The 1968 United States Presidential election became a referendum on the Vietnam war . A peace candidate had previously emerged in the Democratic party when Senator Eugene McCarthy challenged the Vietnam war policies of President Lyndon B. Johnson who had refused to seek or accept another nomination for President and had endorsed his Vice President Hubert Humphrey for the Democratic Presidential nomination . Senator McCarthy 's support came from young people , or their relatives and friends , some of whom were subject to the draft or were in deferred status . This divided the country by age as older citizens , a so called silent majority , tended to support or did not actively oppose government policies . This division of the populace encouraged Senator Robert F. Kennedy to seek the Democratic Presidential nomination . Senator Kennedy was assassinated after winning the California primary and defeating Senator Eugene McCarthy . The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in June led to uncertainty and disappointment in the race for the Democratic nomination for the presidency . After the Vice President of the United States Hubert Humphrey won the Democratic nomination at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago , another wave of violent protests emerged , this time between mostly young antiwar demonstrators and police . The uncertainty within the Democratic Party benefitted Richard Nixon , a Republican and former vice president . He won the referendum on the Vietnam war and the Presidency appealing to the " Silent Majority " promising : " Peace with Honor " . Nixon , a staunch anti-communist gained the voters ' trust . A particularly strong showing by segregationist George Wallace of the American Independent Party in 1968 's presidential election highlighted the strong element of racial division that continued to persist across the country
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 in the United States