Nixon’s Speech

Nixon gave this speech on November 3, 1969. It was given a year after he was elected, and gave it due to the situation in Vietnam. The war was unpopular and seemed pointless to many. Protests were rampant, so in this speech Nixon defended his decision to keep U.S. forces in Vietnam and explained why negotiations had failed so far.

Nixon got the attention of the audience by saying “Good evening, my fellow Americans”. His introduction into the speech was “Tonight I want to talk to you on a subject of deep concern to all Americans and to many people in all parts of the world -- the war in Vietnam.” In the text of his speech, he explained why he felt the war was important and made it clear that he was there to listen and to answer all questions. He begins the actual text of the speech with “Now, let me begin by describing the situation I found when I was inaugurated on January 20…” Nixon ends his speech asking for the support of the Nation. He vowed that he will end the war with peace. He also stated his plans on how to accomplish this.

The materials are organized by chronological order with events leading up to the war. His main issue of the speech was “The question at issue is not whether Johnson's war becomes Nixon's war. The great question