To secure his reelection, Nixon tried to dismantle the New Deal coalition and form a new Republican majority, so he attacked the monopoly Democrats had on racial and ethnic votes. Nixon's racial and ethnic politicking represented a rupture with past Republican ignorance of minorities; it was going to be one of his key legacies to his party. his administration systematically favored group‐specific measures over universalistic policies addressing common ethnic claims, and that these measures were accompanied by a divisive rhetoric and implemented in an antagonistic fashion. Nixon broke his promise to reunite the country, and used racial and ethnic politics to do so, he drove a wedge between already breaking society.
