Vietnam Divides a Nation Lesson #3 USII.20

Class Objectives By the end of class, you will be able to… Explain the credibility gap the American public had with the United States government. Identify the role of African Americans in the Vietnam War. Explain why many Americans began protesting the Vietnam War. Explain the Election of 1968.

The Polls In 1965 about 60% of the American public supported the war. However, as time passed public support dropped and suspicion about the government’s truthfulness came into question. U.S. commander in South Vietnam, General William Westmoreland said the war was about to end with U.S. victory. With the war on TV, Americans were not so optimistic and a credibility gap (distrust of the government) started between the Johnson administration and the American public.

General William Westmoreland

Anger at the Draft At the beginning of the war, college students were able to avoid the draft. People from low-income families were sent to Vietnam. Large number of African Americans made up a disproportionate number of soldiers in Vietnam. By 1967, African Americans accounted for 20% of the troops. As the war escalated American officials increased the draft call and 500,000 college students refused to go. Students would burn their draft cards to protest

Out With The Old Johnson’s decision not to run in 1968 left the presidency up for grasp. With the American public wanting peace several small uprisings occurred, including groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), which began as a civil rights group and shifted their aim to the “unjust and immoral” war. By 1968, the organization boasted of over 100,000 members.

The Tet Offensive On January 30, 1968, during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese launched a massive surprise attack. This is known as the Tet Offensive. They attacked virtually all American airbases and most of the South’s major cities. After about a month of fighting the Americans repelled the attacks. When Westmoreland announced that he needed another 209,000 troops, it implied to some that America could not win the war.

Tet Offensive: Victory & Defeat The Tet Offensive provided both a victory and a defeat to the U.S. Militarily, the U.S. defeated what was the Communists’ best attack and inflicted heavy losses Politically, the U.S. lost because it showed the American people that the Vietcong were still very much in the war as they were able to pull off such a large scale attack- at home the Americans were told the U.S. was winning the war The mainstream media made matters worse and helped alter public opinion when it started criticizing the war in its news coverage

Chicago Convention In Chicago, the Democrats had a difficult time nominating a candidate. Eventually, they selected Hubert Humphrey, LBJ’s liberal Vice President. Protestors rioted and clashed with police outside the Democratic Convention.

Nixon and Wallace Richard Nixon ran as the Republican promising two things: 1. To end the Vietnam War He said he had a plan to end the war but never released it to the American people. 2. Restore order at home.

Nixon Wins Nixon won the Presidency by a slim margin Nixon promised to unite the nation and end the war in Vietnam.