Analyze the dynamics of the election of 1968. What events, strategies, and factors resulted in Richard Nixon's narrow triumph over Hubert Humphrey?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The ideal answer should include:
1. The first factor was the lack of a strong Democratic opponent to Richard Nixon. Lyndon Johnson dropped out of the race relatively late, and then Robert Kennedy, the front-runner, was assassinated. Eugene McCarthy tried for a while, but did not get the nomination. This left Hubert Humphrey, who was tied to LBJ.
2. The second factor was Vietnam – most Americans were not happy with the progress of the war, but they were not ready to quit the war either. They were looking for someone to show them the best way out of the morass, without admitting defeat.
3. A third factor was the counterculture – much of America tied the counterculture to the Democrats, particularly after the violence that broke out at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and wanted someone to silence them.
4. Nixon claimed to have a secret plan to end the Vietnam War, although it was later revealed that this was not true.
5. Nixon openly appealed to "the silent majority" of white middle class voters.
6. He also used increasing fears about crime and street violence as a "wedge issue" to split worried white voters from the Democrats.
7. This strategy won him a surprisingly close election.