What was the silent majority in the 1960s

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the U.S. citizens who supported President Nixon's policies but who were not politically vocal, outspoken, or active: considered by him to constitute a majority.

any group of people who are not outspoken and who are considered to constitute a majority.

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First recorded in 1870–75

silent auction, silent barter, silent butler, silent cop, silent disco, silent majority, “Silent Night”, silent partner, silent service, silent treatment, silent vote

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

As we waited for my plane to come in, we stayed silent for a long time.
Again, I do not know House Majority Whip Scalise or President Obama personally.
After a minute's pause, while he stood painfully silent, she resumed in great emotion.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Here began indeed, in the drab surroundings of the workshop, in the silent mystery of the laboratory, the magic of the new age.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
The lovers got up, with only a silent protest, and walked slowly away somewhere else.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Ever since his majority Lord Hetton had annually entered a colt in the great race.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
No; there I stood, half-astonished, half-abashed while the Marquise continued on her knees and made her silent orisons.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various

a presumed moderate majority of the citizens who are too passive to make their views known

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

A term used by President Richard Nixon to indicate his belief that the great body of Americans supported his policies and that those who demonstrated against the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War amounted to only a noisy minority.

A group that makes up a majority of voters but does not widely express its views through marches or demonstrations. For example, They thought they had a convincing case, but they hadn't counted on the silent majority. This idiom was first recorded in 1874 but gained currency in the 1960s, when President Richard Nixon claimed that his policies were supported by a majority of citizens who did not bother to make their views known.

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Nixon | Clip From the Collection: Vietnam War

Copy Link https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/nixon-silent-majority/

President Nixon tried to demonstrate that most Americans supported him with his "Silent Majority" speech in November 1969. "To you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans," Nixon said, "I ask for your support, for the more divided we are at home, the less likely the enemy is to negotiate at Paris."

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