Nixon in 68′

Database: Encyclopedia of American Government

Nixon, Richard, Campaigning in 1968

The caption underneath the image says ” Candidates and their campaign managers try to orchestrate public appearances that will put the candidate in a favorable light. Richard Nixon appears the hero in this 1968 campaign photo. (Source: National Archives.)”

Q: Who created the artifact?

A: National Archives

Q: When was the artifact created?

A: 1968

Q: Where was it created?

A: Washington D.C.

Q: Why was the document created?

A: At the time that this image was taken, the 1968 Presidential Election was happening, where Richard Nixon won. This is why the image is showing Nixon with his arms in the air.

Q: Why is the document a primary source?

A: The image was taken while the event was happening making it an “eye witness”. Also, there is an option while I was searching to select only primary sources.

Q: How trustworthy is the source?

A: The image comes from the National Archives which is a reliable source for images and information.

Q: What other questions might you ask of the source in order to better understand what it reveals about the events?

A: I would ask for a specific date, because in history dates are one of the most important facts when learning about history. Events happen so quickly in history that is is beneficial to the reader or viewer to know when specifically this event was happening.

 

The image I chose for this assignment is not a direct cultural conflict, but it can still be considered a controversial because it was an extremely important election. With things like the Vietnam War, Communism, and the Civil Rights Movement all happening it makes this election imperative to the future of the United States, and many historical events occurred during the term of the winning candidate which was came to be Richard Nixon. To further my research on the election there would be a few things I would do to accomplish that. One, I go on google.com and go to the scholar area of the site where I only works made by scholars have been published. Two, I would look through old newspapers articles. For example, I would look back into the archives of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal which are highly respected newspapers and read up on events that occurred going into the election and the future president. For the sake of this class, I would ask myself some questions when reading up the topic. I would look at where the information is stemming from, when was it published, and by whom was it published.