How far do you agree that the key factor influencing Richard Nixon’s election as President in 1968 and 1972 was the popularity of his policies on the Vietnam War? 30 marks Richard Nixon’s election as President in 1968 and 1972 was influenced by many factors, all of which had an influence on who voted for Nixon and why. There were many people in America at the time who were sick and tired of both the civil rights campaign and the ongoing counter culture movement, along with numerous protests and riots that were sweeping the nation. Nixon appealed to these people, whom he deemed ‘Middle America’ or, ‘the silent majority’. Most of the factors that influenced Nixon’s election appealed to this section of society, while in contrast, alienating other groups, such as Afro-Americans and those involved with counter culture. …show more content…
The Vietnam war had been nicknamed ‘Johnson’s war’, which automatically put Nixon at an advantage over Humphrey, who was Johnson’s Vice President and still supported the war. This influenced Nixon’s election as many democrats turned away from Humphrey and used Nixon as an anti-war alternative. Humphrey’s stance led Nixon’s popularity to increase nationwide as, although relatively anti-civil rights, Nixon appealed to Afro-Americans like Martin Luther King, who had clashed with Johnson over the war. Nixon’s anti-war policies caused him to gain support from many unlikely areas of the USA, along with those in the silent majority that he originally targeted, leading him to be elected as President in
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Show MoreE.D. Nixon helped the Montgomery Bus Boycott in many ways. He once said “The Montgomery boycott was a big thing in a whole lot of people’s lives.” And he was right; for if it wasn’t for the Montgomery bus boycott, African Americans wouldn’t be able to enjoy the freedoms they have today. Edgar Daniel Nixon, otherwise known as E.D. Nixon , was born on July 12, 1899 in Lowndes County, Alabama.
With the gain of the Civil Rights Movement under LBJ, many protests, strikes, and riots were taking place and Nixon did not support this. Nixon wanted to restore law and order so while he helped the minority community; it was not a concept that he put above others as he pushed to helping white southerners as well. The main thing that Nixon did in an effort to support issues pertaining to the minority community was hiring Daniel Moynihan on his staff. Moynihan was an expert on social policy and he supported helping minority communities. He came up with the Moynihan Report where he explained that the problems poor black communities faced were are a result of the lower class black family being broken down.
The growing public’s skepticism and mistrust of the government were increased, now involving both peaceful and violent protests. The Pentagon Papers was the catalyst that eventually brought down the Nixon administration. Furthermore, I believe the majority of the American people who had originally supported the government-led conflict in Vietnam had a change of heart and viewed the administration’s
To illustrate, Nixon sent a message to those opposing America by stating,” If I conclude that increased enemy action jeopardizes our remaining forces in Vietnam, I shall not hesitate to take strong and effective measures to deal with that situation. This is not a threat. This is a statement of policy which as Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces I am making and meeting my responsibility for the protection of American fighting men wherever they may be '' (Nixon). This quote both delivers historical significance and perfectly exemplifies the leadership Nixon displayed, which caused the other nations and Americans to realize that the consequences of a precipitous withdrawal of American power would be devastating to the spirits of Americans in the long term. this specific quote demonstrates the dominance President Nixon showed to those who are supporting the Communist campaign of the North Vietnamese government.
In general I would say Richard Nixon was a fairly decent president. During a time where there were many protests amongst the American public (especially the youth) against the troops in Vietnam, Nixon was able to pull the troops out of the war. Nixon also reduced the tensions with the Soviet Union, and helped China join the United Nations. He also helped decrease the amount of racial discrimination by segregating schools in the south. It is a shame though, that those achievements of his are not acknowledged because of the Watergate Scandal.
The 1960’s and early 1970’s was a period when America was involved in many conflicts overseas, including the Vietnam War. This began a time when media spread quickly as well as influenced the public heavily and wars were first televised. These conflicts ultimately caused citizens to protest and question the motives of the federal government. A large number of these protestors were students who sought to combat problems through various tactics to get authority figures to remedy the problems they identified. Student protestors sought to combat many immediate and long-term problems involving this time period and the Vietnam War.
