entered the New Hampshire primary—the first of the presidential primaries. Rockefeller denied that he was a candidate but said that he would accept a draft; 30 Republican leaders endorsed him. At this time Nixon, who had been Eisenhower’s vice president and who had narrowly lost to Kennedy in 1960, declared that new leadership could end the war; he announced his candidacy and entered the New Hampshire primary.
McCarthy was the only major Democrat on the New Hampshire ballot, but, shortly before the March 12 voting, Democratic regulars, alarmed by the effectiveness of McCarthy’s legion of young amateur campaign workers, mounted a desperate write-in campaign for the president. Johnson won 48 percent of the vote, but McCarthy, with 42 percent, won 20 of the 24 delegates. Nixon won the Republican primary; Romney, with polls indicating that he had little hope of winning, had withdrawn from the primary and the presidential race.
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A few days later Robert F. Kennedy announced that he would enter the race on the Democratic side. On March 31 President Johnson stunned the country by announcing an end to the bombing of most of North Vietnam—and his decision not to seek reelection. Two days later McCarthy won a somewhat diluted triumph over the president in the Wisconsin primary.
The following Thursday, April 4, African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Grief and shock among African Americans turned to anger, which found expression in rioting and violence in more than 100 cities, leading many white voters to look more closely at Wallace, who was stressing “law and order” and promising to be on the ballot in 50 states.
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Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign was notable for a number of reasons. He emphasized the theme of “law and order,” which he understood would appeal to the “silent majority,” those white middle-class Americans anxious and fearful of radical social change.
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Mar 31, 2019 · Updated on March 31, 2019. The election of 1968 was bound to be significant. The United States was bitterly divided over the seemingly unending war in Vietnam. A youth rebellion was dominating society, sparked, in large measure, by the draft that was pulling young men into the military and sending them off to the violent quagmire in Vietnam.
The election took place during the Vietnam War, in the same year as the Tet Offensive, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, and the protests of 1968. The Republican Party won control of the presidency, and picked up seats in the House and Senate, although the Democratic Party retained control of ...
- November 5
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1968 interactive map. << 1964 1972 >>. The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was a wrenching national experience, conducted against a backdrop that included the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and subsequent race riots across the nation, the ...
Dec 31, 2017 · The anti-establishment, racist, angry mood of many was captured by George Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama, who ran for president in 1968 as an independent and won more than 9.9 ...
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