Question

How did the Vietnam War affect the election of 1968 ?

Answer 1

Hint: Lyndon Johnson opted not to run for reelection, dismayed by the lack of success in the Vietnam War and disturbed by the factionalism rupturing the Democratic Party.In a three way race against Republican Richard Nixon and Alabama Governor George Wallace, a Southern segregationist who ran as an independent, Hubert Humphrey, ran in a threeway race against Republican Richard Nixon and Alabama Governor George Wallace.

Complete answer: While the events of 1968 were polarised, such as urban riots, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and the heavy fighting in Vietnam, on most topics, the two political parties stood far closer together than they do now.
Richard Nixon marched into the turmoil of 1968 with a promise to restore law and order, end Vietnam's war, and restore traditional American values.For a variety of factors, the 1968 presidential campaign of Richard Nixon was noteworthy. He stressed the theme of "law and order," which he understood would cater to the "silent majority," those nervous and afraid of drastic social reform by white middle-class Americans.
Nixon adopted the rhetoric of "law and order" to signify his intention to crack down on student demonstrators, leftists, and essentially everyone who tried to threaten the status quo of American society. Nixon used the "Southern strategy," which aimed to cater to Southern racists resentful of advances in civil rights and the federal anti poverty initiative of President Johnson.

Note: The plan of Nixon was intentionally ambiguous and contradictory, with the role of Humphrey changing throughout the campaign, particularly in the last stage when he distanced himself from Johnson. These conditions created an election in which Nixon could have obtained an antiwar vote just as easily as Humphrey.This, in particular, is why it seems impossible to assimilate the Vietnam War in November 1968 into the narrative of a conservative backlash at first.