This term was made popular by US President Richard Nixon in a speech he gave on November 3 1969 , about the Vietnam War . Nixon said `` And so tonight , to you , the great silent majority of my fellow Americans ; I ask for your support . '' The term was popularized ( though not first used ) by U.S. President Richard Nixon in a November 3 , 1969 , speech in which he said , `` And so tonightâ '' to you , the great silent majority of my fellow Americansâ '' I ask for your support . ''