How did Richard Nixon position himself as the champion of the silent majority of white middle class Americans

He pledged to crack down on activists, student protesters, and anyone who threatened "law and order" in the United States

Explanation:

The silent majority defended the status quo against radical social change.

Explanation: 1968 was a year of great social change in the United States. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. There were riots in major American cities as African Americans sought social justice. The war in Vietnam raged. Student activist protests were happening on almost every college campus. Richard Nixon's campaign was based on ending the war in Vietnam, restoring law and order, and bringing back traditional American values. He appealed to what was known as the "silent majority," those white middle class Americans who were anxious and feared radical social change and wanted a return to the quiet times of the 1950's. He also used a "Southern Strategy,' which targeted Southern racists who hated the gains made by African Americans and the civil rights movement. Nixon won the election in a landslide.