1. 1968
Chapter 30 Section 4

2. Disturbing events in 1968 Tet Offensive Assassination of MLK
Assassination of RFK
Tet Offensive deals a terrible blow to LBJ’s approval ratings/popularity

3. Tet Offensive
Jan. 30 – Feb. 24, 1968 – Vietcong and North Vietnamese launch a major offensive
Coincides with Vietnamese New Year
Firecrackers, coffins for dead, etc (lots of activity)
Many coffins contain weapons
Many villagers were Vietcong agents

4. By 1968, US spending $322,000 on each Communist killed in Vietnam
Poverty programs at home (Great Society, etc) received ~$53 per person

7. U.S. regains control?
After about a month US and S. Vietnamese forces regain control of cities (about 100 were attacked)

8. Tet Offensive - effects
Military standpoint – Huge defeat for Vietcong
Psychological/Political standpoint – shook American public/Johnson’s administration.
U.S. support of war drops
Journalists become skeptical

9. McNamara replaced
LBJ picks Clark Clifford to replace R. McNamara as Sec. of Defense

12. “If I’ve lost Walter…”

13. MLK
Urban violence erupts after Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated

15. Robert Kennedy Assassinated
June 5, 1968 (about 2 months after MLK), Robert Kennedy was assassinated in a hotel
He had just won Cali. primary.

16. The Assassin Sirhan Sirhan – Palestinian immigrant
Upset over RFK’s support of Israel

17. The Democratic Circus of ‘68
Eugene McCarthy – Dem. Challenger – wants to end war in Vietnam
Robert Kennedy – a late entry
Johnson announces that he will not run

18. Democratic National Convention
Eugene McCarthy vs. Hubert Humphrey (LBJ’s VP)
10,000 protesters show up in Chicago
Protesting Humphrey’s nomination and to pressure Dems. into an anti-war platform
Yippies hoped to discredit Dem. party

19. Violence in Chicago Violence in streets – Police vs. Protesters
Violence in convention hall – shouting/punching
Broadcast to millions of Americans on TV

23. Nixon slides into the White House
Thanks to turmoil at DNC and entry of George Wallace into race, Richard Nixon (Republican) wins election of 1968

26. My Lai Lt. William Calley orders massacre of 200 Vietnamese
America looks bad

28. Vietnamization
Henry Kissinger’s plan to pull the U.S. out of Vietnam and make the South Vietnamese responsible for carrying on the war

29. Kent State
National Guard kills 4 students

30. Pentagon Papers Published in 1971 by NY Times.
Showed that government was not being truthful about Vietnam
Led to mistrust of gov’t
NY Times v US
Compare to recent wikileaks????

31. War Powers Act
During Nixon’s administration, Congress limited the number of troops that a president could send into combat without its approval
Reversed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution

32. Nixon Doctrine
US Allies in Asia would receive US support w/o extensive use of ground forces

33. Cambodia/Laos
Nixon’s secret bombing

34. Paris Peace Accords Cease-fire and free elections
Armistice didn’t really end war
US spent $118 billion on war and began an inflationary cycle