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Difficulty: MediumPolitical Realignment, Watergate, and Rise of Conservatism

"And so tonight—to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans—I ask for your support. I pledged in my campaign for the Presidency to end the war in a way that we could win the peace. I have initiated a plan of action which will enable me to keep that pledge. The more support I can have from the American people, the more quickly that pledge can be redeemed; for the more divided we are at home, the less likely the enemy is to negotiate at Paris. Let us be united for peace. Let us also be united against defeat. Because let us understand: North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that."

— President Richard Nixon, Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam, November 3, 1969

The political strategy reflected in the excerpt contributed most directly to which of the following developments?

  1. A
    The adoption of an isolationist foreign policy that withdrew the United States from all international commitments.
  2. B
    The abandonment of the containment doctrine in favor of immediate military withdrawal from East Asia.
  3. The formation of a new conservative electoral coalition that attracted working-class and suburban voters.Answer
  4. D
    The legislative passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to grant the executive branch unlimited war powers.

Answer

The formation of a new conservative electoral coalition that attracted working-class and suburban voters.
The correct answer is correct because Nixon's rhetorical appeal to the 'silent majority' was a deliberate political strategy designed to mobilize working-class, suburban, and Southern voters who were alienated by the counterculture and anti-war protests. This strategy was highly successful in expanding the base of the Republican Party, contributing to a major political realignment that fueled the rise of the modern conservative movement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context and content of the source.
The excerpt is from President Richard Nixon's 1969 address appealing to the 'silent majority' for support regarding his Vietnam policy amidst domestic division.
Understanding the context of the source helps identify the political audience and rhetoric Nixon used to build support.
2
Evaluate the political impact of the 'silent majority' strategy.
Nixon appealed to moderate, working-class, and suburban Americans who felt alienated by radical social movements and anti-war protests, drawing them into the Republican fold.
This strategy directly links the rhetoric of the speech to the broader trend of political realignment and the rise of conservatism in the late twentieth century.
3
Select the option that best matches this political shift.
The option describing the formation of a new conservative electoral coalition of working-class and suburban voters is the correct outcome.
This option correctly connects the rhetorical strategy of appealing to the quiet, patriotic middle class with the mid-to-late twentieth-century rise of the New Right.

Key Concept

Political Realignment and the Rise of Conservatism
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Topics

Political Realignment, Watergate, and Rise of Conservatism

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