The Year That Broke Politics

The unknown story of the election that set the tone for todays fractured politics A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2023: Politics The book is a delightful demolition of the many political myths that continue to muddy our understanding of that election year. . . . Nichters book stands out for its clear, direct prose and the scrupulous research on which its based.Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal The 1968 presidential race was a contentious battle between vice president Hubert Humphrey, Republican Richard Nixon, and former Alabama governor George Wallace. The United States was reeling from the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy and was bitterly divided on the Vietnam War and domestic issues, including civil rights and rising crime. Drawing on previously unexamined archives and numerous interviews, Luke A. Nichter upends the conventional understanding of the campaign. Nichter chronicles how the evangelist Billy Graham met with Johnson after the presidents attempt to reenter the race was stymied by his own party, and offered him a deal: Nixon, if elected, would continue Johnsons Vietnam War policy and also not oppose his Great Society, if Johnson would soften his support for Humphrey. Johnson agreed. Nichter also shows that Johnson was far more active in the campaign than has previously been described; that Humphreys resurgence in October had nothing to do with his changing his position on the war; that Nixons Southern Strategy has been misunderstood, since he hardly even campaigned there; and that Wallaces appeal went far beyond the South and anticipated todays Republican populism. This eye-opening account of the political calculations and maneuvering that decided this fiercely fought election reshapes our understanding of a key moment in twentieth-century American history.