Election of 1968 — Bunk History

Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson.

Hate Burst Out: Chicago, 1968

It is hard not to figure the 1968 election as inaugurating the cultural and political polarisation of the American electorate so evident today.

by Kim Phillips-Fein via London Review of Books on August 7, 2024

Hubert Humphrey.

Votes for Humphrey [Biden]

On (not) voting.

by Michael Brenes via Warfare And Welfare on June 11, 2024

Joe Biden speaking in January.

No, the 2024 Election Won’t Be Anything Like 1968

The election will be a challenge for Joe Biden. But looking to the past won’t help him—or us—understand what lies ahead.

by Walter Shapiro via The New Republic on May 9, 2024

Frank Shakespeare in 1968.

Frank Shakespeare, Nixon TV Guru Who Redefined Political Ads, Dies At 97

Mr. Shakespeare's team oversaw ads and on-air events that reflected the rising power of television as a political tool.

by Brian Murphy via Washington Post on December 17, 2022

LBJ at his desk writing.

Foreign Powers Interfered in the 1968 Election. Why Didn’t LBJ Stop Them?

Was his disdain for his vice president greater than his desire for Democrats to win?

by Arnold A. Offner via Made By History on November 4, 2018

Robert F. Kennedy Is Remembered as a Liberal Icon. Here's the Truth About His Politics

For many American liberals, RFK became a symbol of not just a better past, but also a better future that might have been.

by David E. Kaiser via TIME on June 5, 2018

The Bobby Kennedy Myth

Many on the left have learned the wrong lessons from his ill-fated presidential bid.

by Joshua Zeitz via Politico Magazine on June 5, 2018

When Bobby Decided to Run

This weekend is the anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy’s fateful decision to enter the 1968 presidential race. What if he hadn’t?

by Jeff Greenfield via Politico Magazine on March 17, 2018

Lessons from the Election of 1968

Protests, populism, and progressivism all clashed in a battle royal. But what really drives election results?

by Louis Menand via The New Yorker on January 8, 2018

A collage of the cover and various pages of the Walker Report.

How the 1968 DNC Devolved into ‘Unrestrained and Indiscriminate Police Violence’

As protesters prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, a half-century old report provides lessons for preventing chaos.

by Lakeidra Chavis via The Marshall Project on August 14, 2024

Joe Biden sitting in the Oval Office.

There Has Been Nothing Like This in American History

Joe Biden is hardly the first president who has decided not to seek a second term—but the circumstances this time are unique.

by Fred Kaplan via Slate on July 21, 2024

President Joe Biden speaking at campaign event.

The Arguments for Biden 2024 Keep Getting Worse

No, "history" does not tell us that the Democrats shouldn't change their nominee.

by Eric Levitz via Vox on July 9, 2024

Wilt Chamberlain with young people holding Nixon signs.

How the World’s Biggest Basketball Star Helped Richard Nixon Woo Black Voters

It was a bold plan to win over Black voters skeptical of the Democratic Party. But it turned out to be an illusion.

by Shaun Assael via Politico Magazine on July 7, 2024

Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

The Wild History of “Lesser of Two Evils” Voting

For as long as Americans have been subjected to lousy candidates, they’ve been told to suck it up and vote for one of them.

by Ginny Hogan via The Nation on March 19, 2024

Photo of Joe Biden in front of photos of Lyndon Johnson and Harry Truman.

Other Presidents Have Retired in March of Their Reelection Year

But it didn’t work out for their parties.

by Timothy Naftali via The Atlantic on March 4, 2024

Injured reporter interviewing bloodied antiwar demonstrator

Seeing Was Not Believing

A new book identifies the 1968 Democratic convention as the moment when broad public regard for the news media gave way to widespread distrust, and American divisiveness took off.

by Eric Foner via New York Review of Books on August 30, 2023

Cartoon of Henry Kissinger blowing out birthday candles on a cake depicting his criminal legacy.

Henry Kissinger, War Criminal—Still at Large at 100

We now know a great deal about the crimes he committed while in office. But we know little about his four decades with Kissinger Associates.

by Greg Grandin via The Nation on May 15, 2023

RFK speaking at the Ambassador Hotel in LA, moments before he was shot on June 5, 1968.

How Robert F. Kennedy’s Assassination Derailed American Politics

The idealistic presidential candidate was on the verge of seizing control of the 1968 race just as Sirhan Sirhan’s bullet struck.

by Larry Tye via Politico Magazine on September 2, 2021

Hundreds of people watch RFK's funeral train pass by.

Inside RFK's Funeral Train: How His Final Journey Helped a Nation Grieve

The New York-to-Washington train had 21 cars, 700 passengers—and millions of trackside mourners.

by Steven M. Gillon via HISTORY on June 7, 2021

Lady Bird Johnson looking through stack of papers at a desk

The Lost Story of Lady Bird

Why do most chroniclers of LBJ’s presidency miss the centrality and influence of the first lady?

by Julia E. Sweig via The Atlantic on March 15, 2021

Three panels of a graphic depicting Soul city. Images include two people walking in a street, people playing golf, and the inside of a mall

The Plan to Build a Capital for Black Capitalism

In 1969, an activist set out to build an African-American metropolis from scratch. What would have happened if Soul City had succeeded?

by Kelefa Sanneh via The New Yorker on February 1, 2021

Roger Stone

How to Steal an American Election

From Alexander Hamilton to Richard Nixon and more: meddling, fixing, rigging, fraud, and violence.

by William Hogeland via Hogeland's Bad History on January 28, 2021

Legislators at the podium during a joint session of congress to tally presidential electoral votes in 1969.

How the Electoral College Was Nearly Abolished in 1970

The House approved a constitutional amendment to dismantle the indirect voting system, but it was killed in the Senate by a filibuster.

by Dave Roos via HISTORY on August 3, 2020

The Republican Choice

How a party spent decades making itself white.

by Clare Malone via FiveThirtyEight on June 24, 2020

If This Is Like 1968, Then Trump Is in Big Trouble

Trump campaigns like Richard Nixon and George Wallace, but in reality, he is Lyndon Johnson: a man who has lost control of the machine.

by Joshua Zeitz via Politico Magazine on June 2, 2020

Will Urban Uprisings Help Trump? Actually, They Could Be His Undoing.

As a historian, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the fallout from Watts and other rebellions.

by Rick Perlstein via Mother Jones on May 31, 2020

4 Contested Conventions in Presidential Election History

Having a single candidate by the time of the convention has been a key stepping stone for a party’s victory. But it hasn't always worked out that way.

by Lesley Kennedy via HISTORY on March 4, 2020

How the Republican Majority Emerged

Fifty years after the Republican Party hit upon a winning formula, President Trump is putting it at risk.

by Kevin M. Kruse, Dov Weinryb Grohsgal via The Atlantic on August 6, 2019

Anna Chennault with Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger.

The Natl. Security Adviser who Colluded With Foreign Powers Decades Before Michael Flynn

New documents reveal that Richard Nixon’s 1968 campaign colluded with a foreign government far more than historians thought.

by Shane O'Sullivan via Made By History on December 26, 2018

Democrats’ Struggle Over Masculinity 50 Years Ago is Still Playing Out Today

Liberal politicians should trumpet a vision of masculinity that incorporates the best qualities of LBJ and Humphrey.

by Aram Goudsouzian via The Conversation on November 1, 2018

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