Election victory Flashcards
why did bobby kennedy not want to join democratic presidential run and challenge johnson
fear of splitting up the party
not having sufficient support
when did bobby turn publically against the war and what was the impact of this
may 1965 (probs during rolling thunder)
- led to him having a moral obligation to stop the war by running for president
Why did Kennedy emerge as a stronger candidate?
-Attacked both racial prejudice and riots, criticised rise of welfare and praised hard work
>Began win middle class support
-bobby stirred intense affection amongst crowds partly due glamour of K legacy
two main factors for nixons 1968 win
divisions in democrat party
silent majoritys growing hatred for changes and protests (that nixon appealed to !)
who was McCarthy
liberal convinced to run for 1968 democrat party
- favoured by those in college
- anti-war
- ran against johnson
McCarthy vs Johnson - what were the votes - what did this mean
johsnon - 49%
McCarthy - 42%
incredibly low for a current president - showed how weak he was to lib dems
tempted bobby to run !
how did Kennedys death change bobby and his image
developed unique empathy with poor and many saw this
- support of mexican-american farmworkers in California
- native Americans smitten when he investigated appalling poverty situation ‘we trusted him, we had faith in him’
how did bobby describe America - two separate places
‘a prosperous white one’ and the ‘dark hopeless place’ where they had been forgotten by johnson due to Vietnam
how did McCarthy seem compared to bobby
cold, distant, cruel
- failed to relate to minorities or
speak on kings assassination
what did b Kennedy say about losing Oregon
‘theres nothing for me to get hold of, lets face it, I appeal best to people who have problems’
why did liberals dislike Kennedy joining race
already asked McCarthy
would lead to split in liberal vote and open way for nomination of Vice President Humphrey who was loyal to Johnson and his policies
did Kennedy or McCarthy win
Kennedy
who assassinated b Kennedy
disturbed Palestinian who thought he was too pro Israel
examples of how there was dissilussionment for political process
- ‘I won’t vote.they kill every good man we get’
- yippies called for young ppl to come to Chicago to disrupt democratic national convention
- below 60% turnout for election
Nickname for middle America
The silent majority
pigasus
yippies produced squealing pig and announced he was their presidential canididate and spread rumour they were putting LSD in water supply
how did mayor Daley respond to the 10,000 yippies in Chicago
mobilised force of 12,000 officers
what happened in Chicago with the police
yippies threw bags of urine at officers
they removed their badges and retaliated, shouting ‘kill, kill,kill’
protestors beaten
what happened inside the convention hall
johnson and Humphrey had control and manipulation of the convention so Humphrey won even tho he didn’t win any primaries
- democrats infuriated and took to platform to nominate McGovern and one said with McGovern, they wouldn’t have gestapo tactics on streets of Chicago
- Daley respond ‘fuck you, you jew son of a bitch’ - lipreader ensured
headlines features Daley and democrat divisions
impact of the Chicago convention hall night in 1968 (3)
- reminded voters how much violence had grown in democratic Johnsons presidency - helped law and order Nixon
- Nixon shot ahead in polls
- many democrats weakened by Humphreys campaign (McCarthy refused to endorse him), many angry he wasn’t anti-war, continued to attack him and disrupt meeting because they hated him more than Nixon
who ran independently for election
former democrat governor Wallace (the guy who switched to racist when running in Alabama and called for segregation
appealed to Deep South due to racism and northern white wc
why did Nixon win repub nomination
- won over party loyalists during his ‘retirement’ through fundraising and campaigning
- knew party needed moderate candidate after Barry Goldwater in 1964 election
- old guard repubs liked his communist views, liberals liked his domestic views
- former vp for Eisenhower - associated with prosperity of those years
- highly effective attacks on johnson throughout 1967-68
nixons campaign slogan
‘for these critical years, America needs new leadership’
why did diff types of republicans like nixon
‘old guard’ liked his strong anti-communist views
moderate and liberals liked his position on domestic views
how ,much of the population was middle America
55%
2 factors for Nixon winning middle America
- promises and policies
- southern strategy and sun belt
-
what were Nixons 3 promises and policies
- peace with honour in Vietnam
- restore law and order in cities (reiterated facts like ppl get raped every 20 minutes etc)
- less and cheaper govt (many hoped he would dismantle democrat welfare state)
sun belt
states in south/southeast and southwest with warm climates
why were more ppl moving to sun belts
- air conditioning made it habitable
- expansion of interstate highways made them more accessible
why did Nixon want to appeal to sun belt voters
knew its importance was growing
population had doubled in 20 years
high tech industries booming there
how did Nixon appeal to sun belt voters
- after johnson ended segregation many whites didn’t feel at home - wooed by Nixon saying he wanted to stop Johnsons policy to cut off federal funds to school districts that refused to desegregate
- new federalism
- many disliked liberal intellectuals from north - Nixon social conservative and disliked elite
southern strategy
nixons plan to win southern voters from democrats
new federalism
redirect power from congress to federal bureaucracy , and back to states and local communities
- could then spend money how they wanted on education etc
Did Nixon’s southern strategy work?
Yes, in 1972 he won every southern state
Why did Eisenhower now support Nixon in 1968
Their grandchildren became engaged in 1967
nixons daughter Julie and his grandson David :)
- provided glamour that Nixon lacked
What was the popular vote % In 1968
Nixon 43.4%, Humphrey 42.7%
what did Nixon promise to racist sun belters
slow pace of degresgation
how did nixons campaigning improve from 1960
- didn’t exhaust himself with too many appearances
- everyone knew him so appeared as a statesman, very dignified and experienced with large audiences
- campaign concentrated on edited televised footage of question sessions with ordinary voters who he could handle with ease
who was’nixons nixon’
Spiro Agnew
- used for dirty work the way Nixon was during IKE
who was the vp for Nixon
Spiro Agnew
what was controversial about Spiro Agnew
- racist
- when you’ve seen one slum you’ve seen them all
- appealed to middle America and right wing repubs
what was the turnout for 68 election
under 60%
who was national security advisor
Kissinger
who did Nixon work closely with on foreign policy matters
Kissinger - national security advisor
who did he make Secretary of State
William Rodgers who knew little about foriegn policy but was his old friend and supporter
who physically controlled access to Nixon
Haldeman and Ehrilchman
Haldeman was chief of staff
E - domestic affairs advisor
Who was John Mitchell
headed CREEP and was the one who approved wire-taps and tried to block publication of pentagon papers - antagonistic towards press like Nixon
CREEP
committee to reelect the president
