Presidential election of 1968 - November 5, 1968
In 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson filled the presidency. Johnson was again re-elected in 1964 by a huge majority. However, in Johnson’s term, the US involvement in Vietnam had become more present to the public. There was a large section of the nation that disapproved of the war in Vietnam, which reflected negatively on Johnson. In 1967, Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy challenged the President’s policies on the Vietnam War, which soon made the war in Vietnam the main topic discussed during the elections. Republican Candidate Richard Nixon was in support of stopping the draft, believing that if college students who protested the war did not have to worry about being drafted, then they would stop protesting the war. Democratic Candidate Hubert Humphrey did not want to oppose the Vietnam War, believing that if he offered any plans for peace would be shot down by President Johnson. Governor George Wallace, the candidate for the American Independent Party was able to take a very large section of the South due to his policies. Wallace believed that the government should not intervene in cases of school segregation. This policy became very popular among conservative southern states. In the end, Richard Nixon won the election with a very large margin in electoral votes.
This election proved to be a very tense and controversial one. With the civil rights movement in full swing and the American involvement in Vietnam coming into the public view, candidates had to make decisive and solid statements and policies laying out what their next steps were.
This election proved to be a very tense and controversial one. With the civil rights movement in full swing and the American involvement in Vietnam coming into the public view, candidates had to make decisive and solid statements and policies laying out what their next steps were.