Chapter 29 America During Its Longest War, © 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.

Election of 1964 “We don’t want our American boys to do the fighting for Asian boys. We don’t want to get involved in a nation with 700 million people and get tied down in a land war in Asia.” – LBJ (peace candidate)

Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society Civil Rights Act of fight discrimination Voting Rights Act of 1965 Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare LBJ viewed Nam as a threat to his Great Society (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

The Tonkin Gulf Resolution Gulf of Tonkin (Aug 1964) –Maddox –Turner Joy Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964) - LBJ viewed resolution as dec of war Johnson’s decision: "Rolling Thunder“ (1965) - 643k tons of bombs (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

The War Widens, General Westmoreland "Search and destroy“ missions US forces reach 535k by 1968 Operation RANCHHAND (1968) My Lai Massacre (1968) - William Calley (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

The Media and the War “living room war” - images eroded support for the war protests & opposition Vietnam Veterans Against the War –"how do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake” John Kerry April 1971 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

Turning point of Vietnam War: Tet Offensive General Westmoreland Tet Offensive (Jan 1968) - protests - failure of operation R.Thunder

LBJ’s press conference (1968) “With America’s sons in fields far away, with America’s future under challenge right here at home…I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes…Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”

(c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved Presidential Election, 1968

Nixon’s War Nixon & Vietnam - Vietnamization - Hamburger Hill (1969) - Cambodia invasion (1970) - Jackson State / Kent State protest - Linebacker (1972)

End of Vietnam War peace agreement signed - Withdrawal of U.S. troops / ARVN - April 30, fall of South Vietnam - Re-education camps

The Aftermath of War : 3.5 million served in Vietnam –58,000 died –150,000 wounded North Vietnam & Viet Cong million dead / 600k wounded (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

Vietnamese View of the war Huynh Tuyet, 71, a North Vietnamese veteran who had his hand blown off fighting the Americans, recalled his own lesson. "Even though the Americans were more powerful with all their massive weapons, the main factor in war is the people," he said. "The Vietnamese people were very determined. We would not give up. That's why we won."

US-Vietnam Relations today Bush visits Hanoi, Vietnam November 16, 2006 Clinton lifted the embargo and restored diplomatic relations and the two countries signed a bilateral trade agreement in 1995

(c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved Nixon wins reelection, 1972

Nixon Pursued burglars arrested (6-1972) Cover-up money Watergate silence unveiled “Executive privilege” / U.S. v. Nixon Impeachment / resignation (8/8/1974) (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

Former FBI agent Mark Felt claims to be Deep Throat, the legendary source who leaked secrets about President Nixon's Watergate cover-up to The Washington Post and helped bring down the Nixon presidency in The Washington Post confirmed Felt's story, bringing to a close the long- running mystery about Deep Throat's identity. ( May 31, 2005)

Conclusion Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” Escalation in Vietnam –Consumed the nation and hurt the economy Richard Nixon –Abuse of power and Impeachment (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved