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President Johnson was elected in a landslide over his Republican challenger Senator Barry Goldwater (1964). Johnson pursued his Great Society social reforms, but his popularity was destroyed by the Vietnam War.
Anti-war senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota challenged the President for the nomination. His showing in the New Hapshire primary convinced President Johnso not to run for reelection. Senator Robert Kennedy and later Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey announced their candidacies. Both Kennedy and McCarthy ran against President Johnson's war in Vietnam. However, McCarthy's supporters were more likely to be fervently anti-war. Kennedy and McCarthy contested the primaries in close races. Senator Kennedy's victory in the important California primary seemed to insure the nomination for him. Tragically after he delivered his victory speech, Palestinian nationalis Sirhan Sirhan assassinated him. This set up a dramatic convention. Vice-President Humphrey had before the convention obtained the support of a majority of delegates without contesting the primaries. Senator McCarthy and his supporters were determined to challenge the Vice President's nomination. They showed up at the Chicago convention in strength. Thousands of anti-war protesters protested outside the convention. The violent actions of the Chicago Police was broadcast along with convention coverage on national television. McCarthy delegates also demonstrated inside the convebtion hall. The convention eventually nominated Humphrey along with Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as his vice presidential running mate. The Republican primaries were much less evenful. Former presidential nominee Richard M. Nixon emerged as the leading candidate. Other candidates were California governor Ronald Reagan and New York governor Nelson Rockefeller. Nixon was nominated on the first ballot at the Republican convention. Nixon then selected Governer Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland as his running mate. For the first time in many years, a third party played an importan role in an American presidential election. Segregationist leader Govenor George Wallace of Alabama ran for President as the American Independent Party candidate. He stressed states' rights as the major issue which at the time was a polite way of saying segregation. He also stressed anti-Communism. Vice President Humphrey's biggest problem in the campaign was his support for the Vietnam War. As the sitting vice-president, he could not bring himself to repudiate President Johnson. Senator McCarthy refused to endorse him. Thus Nixon from the beginning was the front runner. Nixon ran an effective campaign. His basic pitch was that that he had a "secret plan" to end the Vietnam War. Humphrey was tarred as a tool of President Johnson. Popular aditudes began to swing in October. Only days before the election two developments helped to set up a very close vote. President Johnson announced a cease-fire in Vietnam. It is likely that the North Vietnamese were concerned about a Nixon victory. And Senator McCarthy finally, grudgingly endorsed Humphrey. Humphrey carried most of the traditional Democratic strong-holds in the Northeast as well as Michigan, Hawaii, Minnesota, Washington, and Texas. Wallace carried five Deep South states. Nixon took the rest of the country, although the vote in California was very close.
President Johnson was elected in a landslide over his Republican challenger Senator Barry Goldwater (1964). President Johnson secured the passage of two land-mark civil rights laws and then pursued his Great Society social reforms, including Head Start and Medicare. Medicare for the ekderly oroved to be very popular, but much more expensive than the Administration perdicted. President Johnson's popularity was, however, destroyed by the Vietnam War. The 1968 election would prove to be one of the most divisive in American history.
Vietnam is the most controversial war in American history. Even after several decades the debate over the war continues. President Eisenhower refused to come to the aid of the French as they attempted to reimpose colonial rukle. He did support low levels of assistsance to non-Communist South Vietnam. American Presidents Kennedy and Johnson committed American combat troops primarily as part of a Cold War commitment to fighting Communism. The reality in Vitnam was much more complex. American officials failed to perceive the nationalist dimmensions of the War. The developing fisures in the Communist world were also not appreciated. Perhaps the most serious miscalculation was the military assessmnent of the ability of North Vietnam to resist American military power. The role of the American press is one of the most intensely debated aspects of the War. Presiden Nixons strategy in nwith drawing from Vietnam had also beem inteensely debayed. The war was waged at great human and material cost. The impact on the American economy was significant. There was also a powerful impact on American culture and society.
The anti-War movement had been simmering in America since Presudent Johnson escalated the Vietnam War by introducing American combat troops (1965). Vietnam would become one of the most controversial in American history. The mounting opposition to the War would force President Johnson out of the race for reelection. And two anti-War candidates emerged in the Democratic Party, Senator Eugeme McCarthy and Senatior Robert F. Kennedy, the fornmer president's brother. Anti-War protestors made a shambles of tge Democratic Cionvention.
