A Split Country

A Split Country

Antiwar Movement-Americans doubted the gov’t

-William Westmoreland- US commander

in S. Vietnam-enemy is on the brink of

defeat

Antiwar Movement-TV showed otherwise

-credibility gap- hard to believe what the Johnson administration was saying about the war

-argued Vietnam was not strategically important

Teach-ins-students abandon their classes to discuss issues surrounding the Vietnam War

-May 1965- 100,000 antiwar demonstrations

Anger Over the Draft-not fair bc of college deferment-civil rights-many fled-500,000 refused to go = burn draft cards-18 could not vote-tons of protests

Hawks & Doves-by 1968- nation divided

Hawks- escalate the war in Vietnam

Doves- withdraw from Vietnam

1968: Pivotal Year-Tet Offensive- turning point of the war

-Vietcong attack all major US air bases

and major cities in S. Vietnam-strategic disaster for Vietcong -

almost destroyed

1968: Pivotal Year-Americans doubted what Westmoreland was saying

-Americans no longer support

Johnson Leaves the Race-Democrats nominate Eugene McCArthy for the 1968 election

-RFK joins the race too

-Democrats divided = Johnson leaves the race

A Season of Violence-MLK was assassinated

-James Earl Ray-RFK was assassinated

-Sirhan SirhanGeorge Wallace

-assassination attempt

Nixon Wins the Election-Nixon promised to end the war & restore order at home

-Nixon wins the 1968 election (finally)

The War Comes to an End

Nixon Ends the War (Kinda)Vietnamization- slowly reduce the

troops in Vietnam while training S.Vietnam army to continue the fighting

-secretly Nixon bombs Cambodia

-Henry Kissenger- Peace negotations with N. & S. Vietnam

Turmoil at Home -My Lai Massacre- spring 1968, under command of Lieutenant William Calley- massacred a village on unarmed S. Vietnamese civilians

-Calley goes to jail

-made Americans think the war was brutal and senseless

Cambodia Sparks Protest-US invaded Cambodia to destroy Vietcong bases there-US thinks gov’t expanding war-Congress gets mad bc they did not know of invasion = repeal Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

-sparks protest - Kent State - soldiers killed 4 students

Pentagon Papers-defense dept. worker leaked top secret info about the Vietnam War and the Johnson administration

-showed the gov’t was not being honest

The US Pulls Out-peace negotiations failed between N. Vietnam and N. Vietnam

-Christmas Bombing- US dropped thousands of tons of bombs on N. Vietnam for 11 days

The US Pulls Out-negotiations start again -S. Vietnam agree to leave N. Vietnam troops in S. - independent-January 27, 1973 - peace agreement signed ending the war

South Vietnam Falls-March 1975 N. Vietnam launched a full scale invasion of S. Vietnam

-US does not respond

-April 30, 1975- Saigon was taken over and Vietnam - communist

The Legacy of Vietnam-War Powers Act- inform Congress on any commitment of troops abroad within 48hrs and withdraw 60-90 days

-Cold War shift - Containment -> Negotiation

The Legacy of Vietnam-58,000 Americans K.I.A-cost US $170 billion -300,000 were injured