1. The Vietnam War
APUSH – Spiconardi

2. I don’t see that we can ever hope to get out of there once we are committed…I am not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went. ~Lyndon B. Johnson (1964)

3. The Antiwar Movement
As casualties mounted and it became apparent that the U.S. government was misleading the public, the antiwar movement strengthened

5. The Antiwar Movement The Draft
Young men were burning their draft cards of fleeing to Canada to avoid conscription
There was a disproportionate number of poor and black drafted
76% of men sent to Vietnam were from working class or lower middle class backgrounds
In 1965 & 1966, blacks accounted for 20% of American casualties

6. The Antiwar Movement Vietnamization
Nixon’s policy to equip and train South Vietnamese forces to take an increasing combat role in the war
Called for reduction in U.S. ground combat troops
However, increased U.S. Air Force bombings in Vietnam and Cambodia

7. The Antiwar Movement Veteran Opposition
Vietnam veterans testified before the Senate to explain their opposition to the war.
In 1971, thousands deserted the army
Some soldiers experimented with heroin
Many soldiers refused orders from superior officers

8. The Antiwar Movement Kent State
In the spring of 1970, more than 350 college campuses experienced strikes
At Kent State, four students were killed by the Ohio National Guard during an antiwar demonstration.

9. The Antiwar Movement My Lai Massacre
The New York Times published details on the My Lai Massacre of 1968 in a 1969 report
The report detailed the killing of 350 South Vietnamese civilians by American troops

11. The Antiwar Movement The Pentagon Papers
In 1971, the New York Times published the Pentagon Papers, which were classified documents from the Department of Defense
It showed how the U.S. was involved in Vietnam going back to World War II
Revealed how Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon misled the American people about involvement in Vietnam

12. The Antiwar Movement New York Times Co. v. The United States
Nixon claimed executive authority in hopes of halting publication of the documents
Supreme Court ruled that the New York Times was protected under the First Amendment and Nixon’s national security claims were unfounded
Justice Brennan reasoned that since publication would not cause an inevitable, direct, and immediate event imperiling the safety of American forces, prior restraint was unjustified

13. The War Powers Resolution [Act]
To prevent another Gulf of Tonkin, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973
The president had to seek congressional approval in order to commit American troops overseas
In 2014, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) proposed repealing the War Powers Resolution and replacing it with a stricter one
U.S. last declared war in 1941, but had committed troops overseas several times

14. The End of the Vietnam War
In 1973, Nixon’s Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger was able to negotiate a cease fire
Legacy
First war the U.S. definitively lost
Americans killed: 58,000
Cost: $100 billion
American’s lost confidence in the government and American institutions
American ideals and long-standing beliefs were challenged

15. “…we didn’t know our ally. Secondly, we knew even less about the enemy
“…we didn’t know our ally. Secondly, we knew even less about the enemy. And, the last, most inexcusable of our mistakes, was not knowing our own people.” ~ Gen. Maxwell Taylor