A Rhetorical Analysis Of Richard Nixon's 1968 Presidential Campaign

America’s Dream Vote

Introduction

The presidential election of 1968 was during a very heated time in American history. The race was between three candidates; Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, and George Wallace. (U.S. History, 2017) All three candidates had different views on how they were going to handle being president which they displayed through their advertisements. Nixon released numerous campaign advertisements trying to gain votes from all types of voters. One of the most prominent examples of this was his television advertisement titled, "Child's face." "Child's face," was released in 1968 with an aim to gather trust and votes from voters of all races and backgrounds. The video features children being children, they are having fun playing when the narrator, Nixon himself, says, “I see the face of a child. What his color is, what is

The televised advertisement was very persuasive for voters of different ethnicities and backgrounds. He used the three different rhetorical appeals, ethological appeals, logistical appeals, and pathological appeals, to gain the votes, minds, and hearts of citizens. Nixon emotionally connected with American parents and future American parents as voters to gain their respect and trust with their children and their uncertain futures in a turbulent American society. He shows himself to be a respectful and knowledgeable man whom not only has experience as a leader and political figure, but also sees the people of America as people. He deems them more important than the American government system, and tries his best to ensure that they know that they will be taken care of by him if he becomes the President of the United States of America. He wants them to know he will do this no matter their color, ancestry, or social status, which was very important during the racially and politically aggravated year of