Description
Marked by sharp ideological divisions over civil rights, Vietnam, and federal power, the 1964 presidential campaign between Democrat Lyndon Johnson and Republican Barry Goldwater proved a watershed election in American history. Although Johnson defeated Goldwater in a landslide and liberalism seemed to ride triumphant, the liberal wave crashed almost immediately and conservatives came to dominate a resurgent Republican Party in the late twentieth century. Thoroughly researched and beautifully written, this is the first historical account of this crucial election, and the transition it marked for the nation. Filled with colorful details and fascinating figures - Johnson, Goldwater, Wallace, Rockefeller, Nixon, Reagan, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., George Bush, and many more - it captures the full excitement, drama, and significance of "liberalism's last hurrah."
Table of Contents
Introduction 1. Conservatives in the "Modern" World of Eisenhower - and the Rise of Goldwater 2. The Democrats Resurgent and the Rise of the Boston-Austin Axis 3. Goldwater Ambivalence and the Decision to Run 4. Early Republican Battlegrounds and the Rise of George Wallace 5. Lyndon Johnson and the Reins of Power 6. Conservatism Triumphant: Wallace and Goldwater in the Primary Season 7. Guillotine: The Jacobins Remove the Ancient Regime 8. LBJ's "Bobby Problem" and the Humphrey String-along 9. The King Is Dead. Long Live the King 10. Goldwater and Johnson in a Cause Predetermined 11. Home Stretch 12. Analysis Appendix
