The 1968 Election and the Silent Majority

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The 1968 Election and the Silent Majority
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• 1968 The Comeback of Richard Nixon

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A brief review of his political career....

• Congressional Race 1946- Win
• Alger Hiss Spy Case 1948- Political Win

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The Emerging Republican Majority

• Nixon campaigned as the champion of the "silent
  majority, the hardworking Americans who paid
  taxes, did not demonstrate, and desired a
  restoration of "law and order.

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The Southern Strategy

• Nixon courted whites upset by the drive for
  racial equality
• Opposed extending Voting Rights Act of 1965

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The other candidates in 1968...

• After Johnson's withdrawal from the race, Vice
  President Hubert Humphrey announced his
  candidacy.
• He had a strong civil rights record and ties to
  organized labor, but his affiliation with Johnson
  and support for the Vietnam made him unappealing
  to anti-war voters.

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George Wallace American Independence Party

• Former Governor of Alabama
• For the first time since 1948, a serious third
  party candidate ran for president.

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The end result (and the beginning of a new era)

• Nixon
• Humphrey
• Wallace

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The Outcome of the Election