“. . . With America’s sons in the fields far away,
with America’s future under challenge right here
at home, with our hopes and the world’s hopes for
peace in the balance every day, I do not believe
that I should devote an hour or a day of my time
to any personal partisan causes or to any duties
other than the awesome duties of this office—the
Presidency of your country.
Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not
accept, the nomination of my party for another
term as your President. . . .”
— President Lyndon B. Johnson, March 31, 1968
The decision announced in this speech was based
primarily on the
(1) assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
(2) growing violence in urban America
(3) outbreak of terrorist attacks around the world
(4) involvement of the United States in the
Vietnam War