Barry Goldwater elected president

Political event

Bolstered by California, ultraconservative Goldwater crushes Johnson. Chaos ensues.

Lyndon B. Johnson never has a chance to air his devastating anti-nuclear attack ad, and Goldwater wins by a cozy margin. New-leftists immediately stage demonstrations and prepare for the worst. Goldwater begins ordering National Guard crackdowns on pro-civil rights demonstrations, incensing the nascent New Left and driving the Civil Rights movement semi-underground. Some African Americans and other minority groups begin to flee the South.