1968: in a year of turmoil, a nation goes to the polls: the Vietnam War and violent social unrest at home set the stage for Richard Nixon's victory in one of the most dramatic presidential races in U.S. history.

A distant war that came home to haunt us. A stunning surprise in the first presidential primary. Two horrific assassinations. Urban riots, social unrest, and a convention that tore apart the Democratic Party. That was 1968--the year, Frank Rich of The New York Times wrote, that "the 1960s became The Sixties."

For all the muscular personalities in the news that year, 1968 was defined by events, beginning with the war in Vietnam. In January, on Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year, the Communists launched a bold offensive against U.S. backed South Vietnam. While the offensive was short-lived, it signaled to the American public that an unpopular war wasn't winding down, as President Lyndon B. Johnson maintained, but escalating, with nearly 300,000 American troops in Vietnam--and 17,000 dead--by the end of the year.

DEFEATED BY WAR

Johnson, a Texas Democrat who had been John F. Kennedy's Vice President, was elected President on his own in 1964 in a landslide. But while South Vietnam's government survived the Tet offensive, LBJ was defeated by another army: young anti-war protesters who mobilized behind Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota in the New Hampshire primary in March.

McCarthy's surprisingly strong showing--he won 42 percent of the vote--amounted to a repudiation of a sitting President by his own party. Three weeks later, Johnson stunned the nation by announcing: "I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party as your President."

Johnson's withdrawal left the Democratic field to Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, also of Minnesota, McCarthy, and Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, brother of the slain President.

Challenging McCarthy for the mantle of which man was most antiwar and most electable, Kennedy generated an intense, almost rock-star-like excitement among his followers. Kennedy won the important California primary on June 5, but was assassinated that same night in Los Angeles by a Jordanian immigrant who despised Kennedy for his support of Israel.

POLICE AND RIOTERS

With Kennedy dead, Democrats nominated Humphrey. But what happened at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago helped doom his candidacy in November. In what the authorities later dubbed a "police riot," anti-war demonstrators, many of whom mercilessly taunted the cops, were brutally beaten by officers.

"The whole world is watching," the protesters chanted, and indeed it was. But among Americans, reactions varied. To some it drove home the idea that Humphrey was too beholden to Johnson and had only belatedly challenged his support for the war. Many of them would stay home on Election Day or vote Republican.

Others saw the turmoil as the culmination of a cultural revolution that had produced the hippie and anti-war movements. Coupled with race riots in Washington, Chicago, Detroit, and other cities sparked by the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis in April, the events in Chicago suggested that the country was out of control.

'THE NEW NIXON'

It all played into the game plan of Richard M. Nixon, the Republican candidate, who pledged a return to "law and order." Nixon, who served as Dwight D. Eisenhower's Vice President from 1953 61 and barely lost the 1960 election to Kennedy, reinvented himself eight years later as "the new Nixon." He appealed to what he called "the silent majority"--disaffected middle-class whites who felt betrayed or frightened by liberals, blacks, and student protesters.

A Californian transplanted to New York, Nixon also pursued what became known as his Southern Strategy, avowedly supporting civil rights for blacks, but without aggressive government intervention. That enabled him to attract white voters in the once solidly Democratic South who resented Johnson's civil rights agenda and to woo supporters of third-party candidate George C. Wallace, the segregationist Alabama Governor.

Still, vote by vote, Humphrey battled his way back. He was catapulted within striking distance in October when Johnson announced a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam and progress in peace talks under way in Paris, which held the promise of an end to the war. But with only five days left before the election, it was too late.

A DIVIDED COUNTRY

After a seesaw count that lasted all night, Nixon and his running-mate, Governor Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland, captured 43.4 percent of the popular vote, to Humphrey's 42.7 percent and Wallace's 13.5 percent. While the Democrats lost the White House (which they had held for 7 of the previous 9 terms), it was the first time, since Zachary Taylor's election in 1844, that a new President was elected without his party capturing control of Congress.

