Nixons election Flashcards
why did the Republicans choose Nixon
- He won over party loyalists by fundraising and campaigning
- After the defeat of Barry Goldwater the party knew that they needed a more moderate candidate in 1968
- Old Guard liked his anti-communist stance and moderates liked his liberal stance on domestic issues
- As a former VP, Nixon had government experiences
- Nixon stood up for Middle America and was highly critical on Johnsons leadership
why nixon won - factors
- Divisions within the Democrat Party
- Julie and David
- Middle America
- Appeal to American voters
- Spiro Agnew
- Southern Strategy
- Improved campaign
- Ike’s support
Divisions within the Democratic Party
Democrat liberals sought a Democrat candidate a challenge president johnson for the Democrat nomination for presidency on 1968
McCarthy vs johnson
In Jan 1968, the liberals persuaded anti-war minnesota senator eugene mccarthy to run against jonson. He appealed to the college students who campaigned for him in the New Hampshire primary. He won 42% of the votes and johnson 49%. That was an unprecedently low percentage for an incumbent president. It showed how vulnerable Johnson was to a liberal democrat challenger and tempted bobby kennedy to run for the Democrat Nomination. Johnson declared that he would not run for reelection due to the unpopularity of the Vietnam war.
Kennedy
He appealed to the poor, black, native, gave a speech after MLK’s assassination.
Kennedy vs McCarthy
McCarthy was arrogant, cold and distant in comparison to Kennedy. He said nothing about MLK’s assassination and appealed more to the middle class while K appealed to the poor. The press was increasingly pro-Kennedy and he soon reemerged as a stronger candidate than McCarthy when he attacked both racial prejudice and riots, criticised the rise of welfare and praised hard work, he began to win MC support but was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan
The DNC, Chicago 1968
The Youth international party (yippies) wanted to disrupt the meeting and spread rumours that they had put LSD in the main water supply. 10,000 protesters arrived in Chicago but Mayor Daley mobilised around 12,000 police officers and banned marches. Young protesters were beaten to the ground after they threw bags of urine at the police. At the conference, Johnson helped Humphrey win the Democrat Presidential nomination even though he had not won a single primary. This led to factions within the party as many democrats were not happy with this and also accused Daley of using Gestapo tactics on the streets. The Democrats were tainted by events in Chicago, it reminded voters how violence and disorder had become endemic on Johnsons’ watch. This disorder combined to help the ‘law and order’ Nixon shot ahead in the polls.
winning middle America
Called the silent majority by Nixon, they were middle classes who were around 55% of the population. They were not poor but lived very close to the poverty line. They typically voted Democrat but Nixon appealed to them. They had lost patience with rioters and a federal government that taxed them heavily to care for the underserving poor. Their children were drafted into the war while student protesters comfortably avoided the draft, in order words they opposed the 1960s change and disorder
nixons promises
peace with honour in vietnam
restore law and order
less and cheaper government, he attacked the massive bureaucracy that implemented welfare and poverty programmes, leading some voters to hope that he would dismantle the Democrats welfare state
nixons southern strategy and the sun belt
Nixon appealed to Sun Belt voters for three reasons -
After Johnsons role in ending segregation in the South, many southern white voters no longer felt at home in his Democratic Party. Nixon wooed them by rejecting Johnson’s policy of cutting off federal funds to school districts that refused to desegregate and promising to slow down the pace of school desegregation in the South. This so-called southern strategy was very effective
Nixon proposed New Federalism, a change of the balance of power between the states and the federal government. This appealed to southern whites with their traditional emphasis on states’ rights
sun belt
Sun Belt= States in the South, Southeast and Southwest, with warm climates, ranging from North Carolina in the East to California in the West
In 1945 and 1968 the population in these areas doubled and high tech industries were booming
Many felt that they didn’t belong in the Democrats anymore due to the Civil Rights policy and Nixon promised to slow down the pace of segregation in the South
Promised to repeal the Johnson’s policy of cutting off federal funding to schools that refused to desegregate
Called the Southern Strategy and was very effective at removing voters away from the Democrats
Many in the Sunshine belt were evangelical Protestants and believed in being socially conservative and believed that liberals wanted to take away their hard earned money through taxes (The Great Society). Nixon also had similar views
New Federalism which would take money away from
congress and give it to the states to spend as they saw fit- this appealed to those who did not like ‘red tape.’
Nixon wanted less and cheaper government- he attacked the bureaucracy of The Great Society
Ikes Support
In 1967, David Eisenhower (grandson of Ike) and Julie Nixon (Nixon’s daughter) decided to get married
This gave Nixon’s campaign a big boost in the media
David encouraged his grandfather to support Nixon
Julie successfully linked Nixon to Ike by reminding voters that Eisenhower and Nixon had got America out of the Korean War and could do the same with Vietnam
Nixons Running Mate
Governor of Maryland
Appealed to the right wing Republicans
Tough on rioters and protesters
Often said the things that Nixon couldn’t
He was to Nixon what Nixon was to Ike
Nixon’s campaign
He did not exhaust himself with too many public appearances
He speak to large audiences of 1000 people
Mastered television
Kept away from hostile journalists
He concentrated on the production of edited, televised footage with ordinary voters
election results
Nixon took 43.4% of the popular vote
Humphrey took 42.7% of the vote
Wallace won 13.5% of the vote
Low turn out on the day- 60%
Nixon had won fewer than 27% of American voters
Traditional American values had been reasserted- conservative right
