A large portion of the growing opposition to the war came from within liberal ranks . After Johnson refused to run again , assassination removed Robert F. Kennedy from contention and noted liberal Vice President Hubert Humphrey emerged from the disastrous 1968 Democratic National Convention with the presidential nomination of a deeply divided party . Much of the party 's right-wing had left to support Governor of Alabama George Wallace . The result was a narrow victory for Republican Richard Nixon , a man who was largely regarded as from the old Northeast Republican establishment despite his being a California native . Nixon enacted many liberal policies , including the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency , normalizing relations with Communist China and starting the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks to reduce the availability of ballistic missiles
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
Liberalism in the United States