The Most Turbulent Year - 1968

AT U.S. History

Harrison

Chapter 22

The Most Turbulent Year - 1968

Focus Questions for Monday, Nov. 9th

1. With assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. what was lost for Johnson administration's efforts regarding race relations?

2. What happened at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 and how did they influence American politics?

3. What did the Robert F. Kennedy 1968 campaign for the Democratic Party nomination play upon? What was RFK looking to achieve politically?

4. Just who was Eugene McCarthy and what did he come to symbolize in the 1968 Presidential Election?

5. What did the Democratic National Convention in August 1968 signify in the political drama of 1968?

6. Just who were the Yippies and what did they symbolize in America in 1968?

7. Who was George Wallace and what did he symbolize in America in 1968?

8. What advantages did Richard Nixon have when he ran for President in 1968?

9. Despite what is commonly believed, Nixon barely won the 1968 election. Why was the election so close?

10. On page 706, Patterson states that the "campaign and election of 1968 also revealed the persistent power of regional differences within the United States." What evidence is there to prove this point?

11. Patterson writes, "The social and political history of the United States after 1968 witnessed mainly an extension - and some times an acceleration - f the conflicts that reached their peak in 1968." (709). Of the events of 1968, which in your opinion, was the most influential?