“. . . 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