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

2. c. Key terms & people

3. 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)

6. 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..”

8. C. Robert kennedy
JFK’s younger brother & a NY senator who decided to run for president in the 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

11. 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

13. 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

15. 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

17. d. Study questions

18. 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

20. 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 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

22. 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