Richard Nixon's visit to the Lincoln Memorial

Nixon (left) at the Lincoln Memorial with student protester Bob Moustakas.
The Lincoln Memorial at night in 2014.

In the early hours of May 9, 1970, President Richard Nixon made an unplanned visit to the Lincoln Memorial where he spoke with anti-war protesters and students for almost two hours. The protesters were conducting a vigil in protest of Nixon's recent decision to expand the Vietnam War into Cambodia and the recent deaths of students in the Kent State shootings.