When Richard Nixon (who absolutely committed treason in 1968 and had no idea how to open a prescription pill bottle) was inaugurated as our 37th president on January 20, 1969, the United States was fresh off one of the worst years in its history. The war in Vietnam continued to rage on with seemingly no end in sight, Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy had been assassinated, students were dying in protests, and there were riots in the streets.
Nixon, of course, was not the president to bridge any divides or attempt in any particular way to help the nation heal. He instead called himself a “law and order” candidate and championed a “silent majority” that felt, let’s say, a certain type of way about civil rights, the antiwar movement, protesting students, and the war itself.
That being said, Nixon’s inauguration provided Americans one of their first major opportunities in 1969 to show the country’s leaders just how angry they were. That resulted in a pretty raucous day, where National Guardsmen and police officers were beaten by the mob if they got too close. It also meant protestors got creative with the things they hurled at the president’s motorcade, at his guests, and at law enforcement.
Here Is What Protestors Threw at Richard Nixon During His 1969 Inauguration
- Their middle fingers
- Rocks and sticks
- A softball-sized wad of tinfoil
- A paint-filled Christmas ornament
- A smoking can
- Bottles and cans
- Firecrackers and smoke bombs
- Pennies
- Table forks and spoons
- Tomatoes
- Manure, which was thrown at friends and guests of the president and vice president
- Miniature American flags – lit on fire, mind you – that the Boy Scouts in attendance had been passing out
The Boston Globe reported around 500 protestors in attendance that day. For Nixon’s second inaugural address in 1973, around 100,000 people were in attendance for a “March against Death,” so I guess I was wrong about his ability to eventually bring people together.