Anti-war senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota challenged the President for the nomination. His showing in the New Hapshire primary convinced President Johnso not to run for reelection. Senator Robert Kennedy and later Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey announced their candidacies.
Both Senator Kennedy and Senator McCarthy ran against President Johnson's war in Vietnam. However, McCarthy's supporters were more likely to be fervently anti-war. Kennedy and McCarthy contested the primaries in close races. Senator Kennedy's victory in the important California primary seemed to insure the nomination for him. Tragically after he delivered his victory speech, Palestinian nationalis Sirhan Sirhan assassinated him. This set up a dramatic convention. Vice-President Humphrey had before the convention obtained the support of a majority of delegates without contesting the primaries. Had Senator Kennedy not been shot, the Convention would have been wide open. But Vice-President Humphrey with Krnnedy gome was able to lock it up. Senator McCarthy and his supporters, however, were determined to challenge the Vice-President's nomination. They showed up at the Chicago convention in strength. Thousands of anti-war protesters protested outside the convention. The violent actions of the Chicago Police was broadcast along with convention coverage on national television. McCarthy delegates also demonstrated inside the convebtion hall. The convention eventually nominated Humphrey along with Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as his vice presidential running mate. The tumault in Chicago, however, badly danmaged Humprey's campaign before it was even begun.
The Republican primaries were much less evenful. Former presidential nominee Richard M. Nixon emerged as the leading candidate. Other candidates were California governor Ronald Reagan and New York governor Nelson Rockefeller. Nixon was nominated on the first ballot at the Republican convention. Nixon then selected Governer Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland as his running mate.
For the first time in many years, a third party played an importan role in an American presidential election. Segregationist leader Govenor George Wallace of Alabama ran for President as the American Independent Party candidate. He first rose to national prominance when he stood in the school house door when the Federal Government was desegregating the University of Alabama. Wallace He stressed states' rights as the major issue which at the time was was a polite way of saying segregation. Wallace also stressed anti-Communism. Governor Wallace selected Air Force General Curtis LeMay as his vice-presidential running mate. LeMay was noted for developing the fire bombing tatics that proved successful in the strategic bombing of Japan during World War II. He was apparently the inspiration for George C. Scott's General Buck Turgidson in the movie 'Dr. Strangelove'. Govenor Wallace was essentially a southern regional candidate. He had no chance of winning the election. His campaign was a major threat to former-Vice-President Nixon. Wallace voters were mostly drawn from potential Nixon voters. His strategy was to win sufficient electoral votes that he could deny either of the major party candidates a majority in the Electoral College. He could then offer his electoral votes to whichever candidate offered to support some of his policies. It is unlikely Vice-President Humprey would have ever dealt with Wallace. Former Vice-President Nixon might have. Both Humprey and Nixon publicly stated that they would not bargain with Wallace for Electoral College votes. In the end, Wallace's support was not needed. Nixon narrowly won California. A loss there would have denied him the majority needed to win.
Vice President Humphrey's biggest problem in the campaign was his support for the Vietnam War. As the sitting vice-president and out of loyalty to the President, Vice-President Humprey could not bring himself to repudiate President Johnson. Senator McCarthy refused to endorse him. Thus Nixon from the beginning was the front runner. Nixon ran an effective campaign. His basic pitch was that that he had a "secret plan" to end the Vietnam War. Humphrey was tarred as a tool of President Johnson. Popular aditudes began to swing in October. Only days before the election two developments helped to set up a very close vote. President Johnson announced a cease-fire in Vietnam. It is likely that the North Vietnamese were concerned about a Nixon victory. And Senator McCarthy finally, grudgingly endorsed Humphrey. With the pollsshowing the substatial lead he had shrinking, Nixon becme very nervous, remembering the razor thin defeat in the 1960 election.
