1968 began with North Vietnamese forces launching the Tet Offensive on January. While American servicemen repelled the attack, the public questions the reliability of the reports that came out of Washington. As a result, President Lyndon Johnson renounced his candidacy for a second term as president of the US.
April to June saw the most violence during 1968. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4 caused black neighborhoods around the nation to erupt. Widespread violence and arson was reported throughout the US until the National Guard was called in to maintain the peace. Soon after King's death, Senator Robert Kennedy, candidate for the democratic nomination for president of the US, was assassinated in Los Angeles. The nation entered into a period of mourning and general disbelief. The presidential election of 1968 witnessed a changing of the tide. Americans narrowly decided that it was time to return to the conservative values following a year (and decade) of despair. Richard Nixon won the presidential election with 56% of the electoral vote, but by only one percent of the popular vote.