Richard M. Nixon: “Silent Majority” Speech

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

The bulk of Nixon's address consists of a progress report on Vietnam. He begins by describing the situation in Vietnam as it existed when he took office in January 1969. He then summarizes the reasons underlying American involvement in Vietnam, referring to the policies of his predecessors, Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson. He rejects the growing belief that the United States should simply withdraw from Vietnam, arguing that American withdrawal “would inevitably allow the Communists to repeat the massacres which followed their takeover in the North 15 years before.”

Nixon then outlines the steps he had taken in the pursuit of an end to the war, which was one of his major campaign pledges prior to the presidential election of 1968. He notes his efforts to persuade Communist North Vietnam to negotiate in good faith and to enlist the help of the Soviet Union, North Vietnam's ally, in beginning meaningful negotiations. He asserts that none of these efforts had borne fruit. He alludes to a famous detail from the ongoing Paris peace talks, which had begun in 1968 but stalled because of disagreements about the shape of the negotiating table. He then announces what he calls the Nixon Doctrine, which is to turn the conduct of the war over to the South Vietnamese while bringing home American combat troops. This policy of “Vietnamization” would, he says, be followed in any future wars involving America's allies: The United States would provide material assistance but leave the fighting to the nation under duress.

Toward the end, Nixon takes up the issue of the divisions the war created. Referring to antiwar demonstrators, he asserts that “I would be untrue to my oath of office if I allowed the policy of this Nation to be dictated by the minority who hold that point of view and who try to impose it on the Nation by mounting demonstrations in the street.” He says that as president, he cannot allow “a vocal minority, however fervent its cause,” to dictate national policy. He emphasizes that he, too, wants peace, but a peace that would serve the interests of the people of South Vietnam and that would not reduce America's standing in the world, particularly in the eyes of its allies. He then appeals to the “great silent majority” for support. In the aftermath of his speech, polls indicated that he received that support—although it would eventually erode and peace would remain elusive until the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1973.