Presidential Biographies | Nixon Administrations - Domestic Issues

Domestic Issues

When Nixon was elected president in November 1968, the nation was still reeling from the shocking events of that tumultuous year. Leaders like Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated, the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson had collapsed under the strain of the antiwar movement, and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, had been the scene of rioting and bloodletting. The nation had become polarized in several ways. There were those who still supported the Vietnam War (1959–75) and those who demanded its end. There were those who demanded more rapid changes on the domestic scene, and those who were adamantly opposed to these developments—especially in such arenas as race relations. This polarization cut across class, race, and gender lines.

Nixon's plan was to present himself to the people as a consensus figure who would promote the kind of reform at home and...