Module 16 – The Vietnam war Lesson 4 – 1968: A Tumultuous Year

c. Key terms & people

A. Tet offensive On Jan. 30th, 1968 (The Tet New Year), the Vietcong launched an overwhelming attack on over 100 towns & cities & 12 U.S. air bases throughout South Vietnam The Tet Offensive lasted for about one month before U.S. & South Vietnamese forces regained control of the cities in the South, losing 3,000 men While the Vietcong were unable to force the U.S. & South Vietnamese forces to surrender and also lost 32,000 Vietcong soldiers, this offensive proved to be the turning point in the war, for America. Why? (Check out the map & chart from the online text)

B. Clark clifford Became Secretary of Defense after McNamara resigned Friend of LBJ and supporter of his policy in Vietnam Once he settled in & studied the situation, even he concluded that the war was unwinnable. “We put in more – they match it. I see more & more fighting with more & more casualties on the U.S. side & no end in sight..”

C. Robert kennedy JFK’s younger brother & a NY senator who decided to run for president in the 1968 election showing just how divided the Democratic Party had become Assassinated on June 5th in an L.A. hotel kitchen after giving a victory speech for winning the California Democratic Primary on June 4th

D. Eugene mccarthy Dem. Minnesota senator who decided to run against LBJ in the 1968 Dem. Primary on a platform to end the war in Vietnam Captured 42% of the vote in the New Hampshire Democratic Primary in March Even though LBJ won the primary with 48%, it showed Johnson just how unpopular the war had become

E. Hubert humphrey LBJ’s vice president who was pitted against Eugene McCarthy for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee Even though the Democrats were set to choose Humphrey as their nominee at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in August of 1968, many anti-war protestors showed up to denounce the party’s nomination of Humphrey

F. George wallace Former governor of Alabama who helped Nixon’s candidacy for president by entering the presidential race as a 3rd party candidate stealing much of the white Democratic vote from Humphrey Wallace was a Democrat running on the Independent Party ticket who championed the cause of school segregation & states’ rights, allowing him to capture 5 southern states while also attracting a high # of northern white working- class voters disgusted with the inner-city riots & anti-war protests

d. Study questions

A. WHAT circumstances set the stage for lbj’s public announcement that he wouldn’t run for president? The American public had already started to wane support for the war before the Tet Offensive, which ultimately proved to cause public support to nosedive LBJ realized this war wouldn’t have been won anytime soon & when he saw Eugene McCarthy carry 42% of the vote in the New Hampshire Primary, he realized that he would not be a ‘shoe-in’ for president

b. What acts of violence occurred in the u. s b. What acts of violence occurred in the u.s. during 1968 that dramatically altered the mood of the country? The anti-war protests surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago in late August showed just how divided our country & the Democratic Party was regarding the war in Vietnam The race riots that erupted in many U.S. cities during 1968 also illustrated just how divided our country still was along racial lines

c. How did the tet offensive differ from previous fighting in vietnam? Most prior fighting occurred in the Vietnamese jungles with U.S. search & destroy missions This was a surprise attack by the VC that took place mostly in the South Vietnamese cities & at U.S. air bases They totally caught us by surprise How did it cause many americans to doubt that the u.s. would soon win the war? Public support was already eroding & the White House had claimed that victory was only months away This offensive was a somber realization that the NVA & VC weren’t going anywhere & this war might drag on for years