1. American History II - Unit 7 Ms. Brown
Vietnam & the 1970s
American History II - Unit 7
Ms. Brown

2. Review Why was the Vietnam War referred to as a “working class war?”
Affluent men could avoid the draft, leaving most of the drafted men from lower socioeconomic classes/working class
What was the New Left?
Youth opposition movement in the 1960s, called for sweeping changes in American society and withdrawal from Vietnam
Most active on college campuses
Who were the doves and what were their beliefs?
Opposed the War in Vietnam - US shouldn’t be involved in another country’s civil war, the South Vietnamese gov’t was just as bas as as Ho Chi Minh’s North Vietnamese gov’t, US should focus on more pressing international issues (USSR and Cold War), High cost (lives and money) with low gains, the war was morally unjust
Who were the hawks and what were their beliefs?
Supported the War in Vietnam – US should unleash military power on North Vietnam to stop the spread of communism

3. 7.3 – 1968

4. January/February – Tet Offensive
January 30 = Vietnamese New Year known as Tet, a 2-day truce in fighting was called
Peasants crowded the streets of SV in celebration, but many of the peasants were actually Vietcong rebels  Tet Offensive - massive Vietcong attack on over 100 SV cities (including Saigon) and 12 US air bases
7 months of planning using the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Took 1 month for US and SV troops regained control of cities

5. January/February – Tet Offensive
Westmoreland declared the Tet Offensive a US victory
Right – militarily a victory for the US
32,000 Vietcong casualties > 3,000 US/SV casualties
Casualties became the only way to measure progress in a war without actual fronts
Wrong – politically a loss for the US
Watershed moment (an event or period marking a turning point in a course of action or state of affairs)  US public opinion shaken
Clear the Vietcong was not close to defeat
Media began to openly criticize the war (90% of nightly news dedicated to the Tet Offensive)
LBJ’s popularity and support of the war plummeted

6. January/February – Tet Offensive
South Vietnamese general executed suspected Vietcong soldier IN FRONT of US film crew… showed later on the nightly news  Americans horrified and less supportive of SV troops

7. February – McNamara Steps Down
Minds at the White House were also changing about Vietnam  Robert McNamara resigns, replaced by Clark Clifford
Initially, Clifford supported LBJ’s intervention in Vietnam BUT after studying the situation, Clifford concluded that the war was unwinnable.
“We have a sinkhole. We put in more – they match it. I see more and more fighting with more and more casualties on the US side and no end in sight to the action.” – Clifford

8. March – LBJ Announces No 2nd Term
Before 1968, an anti-war group within the Democratic party searched for someone to run against LBJ for the Democratic candidate for President.
Robert Kennedy (RFK, JFK’s brother) refused due to party loyalty
Eugene McCarthy (Minnesota Senator, little known) decided to run against LBJ on an anti-war platform
March 12 - Nearly beat LBJ in the New Hampshire primary
March 16 - Made LBJ look weak, RFK announced his candidacy for the Democratic POTUS bid
March 31 - LBJ announced no 2nd Term

9. April – MLK Assassinated
April 4 – MLK assassinated  violence broke out in major cities

10. June – RFK Assassinated
June 5 – RFK won a major victory in the California Primary, addressed his supporters at a hotel
Left the hotel through the kitchen, despite his bodyguards warning him not to  shot by Sirhan Sirhan 3 times, Palestinian angry over RFK’s support of Israel
Americans shocked due to 2 assassinations in 2 months

11. January-June – Growing Protests on College Campuses
Jan-Jun – almost 40,000 students on more than 100 campuses took part in over 200 major demonstrations
Protested involvement in Vietnam
Clashed with university officials over campus and social issues
April – Massive demonstration at Columbia University
1 week, students took over several university buildings
Police arrested 900 protestors

12. August – Violence at the Democratic National Convention
Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey (LBJ’s VP) vie for the Democratic POTUS bid
McCarthy had little chance of beating Humphrey due to party and LBJ’s support
Late August – delegates arrived at the DNC in Chicago while 10,000 protestors traveled to Chicago
Some angry about Vietnam, some disliked Humphrey, some wanted violence to break out to discredit the Democratic party
Chicago’s mayor determined to keep peace, called for 12,000 police officers and 4,000 National Guardsmen

13. August – Violence at the Democratic National Convention
August 28 – Violence at the DNC
delegates voted for Humphrey’s candidacy
protestors gathered downtown to march on the DNC
Chicago police moved on the crowd, spraying mace and beating them with nightsticks
Some protestors fled, others retaliated with rocks and bottles as weapons
Violence moved into the surrounding areas
Word got to DNC delegates and they started shouting and blaming each other for the riots
Disorder inside and outside of the DNC stained the reputation of the Democratic party

14. Fall 1968 – Presidential Campaign and Election
Democrat – Hubert Humphrey
Continue fighting in Vietnam until necessary
American Independent – George Wallace
Backed by Dixiecrats, “white backlash”
Advocated for school segregation and states’ rights
Republican – Richard Nixon
Promised to restore law and order to end riots and frustration
Promised, in vague terms, to end the war in Vietnam
37th POTUS - Nixon
OTHER 1968 EVENTS