1. Warm Up 9/3/14 Who fought against whom in the Vietnam War?
Answer these questions to the best of your ability.
Who fought against whom in the Vietnam War?
Why did the United States become involved in Vietnam, and why did it increase its involvement into the 1970s?
What specific events marked the beginning of the United States' active military campaign against North Vietnam?
What was the initial public sentiment in the United States regarding U.S. involvement in Vietnam?
What was President Johnson's attitude toward U.S. involvement in Vietnam? What was President Nixon's attitude toward the war?
How did the war change under President Nixon's administration?
Was the Vietnam War overwhelmingly popular among American civilians? Why or why not?

2. Learning Targets To build context for a Vietnam War fictional novel.
To identify Nixon’s stance on the war in Vietnam as illustrated through his speech.
To analyze how Nixon’s argument is built in his speech.
To compare/contrast Kerry’s response to Nixon’s speech with the speech itself.

3. Agenda 9/3 Warm up/review Video – background for Vietnam (FIND VIDEO)
Group work – Nixon’s speech

4. Nixon’s Speech (please don’t write on it)
Work with a partner.
BEFORE you read, identify unknown words and try your best to define them by using context clues.
DURING your reading, answer these questions:
What did Nixon believe would be the consequences of immediate U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam?
What specific events did Nixon cite to support his arguments against "precipitate troop withdrawal"?
What is meant by "Silent Majority"?
THEN, indicate what Nixon’s stance is on the war in Vietnam. In your own words, summarize why you think he holds this stance.
AFTER reading, look at how this argument is built. Try your best to label the speech, chunk by chunk, with your partner (i.e., background about the war, attempt to appeal to the masses, validation for his position, etc.)