Black and white photograph of Nixon with red text on white background.

Despite a failed presidential campaign in 1960, Nixon successfully ran again in 1968, becoming the 37th President of the United States. Prior to his presidency, Nixon served as a Republican representative in the House and Senate. Nixon won re-election in 1972 by a record landslide, beating Democratic opponent George McGovern. 

Although Nixon initially escalated America's involvement in the Vietnam War, he did manage to bring home the majority of U.S. troops by 1973. As the Watergate scandal erupted in mid-1973, Nixon—facing certain impeachment, lack of support from his own party, and criminal charges—had no choice but to resign. On August 9th, 1974, Nixon became the only president in American history to resign from office. Nixon's vice president, Gerald Ford, pardoned Nixon from criminal charges once he assumed the presidency. Nixon died at the age of eighty-four from a severe stroke in 1994. 

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An impressively long and successful career in the United States military coupled with the bravery and loyalty demonstrated in Bataan during World War 2 led for Americans to rally behind General Douglas MacArthur for the Republican candidate for presidency against Roosevelt. Signs and other campaign items began appearing in 1942, just after MacArthur and his family were airlifted out of the Japanese attack on Bataan in the Philippines.

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"Go with Mac" is a slogan supporting General Douglas MacArthur as a hopeful presidential candidate for the election in 1952. His supporters were located in seven different states and were listed under several different political parties, including: Christian Nationalist, America First, and Constitution. MacArthur did not have enough support to become a viable candidate in the election. The election itself was during the red scare and many Americans were worried that communists would infiltrate the American government. 

General Douglas MacArthur had a memorable military career. He was awarded the status of five-star general in 1944, a temporary rank established by Congress so that the United States officers had a similar rank to allied officers. MacArthur also won the medal of honor, and became famous for leading the United Nations in the Korean War. General MacArthur saw the Korean War as an opportunity to stop the further spread of communism. He wanted to continue pushing back North Korean forces and suggested bombing some Chinese cities. President Truman’s priority was saving lives and avoiding a larger war in Asia, even if that meant signing a ceasefire along the 38th parallel. President Harry Truman removed General MacArthur from military command in 1951 for insubordination when the general ignored direct orders from the president and instead continued pushing North Korean troops farther north.

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Ike and Dick are nicknames for Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon, President and Vice President of the United States of America from 1953-1961. Eisenhower was Supreme Allied Commander during World War II and used that success to win the Republican nomination in 1952. He chose California Senator Nixon as his running mate in part due to his youth (age 39) and his strong anti-communist positions. The pair won their first term in a landslide over Democrats Adlai Stevenson and John Sparkman. They won again in 1956 against Stevenson and Estes Kefauver.

The Eisenhower/Nixon administration was seen as a time of American prosperity. They were responsible for the Interstate system, negotiated the end of the Korean War, and signed the first major Civil Rights action into law. The administration also stressed the importance of stockpiling nuclear weapons in response to the Cold War.

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In 1952, World War II veteran Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) ran for President of the United States on the Republican ticket. California congressman Richard Nixon was Eisenhower's Vice President nominee. Owing to Eisenhower's continued popularity after WWII and outgoing Democrat Harry Truman's unpopular handling of the Cold War, Eisenhower and Nixon won in a landslide victory in both 1952 and later in 1956.

Under Eisenhower, the interstate highway system was created, the quality of life for middle-class white Americans improved, and Alaska and Hawaii were added to the Union. Nixon devoted nearly his entire eight years to foreign policy affairs. His most famous event being an impromptu debate with Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow known as "The Kitchen Debate." Eisenhower's two terms are remembered today as being some of the strongest in the twentieth century.

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Vice President Hubert Humphrey and his running mate, former Governor of Maine, Edmund Muskie, ran on the Democratic ticket in 1968. The primary was a contentious one, with Humphrey securing the lead after Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination. During the 1968 election, Humphrey suffered several setbacks that lead to his defeat and Richard Nixon securing the Presidency.

Humphrey’s biggest challenge was that he was Vice President for Lyndon B. Johnson who shockingly decided to not run for reelection. Lyndon’s unpopular views about continuing the war in Vietnam haunted Humphrey throughout his run. Compounding this issue was the Democratic Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, who ran on a third-party ticket and siphoned votes that would otherwise go to Humphrey. All this led to a Nixon win who secured 301 electoral college votes to Humphrey’s 191.

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Richard Nixon, after being chosen to lead the Republican ticket for President, announced Spiro Agnew as his running mate in 1968. Nixon sought someone to counter his energy and the relatively unknown Governor of Maryland was perfect for the role. The lack of name recognition was seen as an asset by Nixon, who wanted a bland, but mysterious, running mate.

Both men would not go on to finish their terms after being elected. Nixon famously resigned after the Watergate scandal in 1973. Months prior, Agnew himself had resigned after pleading no contest to charges of tax evasion and bribery.

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Alan J. Dixon was ran for Illinois Secretary of State in 1976, and was elected despite unrest in the Democratic Party at the time. Following one term as Secretary, Dixon was elected to the Senate in 1980, where he served until 1993. During his Senatorial career, Dixon was considered more moderate than either of the other Illinois Senators and was the only one not to seek the presidency. When running for reelection, he was defeated in the primary, despite a history of electoral success which many credit to criticism he received for voting to confirm Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Since Dixon's departure, no Senator has been able to hold his seat for more than one term.

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George Wallace was a governor of Alabama, prominent segregationist, and four-time candidate for president of the United States. Wallace unsuccessfully sought the democratic nomination three times, during his first, third, and fourth runs for president. During his second, and possibly most famous run for president, Wallace ran as an independent in the 1968 election against Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Wallace entered this presidential race aware of the fact that his chances for victory were low. Wallace’s intention was to disrupt the election by insuring no candidate received the required amount of electoral votes, thus forcing congress to choose the president. Wallace won five states, forty-six electoral votes, and nearly ten million people voted for him, but ultimately his plan failed and Richard Nixon won the election.  

Although ultimately unsuccessful, Wallace’s campaign highlighted the instability of American politics during this era. Using populace rhetoric, and inflammatory remarks like “I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”, Wallace captured a not insignificant amount of the American electorate as a third-party candidate.  

Black and white photograph of Adlai Stevenson in center surrounded by white text on red or blue background with one red star and one blue star on white.

Adlai Stevenson was an important Democrat in the United States during the 20th century. He was a diplomat and helped found the United Nations, serving as the top delegate for the United States. He was elected in 1948 as the Governor of Illinois and won by a large majority.

Stevenson was the Democratic candidate for president in both 1952 and 1956. Unfortunately for Stevenson, both times he lost to wartime hero, Dwight Eisenhower. Stevenson would try one more time to secure the nomination in 1960. This time around, he lost in the primaries to John F. Kennedy. After Kennedy was elected, he placed Stevenson in his cabinet and made him the U.S. representative in the UN. Stevenson would hold this position until his death in 1965.