A conciliatory Nixon pledged to "bring us together"--borrowing the words from a sign held by a 13-year-old girl at a rally in Ohio. Nixon had claimed his own "secret plan" to end the war, but it continued through the 1972 campaign, during which Secretary of State Henry Kissinger would declare that "peace is at hand."

Nixon went on to win re-election in 1972 in a landslide against Democrat George McGovern. But less than a year later, Vice President Agnew resigned in disgrace, accused of accepting bribes and evading taxes; and Nixon himself resigned in 1974 over the Watergate scandal.

Those indelible images of war and scandal fueled a mistrust of government that would endure for more than a generation--and for many people, echoes even today in questions about the war in Iraq.

968 Election RESULTS

Candidate   Popular   Electoral
            Vote      Votes

    NIXON   43.4%     301
 HUMPHREY   42.7%     191
  WALLACE   13.5%     46

LESSON PLAN

Anti-war protests, political assassinations, and race riots served as a backdrop to the election of Richard Nixon as President.

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students understand one of the most important elections of the 20th century--and the tumultuous Sixties.

BEFORE READING: Write "Vietnam War" on the board. Do students know that 58,000 Americans died in the war? Ten them that the war may have been the deciding factor in the 1968 presidential election.

CRITICAL THINKING: Ask students why they think Senator Eugene McCarthy's showing in the New Hampshire primary was viewed as a repudiation of President Johnson, even though Johnson won the primary. (A sitting President should be able to command more support from members of his own party. McCarthy's vote meant 42 percent of New Hampshire Democrats opposed Johnson.)

RESEARCH: If students have relatives aged 50 or older they can interview them about their memories of the 1960s. Do they recall seeing television reports about the Chicago protests and clashes with police? What did they think at that time about the protests outside and the rancor within the convention hall?

Have their views on either Vietnam or the Chicago protests changed? Did some relatives support the anti-war movement and others oppose it? How did they react to the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy?

Students should bring their findings to class, where they may be used to launch further discussion.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* What do you think the Chicago protesters hoped to gain by shouting "the whole world is watching"?

* Why do you think some voters were so receptive to Richard Nixon's campaign pledge to be a "law and order" President?

* Does distrust of government still linger, as the article suggests?

FAST FACT: George Wallace's victory in five Southern states won him almost enough electoral votes to throw the election to the House of Representatives.

WEB WATCH: www.multied.com/elections/1968state.html offers a color map showing the states that went for Humphrey, Nixon, and Wallace, plus vote totals in each state.

(QUIZ 4)

1. The American public began to lose faith in President Johnson's claim that the Vietnam War was winding down following

a anti-war demonstrations in Chicago.

b a rise in the military budget.

c the Tet offensive.

d the loss of support from European allies.

2. The first Democratic candidate to launch an anti-war challenge to President Johnson was

a former Vice President Richard Nixon.

b New York Senator Robert Kennedy.

c Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

d Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy.

3. President Johnson announced that he would not run for re-election following

a a rise in the number of troops killed in Vietnam.

b ports showing a decline in support for the war.

c his showing in the New Hampshire primary.

d criticism of the war in Congress.

4. Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon pointed to anti-war protests, race riots, and assassinations and called for a return to "law and order." He appealed to citizens he called

a the heart of America.

b law-and-order Americans.

c the true Americans.

d the silent majority.

5. Nixon's campaign also relied on what was called the "Southern strategy," which involved

a making campaign trips to the South.

b directing government contracts to Southern companies.

c supporting civil rights, but without strong government intervention.

d giving important posts to Southern politicians.

6. Many Democrats either failed to vote or voted for Republican Richard Nixon in 1968. Why do you think so many Democrats took this course?

Answer Key

1. (c) the Tet offensive.

2. (d) Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy.

3. (c) his showing in the N.H. primary.

4. (d) the silent majority.

5. (c) supporting civil rights, but without strong government intervention.

6. Answers will vary, but could include the fact that many Americans were tired of the rioting and rancor and were hopeful that Nixon could bring tranquility.

Sam Roberts, who has covered a number of presidential elections for The New York Times, is an editor at the Week in Review.