The Great Silent Majority: Main Idea
The Great Silent Majority: Main Idea
Richard Nixon really, really wanted the American people to support his new policies for the Vietnam War.
And to get this support, he calls on America's "great silent majority" to have his back. These silent folks—the conservative voter base—were his people, after all. Sure, they weren't out there defining the culture of the 1960s (that's where the whole "silent" part comes in), but they existed, and they are the people to whom Nixon is directly speaking.
Throughout this speech, though, Nixon totally trolls everyone else who doesn't think like him. Anti-war protesters? Hippie counterculture? Nah, Nixon doesn't want their support. He wants them to sit down and shut up.
Questions
- What's the point of calling to the "great silent majority"? Why doesn't he just talk to Americans as a whole?
- It's true, the Vietnamization of Vietnam sounds kind of weird, but Nixon is totally pushing for it. What does he mean by this, though?
- Nixon thought that the anti-war crowd was living in a total Fantasyland. How does Nixon use this speech as a criticism of the counterculture of the 1960s?
- It sure seems like a total rarity when a politician admits fault, but Nixon totally admits many of the blemishes associated with the Vietnam War. How does he do this? Why?
Chew On This
By appealing to America's "great silent majority," Nixon does more to unite the country for peace than all of the peace-loving hippies, anti-war protestors, and Grateful Dead festivals combined. After the speech, Nixon's approval rating skyrocketed and so did the country's sense of purpose. The Vietnam War never would have come to an end without his and the country's more unified support.
This speech is "Tricky Dick" Nixon at his finest…or worst. Nixon gives the illusion of uniting the "great silent majority," but he is in fact trying to shut out the anti-war and hippie movements. This is just one of many examples of deceit that came to define the Nixon era.
Quotes
Quote #1
The American people cannot and should not be asked to support a policy which involves the overriding issues of war and peace unless they know the truth about that policy. (3.2)
When it came to the Vietnam War, "truth" was a total trigger word, but Richard Nixon uses it, anyway. American involvement in Vietnam was not exactly free of secrets and was definitely not free from lies. But Nixon wanted to be seen as the one president who wouldn't lie to the American people. That didn't work out too well—does the word "Watergate" ring any bells?
Quote #2
In the previous administration, we Americanized the war in Vietnam. In this administration, we are Vietnamizing the search for peace. (79.3-79.4)
Nixon plays the blame game—he points at the Lyndon B. Johnson administration for all of the problems that were coming out of Vietnam. He'd soon find out, however, that this "Vietnamization" plan may have looked good on paper but was way more difficult to accomplish. Always remember, if you become president, try not to criticize the guy or gal that came before you…at least not before you know how difficult the road ahead truly is.
Quote #3
It is not the easy way.
It is the right way. (108.1-109.1)
Growing up, your mother probably told you that the good things in life don't come easy. Just think of Nixon as your mother. Or, if that's unsettling, think of Nixon as agreeing with your mother. Nixon understood that his plan wasn't going to be the easiest to execute, but the problem was that it ended up being way harder and arguably the wrong way to get peace in Vietnam.
Quote #4
I have chosen a plan for peace. I believe it will succeed. (126.1-126.2)
Nixon loved to use the word "peace"—so much so that he uses it a whopping 38 times in this speech. He even created the catchphrase "peace with honor" during the 1968 election to talk about exiting the Vietnam War. With so much peaceful talk, you'd think he was a rather peaceful guy, right?
Well…
Not really. Nixon wanted to increase the use of aerial bombing tactics, expand the battlefield, and silence anti-war protestors as part of his "peaceful" policies for getting out of Vietnam.
Quote #5
Let historians not record that when America was the most powerful nation in the world we passed on the other side of the road and allowed the last hopes for peace and freedom of millions of people to be suffocated by the forces of totalitarianism.
And so tonight—to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans—I ask for your support (130.1-131.1)
There are a lot of things that make this speech memorable, but this quote right here is its claim to fame. The "great silent majority" that Nixon mentions is a bit of a tricky thing. Even though it is used here as a feel-good call to get Americans to back him on his new Vietnam War policies, there is a sinister side to it as well. The "great silent majority" also refers to those people who hated the counterculture movement of the 1960s.