{"id":2236,"date":"2020-11-10T11:56:40","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T11:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/?page_id=2236"},"modified":"2024-04-18T12:39:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T12:39:32","slug":"1968-election","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/course-syllabus\/1968-election\/","title":{"rendered":"1968 Election"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<h2>Fracturing of America<\/h2>\n<p>Margaret O&#8217;Mara opens her chapter on the 1968 election with a description of the broadcast television moment that framed the outset of the race and what she describes as the beginning of the &#8220;fracturing of America.&#8221; Here are video clips of Walter Cronkite&#8217;s original February 27, 1968 CBS Evening News Broadcast on the Tet Offensive and also an oral history from Cronkite about that pivotal TV moment recorded in 1999. \u00a0Then there is the full broadcast from President Lyndon Johnson that stunned the nation on March 31, 1968, as he announced that he would remain as president but withdraw from the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968. \u00a0His remarks on quitting the presidential race begin around the 38 minute mark.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Dn2RjahTi3M\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Fe8IG2P9PnM\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FFyhAcp2DG4\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In her opening chapter on the 1968 election, O&#8217;Mara also narrates the tragic assassinations of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy and their dramatic impact on the campaign.\u00a0 Here is a video of Kennedy&#8217;s speech in Indianapolis on April 4, 1968, where he revealed the sad news of King&#8217;s killing to a stunned crowd.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/A2kWIa8wSC0?si=6n9dgFU3D9XyhpUY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>1968 Democratic National Convention<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vtj7zfMaP0o?si=ZR148cOigE53Ewjf\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Campaigns and TV<\/h2>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>TV became especially important during the 1960 presidential campaign, but it was televised debates as much as anything else that drove him the significance of this 20th-century communications medium to American politics.<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GMWQnoDA0o8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The 1960 contest produced a number of memorable innovations, including the beginning of Theodore White&#8217;s <em>Making of the President\u00a0<\/em>series and also a ground-breaking fly-on-the-wall documentary film by Robert Drew called, &#8220;Primary.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wLkT7z0C5Bc\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2258 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.57.59-AM-1024x572.png\" alt=\"Primary\" width=\"629\" height=\"351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.57.59-AM-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.57.59-AM-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.57.59-AM-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.57.59-AM-1536x858.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.57.59-AM.png 1564w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-hdr\">The 1968 presidential campaign marked another turning point in this communications revolution. The Nixon campaign was the first presidential campaign to devote the majority of its campaign budget to TV ads. An important monograph by Joe McGinniss entitled, <em>The Selling of the President <\/em>(1969) helps explain that revolution, but we can observe it in almost &#8220;real time&#8221; by re-watching some of the most important paid TV ads and broadcast TV moments below.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"meta-info-wrap\">\n<div class=\"post-inner\">\n<div class=\"post-content entry-content\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingroomcandidate.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Living Room Candidate website<\/a>, courtesy of the Museum of the Moving Image, has collected televised presidential campaign advertisements from 1952 to the present day. They offer a great window for understanding some key trends in US history since 1945.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a pioneering TV ad from the 1952 campaign, presented in what was then popular movie newsreel style, for the Republican campaign of Dwight D. Eisenhower. \u00a0Think carefully about what the commercial is emphasizing \u2013and also what it omits.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingroomcandidate.org\/commercials\/1952\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-414 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-coldwar\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-01-at-12.26.39-PM.png\" alt=\"1952 ad\" width=\"864\" height=\"772\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Compare that 1952 effort to these more polished, 1960 John F. Kennedy campaign ads, one positive and upbeat and the other quite negative:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingroomcandidate.org\/commercials\/1960\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-417\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-coldwar\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-01-at-12.34.07-PM.png\" alt=\"1960 ad\" width=\"866\" height=\"778\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingroomcandidate.org\/commercials\/1960\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-416 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-coldwar\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-01-at-12.31.14-PM.png\" alt=\"1960 ad\" width=\"874\" height=\"780\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content entry-content\">\n<p>Perhaps the most famous (or infamous) ad in the history of modern presidential campaigns appeared as a paid advertisement on TV only once \u2013the so-called \u201cDaisy ad\u201d from 1964. Students should be able to explain what this ad was about, and why it was so powerful and controversial.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingroomcandidate.org\/commercials\/1964\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-419\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-coldwar\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-01-at-12.35.38-PM.png\" alt=\"1964 ad\" width=\"880\" height=\"798\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2014\/09\/07\/daisy-girl-political-ad-still-haunting-50-years-later\/15246667\/\">Find out more about the &#8220;Daisy Girl,&#8221; (<strong>Monique Corzilius)<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/video\/2016\/10\/clinton-ad-daisy-061108\">See Hilary Clinton&#8217;s 2016 update of the Daisy Girl ad<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content entry-content\">\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>1968 Campaign<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2659\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2176\" height=\"1224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM.png 2176w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM-2048x1152.png 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM-900x506.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-16-at-8.22.38-AM-1280x720.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2176px) 100vw, 2176px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Amid all of the turbulence and tragedy of 1968, the Nixon campaign revolutionized the use of TV commercials in presidential contests, relying on them more than any other previous campaign organization. These two notable examples directed by filmmaker Eugene Jones show some of the new techniques of advertising and also help highlight the shift in national climate since 1952.These two notable examples help highlight some of the changes and the continuities in the Cold War climate since 1952.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingroomcandidate.org\/commercials\/1968\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-421\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-coldwar\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-01-at-12.39.57-PM.png\" alt=\"Nixon ad\" width=\"868\" height=\"784\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingroomcandidate.org\/commercials\/1968\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-420\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-coldwar\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-01-at-12.37.43-PM.png\" alt=\"1968 ad\" width=\"870\" height=\"780\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-navigation\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content cf\">\n<h2>Code Words and &#8220;the Southern Strategy&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingroomcandidate.org\/commercials\/1968\/crime\">Richard Nixon (Rep), &#8220;Crime&#8221; (1968)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.36.56-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2251 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.36.56-AM.png\" alt=\"Crime\" width=\"886\" height=\"788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.36.56-AM.png 886w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.36.56-AM-300x267.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2020\/11\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-10-at-7.36.56-AM-768x683.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 886px) 100vw, 886px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Nixon campaign was not the only one playing to the fears and resentments of American voters in 1968.\u00a0 Independent candidate and Alabama governor George Wallace offered his own version of right-wing populism (&#8220;law and order&#8221;) to help stoke support.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingroomcandidate.org\/commercials\/1968\/businglaw-and-order\">George Wallace, (Ind) &#8220;Law and Order&#8221; (1968)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-15-at-12.19.16-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2654\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-15-at-12.19.16-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"882\" height=\"790\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-15-at-12.19.16-PM.png 882w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-15-at-12.19.16-PM-300x269.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/files\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-15-at-12.19.16-PM-768x688.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 882px) 100vw, 882px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Nixon on &#8220;Laugh In&#8221; (September 1968)<\/h2>\n<footer class=\"entry-utility\"><\/footer>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RejncCk2QxE?si=GfPp25TL8n5R0Fky\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fracturing of America Margaret O&#8217;Mara opens her chapter on the 1968 election with a description of the broadcast television moment that framed the outset of the race and what she describes as the beginning of the &#8220;fracturing of America.&#8221; Here are video clips of Walter Cronkite&#8217;s original February 27, 1968 CBS Evening News Broadcast on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":23,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2236","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2236\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}