Presidential Oratory, Crisis, and Richard M. Nixon’s Manipulation of the Equal Educational Opportunities / School Busing Events of 1970 and 1972

This paper examines the public oratory, crises and executive manipulation of the desegregation and school busing events that occurred in March 1970 and March 1972 during Richard Nixon’s presidency. It argues that the March 1970 event represented a “real” crisis situation and the March 1972 event was merely a “manufactured” one designed for political advancement. This essay illustrates Nixon’s attempts to subtly influence the American judicial system in 1970 toward his position against school busing as means of promoting desegregation. Upon failure, Nixon then turned to an overt manipulation of the American legislature’s position on school busing in 1972 by creating a presidential crisis situation that he could respond to as a means of enhancing his reelection attempts for a second presidential term. Although Nixon was re-elected and the Supreme Court eventually decided in favor of Nixon’s position in February 1974, the president’s success was overshadowed by the Watergate scandal that eventually resulted in his resignation six months later.

school busing, desegregation, equal educational opportunities, crisis, oratory, rhetoric, public address, definition, Richard M. Nixon, American presidency