The Vietnam War SWBAT: Describe aspects of the anti-war movement in the U.S.

Do Now Analyze the “Vietnam War Timeline” with your partner. How was the U.S. involved in Vietnam pre-1964? Do you think the U.S. planning to go to war with North Vietnam before the Gulf of Tonkin incident? Explain.

I don’t see that we can ever hope to get out of there once we are committed…I am not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went. ~Lyndon B. Johnson (1964)

Why did many Americans oppose the Vietnam War? Brainstorm with your partner, write down 3 reasons… After reading both documents, complete the questions below: 1.Why did MLK and John Kerry oppose the war? 2.Why did anti-war sentiment grow after 1968? 3.Based on what you read, who opposed the war in Vietnam? Was it mostly college kids? 4.Using all the documents, why did many Americans oppose the Vietnam War? 5.Considering the context, can you speculate what those Americans who supported the war said?

The Antiwar Movement As casualties mounted and it became apparent that the U.S. government was misleading the public, the antiwar movement strengthened after 1968

“Flower Power”

The Antiwar Movement The Draft Young men burned their draft cards or fled to Canada avoiding conscription Disproportionate number of poor & black drafted 76% of men sent to Vietnam were from working class or lower middle class backgrounds 1965 & 1966: blacks accounted for 20% of American casualties

The Antiwar Movement Vietnamization Nixon’s policy to equip & train South Vietnamese forces to take an increasing combat role in the war Called for reduction in U.S. ground combat troops However, increased U.S. Air Force bombings in Vietnam and Cambodia

The Antiwar Movement Veteran Opposition Vietnam veterans testified before the Senate to explain their opposition to the war 1971: thousands deserted the army Some soldiers experimented with heroin Many soldiers refused orders from superior officers

The Antiwar Movement Kent State Spring of 1970: 350+ college campuses experienced strikes Kent State: 4 students killed by Ohio National Guard during an antiwar demonstration

The Antiwar Movement My Lai Massacre The New York Times published details on the My Lai Massacre of 1968 in a 1969 report The report described the killing of South Vietnamese civilians by American troops

The Antiwar Movement The Pentagon Papers 1971: New York Times published the Pentagon Papers, which were classified documents from the Department of Defense It showed how the U.S. was involved in Vietnam going back to World War II Revealed how Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, & Nixon misled American public about involvement in Vietnam

The Antiwar Movement New York Times Co. v. The United States Nixon claimed executive authority in hopes of halting publication of the documents Supreme Court ruled the New York Times was protected under the 1 st Amendment & Nixon’s national security claims were unfounded Justice Brennan reasoned that since publication would not cause an inevitable, direct, & immediate event imperiling the safety of American forces, prior restraint was unjustified

The War Powers Resolution [Act] 1973: To prevent another Gulf of Tonkin, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution The president had to seek congressional approval in order to commit American troops overseas In 2014, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) proposed repealing the War Powers Resolution and replacing it with a stricter one U.S. last declared war in 1941, but has committed troops overseas several times

The End of the Vietnam War In 1973, Nixon’s Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger was able to negotiate a cease fire

The End of the Vietnam War Legacy First war the U.S. definitively lost Americans killed: 58,000 Cost: $100 billion 1945: Congress & President had 1 opinion about Vietnam = containment  bipartisanship foreign policy fell apart Goals of war & how to go about it differed American public lost confidence & trust in government’s ability to solve issues relating to foreign policy American ideals & long-standing beliefs were challenged

“…we didn’t know our ally. Secondly, we knew even less about the enemy. And, the last, most inexcusable of our mistakes, was not knowing our own people.” ~ Gen. Maxwell Taylor Wrap Up How does this quote summarize how the war was affected by the American public?