Conservatism v. Liberalism: The election of 1964

After the tragic death of John F. Kennedy in November of 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson had been sworn in as the 36th President. With the election season coming soon after Kennedy's death, the nation still mourned and could not believe Kennedy was gone. There was little competition among Democrats for the nomination, although George Wallace did challenge Johnson in the primaries, but Johnson won at the convention on the first ballot. As for the vice-presidential nominee, Robert Kennedy challenged Hubert Humphrey for the ticket, but ultimately, Johnson chose Humphrey. As for Republicans, a divided had occurred between the moderates, led by northerners and NY governor Nelson Rockefeller, and conservatives, largely based in the south and midwest, led by AZ Senator Barry Goldwater. The convention was very heated, as conservatives booed Rockefeller and moderates booed Goldwater. In the end, Goldwater won the nomination, along with NY congressman William Miller for vice-president. During the campaign, the issue of extremism and Civil Rights were the two main issues. Each side accused the other of being extreme or too far leaning in their respective directions. As for the Civil Rights issue, the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 greatly changed the demographics in for the election and most future elections, as the South became more and more Republican and most blacks fled the Republican party and became Democrats. On election day, Johnson and Humphrey won in a landslide, carrying almost 60% of the popular vote and carrying 44 states. Johnson did manage to hang on to a few southern states, but the deep south, traditionally Democrat, all voted for Goldwater, signaling the change. Johnson's second term was largely packed with the Vietnam War, but there was also more of the Great Society and passages of bills like the Voting Rights Act and other attempts to end segregation and discrimination. Also, the rise of conservatism in the Republican party really started with this election. Former Democrat and actor Ronald Reagan gave a very supportive speech for Goldwater, beginning Reagan's political career, and greatly increasing contributions for the Goldwater campaign. Campaign items from this election are generally easy to find, especially simple Goldwater wordpins and Johnson word pins. Even a lot of single picture buttons are cheap and readily available. Some of the more scarce items for Goldwater are buttons that show him with an awkward face position on the button or a large 9" button surrounded by the sun. Most Johnson items are also common, especially single picture buttons, although as with every campaign, there are rarities. Posters, china, music, and 3-D items, such as "Gold Water" and "Johnson Juice" can also be found commonly. One of the campaign slogans or designs for Goldwater was "Au-H20," the scientific table chart for Gold and Water. Some items reference slogans, such as "LBJ for the USA" or "In Your Heart, You Know He's Right." I have pictured a poster from each candidate, a group of Goldwater buttons, and a record with speeches from Johnson and Goldwater.