November 5

This Day in History

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Lead Story
George Foreman becomes oldest heavyweight champ, 1994
American Revolution
Washington condemns Guy Fawkes festivities, 1775
Automotive
George Selden patents gas-powered car, 1895
Civil War
President Lincoln removes General McClellan, 1862
Cold War
Richard Nixon elected president, 1968
Crime
Army major kills 13 people in Fort Hood shooting spree, 2009
Disaster
Philippines struggles with severe flooding, 1991
General Interest
Mughal victory assures Akbar's ascension, 1556
King James learns of gunpowder plot, 1605
Wilson wins landslide victory, 1912
An American Nobel Prize in Literature, 1930
Jewish extremist assassinated in New York, 1990
Hollywood
Writers strike stalls production of TV shows, movies, 2007
Literary
Willa Cather starts writing for the Nebraska State Journal, 1893
Music
Samuel Barber's Adagio For Strings receives its world premiere on NBC radio, 1938
Old West
300 Santee Sioux sentenced to hang in Minnesota, 1862
Presidential
George W. Bush marries Laura Welch in Midland, Texas, 1977
Sports
George Foreman becomes oldest heavyweight champ in history, 1994
Vietnam War
Nixon wins presidential election, 1968
U.S. combat deaths down, 1970
World War I
Battle of Tanga ends in defeat for British colonial troops, 1914
World War II
FDR re-elected president, 1940

Cold War

Nov 5, 1968:

Richard Nixon elected president

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Winning one of the closest elections in U.S. history, Republican challenger Richard Nixon defeats Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Because of the strong showing of third-party candidate George Wallace, neither Nixon nor Humphrey received more than 50 percent of the popular vote; Nixon beat Humphrey by less than 500,000 votes. Nixon campaigned on a platform designed to reach the "silent majority" of middle class and working class Americans. He promised to "bring us together again," and many Americans, weary after years of antiwar and civil rights protests, were happy to hear of peace returning to their streets. Foreign policy was also a major factor in the election. Humphrey was saddled with a Democratic foreign policy that led to what appeared to be absolute futility and agony in Vietnam. Nixon promised to find a way to "peace with honor" in Vietnam, though he was never entirely clear about how this was to be accomplished. The American people, desperate to find a way out of the Vietnam quagmire, were apparently ready to give the Republican an opportunity to make good on his claim.During his presidency, Nixon oversaw some dramatic changes in U.S. Cold War foreign policy, most notably his policy of detente with the Soviet Union and his 1972 visit to communist China. His promise to bring peace with honor in Vietnam, however, was more difficult to accomplish. American troops were not withdrawn until 1973, and South Vietnam fell to communist forces in 1975.

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This Week in History, Nov 5 - Nov 11

Nov 05, 1968
Richard Nixon elected president
Nov 06, 1988
Renowned Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov visits United States
Nov 07, 1957
Gaither Report calls for more U.S. missiles and fallout shelters
Nov 08, 1960
John F. Kennedy elected president
Nov 09, 1989
East Germany opens the Berlin Wall
Nov 10, 1982
Leonid Brezhnev dies
Nov 11, 1973
Soviet Union refuses to play Chile in World Cup Soccer

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