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The Historical Presidency : Lost Confidence: The Democratic Party, the Vietnam War, and the 1968 Election
Author(s) -
Nelson Michael
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/psq.12449
Subject(s) - candidacy , victory , political science , democracy , presidency , political economy , presidential election , politics , vietnam war , economic history , law , sociology , history
The 1968 election was a crucial turning point for the Democratic Party. Long‐standing confidence by Democrats in the ability and responsibility of the United States to spread liberal values across the globe gave way to diffidence and hesitancy in the international arena in the face of growing disillusionment within the party about the Vietnam War. John F. Kennedy, with resolve, and Lyndon B. Johnson, with reservations, unsuccessfully pursued victory in the war, thereby creating the conditions for a revolt within their party that doomed Hubert H. Humphrey's candidacy in 1968 and led Democrats to turn against liberal assertiveness on the world stage for nearly the next quarter century.