The

The So it's no secret that America is painfully divided right now politically, and that many people have been unhappy and concerned with the direction of the country.

In times like these,

it helps to remember previous times America's been divided, obviously like the Civil War and many other times. At the same time, there are many years in American history that stand out,

obviously 1776, 1865, and 1945, but few years stand out

in terms of chaos and division as much as 1968. It's been 55 years since that fateful year.

I wasn't born yet, and many of you listening probably weren't born yet,

but some of you might be old enough to remember that year. And I just have to say,

personally, it's an endlessly fascinating year in our country's history, and one, quite frankly,

that I'm grateful I didn't experience. So our guest today, Luke Nichter,

has just published a book titled The Year That Broke Politics, Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential

Election of 1968. And in that book, he uncovers many new facts and insights about what happened.

He is a professor of history and the chair of presidential studies at Chapman University and an expert on the Cold War.

And we're pleased to have him on our podcast to share the lessons that he learned from studying 1968.

So, Professor, thanks for being on our show. Oh, thank you. Thanks for having me on.

So let's set the stage here. 1968 was Lyndon Johnson's fifth full year as president. The Vietnam War

had been raging for most of that time. It's also an election year. Johnson's

eligible to run for a second term. He has a vice president, Hubert Humphrey. At the same time,

Richard Nixon, the failed presidential candidate from 1960, is running again for the Republican

nomination. And then you have a lot of fascinating characters in this book. And you said that

1968 was the most divisive election in modern history, which is saying a lot, considering we've

lived through 2000, 2016, 2020. So what makes you say that? Well, you set it up nicely there. And,

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