Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1991

Publication Title

Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

Volume

99

Issue

1

Pages

3-44

Abstract

In the election of 1960, Richard M. Nixon carried Virginia, the third consecutive victory for a Republican ticket in the strongly Democratic state. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr., the conservative Democratic power broker of Virginia, maintained what became known as a "golden silence," failing to endorse John F. Kennedy and privately working to ensure Nixon's victory. Byrd's stance angered many state Democrats, and by 1964 they broke the senator's power over the party, passing a resolution endorsing President Lyndon B. Johnson over Byrd's objections.

Original Publication Citation

Sweeney, J.R. (1991). Whispers in the golden silence: Harry F. Byrd, Sr., John F. Kennedy, and Vrginia democrats in the 1960 presidential election. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 99(1), 3-44.

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