1. US and Vietnam: 1968

2. Mid 1960s Review
Civil rights strife: assassination of Malcolm X; SNCC, Black Panthers
LBJ's first election, 1964
LBJ’s Great Society programs: “War on Poverty:” Medicare, Medicaid
LBJ's policy of escalation in Vietnam,
American justification for intervention: "Aggression from the North"

3. 1967 “Vietnam Summer” 1967: "Vietnam Summer"
US involvement reached 550,000-troop presence
Generational split
Elder generation supported use of force to prevent the spread of communist threat
Younger generation believed "threat" to be of too little consequence to justify their participation in war. 41% of pop was under 20.

4. 1967 Student Protests
Martin Luther King, Jr.: billions spent in Vietnam could be better spent combating domestic poverty
US society wrenched by racial tension and movement for racial equality
Marijuana and hallucinogenic drugs accepted by "counter culture," especially in SF Bay Area
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) focused in UC Berkeley: speeches, demonstrations, folk music, “teach-ins”
October 1967: protestors raised Vietcong flag on Pentagon flagstaff, burned draft cards

5. Vietnam Troop Levels Source: Congressional Quarterlies
1960
900
1961
3,200
1962
11,300
1963
16,300
1964
23,300
1965
184,300
1966
385,300
1967
485,600
1968
536,100
1969
475,200
1970
334,600
1971
156,800
1972
24,200

6. Into the 1968 Election
Eugene McCarthy, Democrat from Minnesota: immediate withdrawal from Vietnam
New Hampshire primary: McCarthy received 42%; Johnson 49%
Bobby Kennedy entered Democratic race four days later
Tet Offensive: January-September
General Westmoreland's Appraisal of the 1968 Tet Offensive
further escalation of troop commitment needed to "win" the war
invasions of Cambodia and Laos were necessary
invasion of North Vietnam necessary
cost should increase from 17b to 27b yearly taxes would have to be raised

7. Assassinations MLK Bobby Kennedy April 4, 1968 in Memphis
Race riots erupted across US
Johnson declared April 9 national day of mourning
2 months later, James Earl Ray captured in UK, confessed, but later retracted confession
Bobby Kennedy
June 4, 1968 in L.A.
Had been leading Demo-cratic primary race
Hubert Humphrey won primary, and lost to Nixon

8. 1968 Democratic Convention
After appraisal of the Tet Offensive, Johnson announced
his decision to withdraw from the presidential campaign
Cessation of bombing north of 19th parallel
hope for immediate peace talks with Ho Chi-minh
Chicago Democratic Convention
Democratic incumbent withdrawn
Pro-McCarthy Student demonstrations and police clash televised
Failure to convince moderate Democrats
Republican challenger: Richard M. Nixon, Republican from California
Campaigned against Kennedy in 1960
"End the War and Win the Peace"

9. 1968 Election Illustrated…
Public perceived US policy in Vietnam as a failure
Public opinion changed policy in Vietnam
Huge generational gap in opinion about government and war
Public’s perception of the Cold War had changed
Heightened responsiveness of president to American popular opinion
US public changed morality regarding foreign policy: foreign intervention might not be justified