Most say Richard Nixon is one of the most interesting political figures of the 20th century. Nixon began his long political career in 1947 when he was elected to the House of Representatives. During the course of his presidential campaign, Senator George McGovern had complained about the various number of “dirty tricks” performed by members of the Nixon administration during the campaign. Nixon resulted in ordering aides to harass Democratic party leaders. The Attorney General Mitchell would later call these “dirty tricks” the “White House horrors.”
After completing college, Nixon earned a career to be a lawyer, but this did not satisfy him. Also, his parents were not very pleased with his position as a lawyer. 2“He was always the type of fellow that rose to the top and was the president of this and the president of that,” Gerard Kepple agreed, “and always had a sense of leadership.” Therefore, Nixon knew that the only way to leave a mark in history was through politics. While Nixon was seeking for an opportunity of recognition, he met some Republicans.
Section 1: Identification and Evaluation of Sources The purpose of this investigation is to explore the question: How did the Tet Offensive change American public opinion on the Vietnam War? The focus of the investigation will be on the years 1965-1970 in order to allow for analysis of American public opinion from the beginning of American involvement to the years following the Tet Offensive. Sources analyzing the Tet Offensive as a whole and American public opinion on the Vietnam War will be used to accurately determine the effects of the Tet Offensive on American public opinion. The first source that will be evaluated is the book “The Tet Offensive,” which was written by Marc Gilbert and William Head in 1996.
The final years of Vietnam brought the Nixon administration to the white house. Richard Nixon realized the toll Vietnam was taking on America and its citizens and after initially expanding on his predecessor's efforts to win the war, he decided to take a new approach. Nixon began to relax the relations with the communist countries of China and the Soviet Union. He hoped that relaxing all of the tension the Cold War had built up would eventually lead the Northern Vietnamese to settle for an end to the Vietnam War. “I am frank to say that this visit was a very moving experience.
Few people today realize that while Nixon was a crook, he also help America in a tough time. The resolution of the Vietnam War brought about an era of peace that was not interrupted by large scale warfare until the Gulf War in the 1990’s. These perspectives along with many others in the book are valuable to all persons interested in the history of American Politics and the Vietnam
President Nixon is one of the most famous Presidents in American history for being the first one to resign from office. While Nixon is famous for doing such an unthinkable act, he is also the one that gave one of the best and most well known speeches in political history, The Checkers Speech. The speech was given by (Senator at the time) President Nixon when he was running for Vice President on General Eisenhower’s Presidential ticket. A newspaper, the New York Post, had a front page with the headline "Secret Rich Men's Trust Fund Keeps Nixon in Style Far Beyond His Salary"; the article alleged that people were donating to a secret fund that Nixon had for his personal benefit in trade for political favors.
He increased the number of forces in South Vietnam. The war escalated then he decided to not run for reelection. Nixon used the war to his advantage. He promised to find a way to end the Vietnam War, pledging America would have “peace with honor”. Now he had to uphold this promise and implement a plan, but it didn’t work.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist that led the Civil Rights Movement, and other movements until his assassination in 1968. On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a speech named, “Beyond Vietnam- A Time to Break Silence” addressing the Vietnam War. The United States got involved in the Vietnam War because they wanted to stop the spread of communism. Due to the Vietnam War is that plenty of individuals, both Americans and Vietnamese were killed.
In his essay, Hills explains how Nixon evokes the intended response from the immediate audience by gaining support for the war. Nixon states in his speech, “tonight-to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans-I ask for your support.” Here, Nixon uses resentment in sacrifice in lives and finance, longing for some action in a marked direction were strategies used to gain support instead of “teaching.” This in turn allowed America to continue in the war which proves that he agrees with Foss for Nixon’s primary role was not that of a teacher or