President Johnson withdrew from the presidential race after a weak showing in the New Hampshire primary. He was deeply depressed that all his achievements had neen lost in the public rejection of the Vietnam War. He was thus determined to end his presidency by achieving a negotited settlement at the Paris Peace Tlks, llowing him to bring the troops home. He regularly met with the three candidates (Humprey, Nixon, and Wallace) to brief them on the negotiations and prospects for a nombing halt. All three publiclly supported the President's policy. With Humprey closing the gp in the polls, Nixon was worried that Johnson and Humprey would orcestrate a November surprise -- a cease fore that would prove hugely successful and swing the election. Nixon called on Anna Chennault to prevent such an occurance. She was born Chen Xiangmei in China, but was the widow of World War II commander Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault, commander of American air operations in China. Chennault had become a Republican fundraiser. He asked her to contact the South Vietnamese ambassador in Washington and convince President Thieu to boycott the peace talks. Thiew was promossed 'better terms' when Nixon won the election. This could be construed as treason. It would also hace destroyed Nicon had word leaked out. Johnson learned of this and ordered that both Chennault and the south Vietnmese Embassy be bugged. Johnson then shared some of the buggibg results with Nixon, who pretended to be surprise. Noxon was left windring just what Jphnson knew abd wgat was on the tapes. It is likely that 4 years later this episode as well as the 1969 'secret bombing' of Cambodia meant that Nixon was very concerned about his relection because of what mght be on tape. This my wll explain why the Democratic National Committee was ordered bugged by White House staffers. [Hughes]
The election on November 5 as predicted proved to be very close. The popular vote was especially close, 43.4 to 42.7 percent. The results in the electoral College were a different matter, although Nixon's victory in a few key states (California, Ohio, and Illinois) was also very close. Victories here would have given Humprey the presidency and public opinion polls suggest that the electorate was shifting toward Humphrey in the final days of the campaign. As a result, it was not until the following morning that the television news networks when the California results came in were able to proclaim Nixon the winner. The election map except for the Deep South showed a red Republican by former-Vice-President Nixon. There were little dots of blue where Vice-President Humphrey carried the cities which enabled hum to carry many entire states. Humphrey carried most of the traditional Democratic strong-holds in the Northeast as well as Michigan, Minnesota, Washington, Texas, and Hawaii, but was completely shit out of the South where George Wllace carried several states as well as most of the Mid-west and West with the eception of Minnesota. Wallace carried five Deep South states and more than 12 percent of the popular vote. Had Humphrey carried only a fe nore states, Wallace would have accomplished his objective of preventing an electoral college majority for Nixon. Nixon took the rest of the country, although the vote in California was very close. Nixon's final results were 32 states with 301 electoral votes, to Humphrey's 13 states and 191 electoral votes.
The 1968 election was one of several that are generally seen as a major realignment in American politics.
It was not immediately apparent because Wallace carried the Deep South. But from 1968 on the Democrats could no longer count on the South as part of its political strategy. And President Nixon in 1972 would adopt a Southern strategy. Since that election, the South would be an important part of a new Republican coalition.
Other major changes occurred. The 1968 election also affected other Democratic strongholds. It was the s the last time until 1988 that Washington voted Democratic. It was also the last time until 1992 that Connecticut, Maine and Michigan voted Democratic in a presidebtial election election. The last major realignment was the Roosevelt 1932 election victory when forged an coalition of labor, ethnics, farmers, and the South which ws virtually impossible to defeat. Only war-hero Dwight Eisenhowee was able to over come the coaktion that Roosevelt had forged. The 1969 election not only tore the South out of the Democratic coalition, but also diluted the union blue-collar Democratic vote. After 1968 it was teRepublicans who dominated the presidential elections. Certainly Civil Rights was part of the changing political landscape, especially in the South. Vice-President Humphrey won less than 10 percent of the white Southern vote, and about his 2/3 of his vote in the region was from newly-enfranchized blacks. [Gould, p 165 and White, p 401] But Civil Rights and tge Southb is only pat of the story. The Democratic Party had begun to change. In addition to Civil Rights and opposition to the Vietnam War, more stridently left-wing voices in the Democratic Party emerged. For them even left-wing stalwart Hunert Humprey was not liberal enough. This was not unrealted to Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. Blacks and left-wing Americans were among the stringest proponents of both Civil Rights and opposition to the war. They were also the most likely to question Ametica's opposition to Soviet imperialism and commitment to free market capitalism. This explains the much of the political shifts outside the South. This process was furthered reforms in how the Democratic Party selected its presidential nominees. The McGovern–Fraser Commission adopted a set of rules for the states to follow in selecting Democratic Party convention delegates. The overall impact was to reduced the influence of party leaders like Mayor Daley in Chicago on the nominating process. The reforms also were designed to increase representation for minorities, women, and youth. The reforms also led to more states adopting primaries to select convention delegates.
Gould, Lewis L. 1968: The Election that Changed America (Ivan R. Dee, 1993).
Hughes, Ken. Chasing Shadows: The Nixon Tapes, the Chennault Affair, and the Origins of Watrergate (2014), 240p.
White, Theodore H. The Making of the President-—1968 (Atheneum, 1969).
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