Vietnam’s Effect on America HOW DID THE VIETNAM WAR AFFECT THOSE FIGHTING IT AND THOSE WATCHING IT?

Unequal Representation  Blacks accounted for 20% of deaths in Vietnam, despite representing only 10% of the population.  MLK spoke out against the US for allowing blacks to die for a country that still treated them like 2 nd class citizens.

Political Opposition  Ideas from the Students for a Democratic Society held teach-ins to protest the war.  Encouraged civil disobedience and told students to escape the draft by moving to Canada or Sweden.

Arguments Against Vietnam  It’s a civil war!  The South Vietnamese leadership is no better than communism (think about the burning monks)!  The U.S. should mind its own business!  Many burned their draft cards in protest.

Protests Escalate  Many burn their draft cards in protest.  Nearly 200,000 were accused of draft dodging and 4,000 were imprisoned.  Protesters were sometimes met with tear gas and beatings.  70% of Americans saw war protests as acts of disloyalty in 1967.

Tet Offensive  Surprise attack on over 100 cities in South Vietnam over the New Year.  LBJ’s approval rating plummeted.  Media now openly criticized the war.  Walter Cronkite: Vietnam will end in a “stalemate.” “If I’ve lost Walter [Cronkite], then it’s over. I’ve lost Mr. Average Citizen.” - Lyndon B. Johnson

Election of 1968  Democrats choose Eugene McCarthy to run against LBJ on a platform of ending the war.  After LBJ is nearly defeated, Robert Kennedy declared his candidacy.  LBJ announced negotiations to end the war and that he would not seek re-election. “That…war killed the lady I really loved—the Great Society.” - Lyndon B. Johnson

Election of 1968  Hubert Humphrey runs against Eugene McCarthy after Robert Kennedy is assassinated.  Humphrey, LBJ’s VP, wins the nomination, paving the way for Nixon’s election.  10,000 protestors show up at the Democratic Convention in Chicago and are met with police force.