Influencing Richard Nixon's Election As President In 1968 And 1972

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.

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