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Draft Offenses
Burning draft cards, moving to Canada
More than 200,000 men accused Nearly 4000 imprisoned About 10,000 fled to Canada
Doves & Hawks
Doves – opposed war and wanted U.S. to withdraw the troops
Hawks – U.S. should use all it’s military might to win the war
December 1967 – 70% of Americans believed war protests were “acts of disloyalty”
1968 Turmoil
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. – April in Memphis, Tennessee
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy – June in California
Violence between the police &
anti-war demonstrators at the
Democratic National Convention
in Chicago
Tet Tet is the Vietnamese New Year Vietcong & North Vietnamese army
launch a surprise attack on numerous cities
A truce had been proclaimed for the week and villagers streamed into the cities to celebrate
Many funerals were being held for the war dead The coffins contained weapons and most of the villagers were Vietcong
Tet Offensive
Even attacked U.S. embassy in Saigon and 12 U.S. air force bases
After about a month the U.S. and South Vietnamese regained control
Vietcong lost about 32,000 and Americans & ARVN lost about 3,000
However the public no longer believed the U.S. was close to victory – major political loss
Tet Aftermath
Before Tet – Only 28% of American public opposed the war 56% of Americans supported the war
After Tet 40% opposed 40% supported
Walter Cronkite told the public, it seemed “more certain now than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.”
Robert McNamara resigned as Secretary of Defense
Primaries of 1968
Even before Tet, anti-war Democrats were encouraging, Robert Kennedy to run against President Johnson but he declined
• Senator Eugene McCarthy chose to run against Johnson
Democratic Convention
Eugene McCarthy vs. Hubert Humphrey (V.P.) Robert Kennedy, the early leader had been
assassinated after winning the California primary
100,000 war protesters showed up in Chicago Many didn’t like Humphrey who they felt would
continue Johnson’s policies
Yippies
Members of the Youth International Party – hoping to provoke violence and discredit the Democratic Party
Yippies oppose loss of civil rights in Vietnam such as this execution without trial
Violence
12,000 police & 5,000 National Guard called on by Mayor Richard Daley to maintain order
As delegates cast votes for Humphrey, protesters gathered in a downtown park to march to the convention
With television cameras rolling, police used mace and nightsticks
Protesters fled but some threw rocks and bottles at the police
The riot spilled into the streets
Election of 1968
Democrat Hubert Humphrey Republican Richard Nixon Independent George Wallace – former
Alabama governor and champion of segregation. He was shot and paralyzed during the next presidential campaign in 1972
In the end, Nixon won He promised to restore law & order and to end the war in Vietnam
War under Nixon
Their plan was called Vietnamization Gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops South Vietnamese take a larger role in combat By August 1969, the first 25,000 American soldiers
came home Over the next three years the number of troops went
from more than 500,000 to fewer than 25,000
• National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger – expert on international relations – 3 degrees from Harvard - was Nixon’s top advisor
Nixon & Kissinger
“peace with honor” – maintain U.S. dignity Preserve U.S. power in negotiations Appealed to mainstream “silent majority” of
Americans who supported U.S. efforts in Vietnam
My Lai Massacre
November 1969 – New York Times correspondent Seymour Hirsch reports on the massacre of innocent civilians in the small village of My Lai
Lt. William Calley led the troops and ordered the village destroyed because he believed it was harboring Vietcong
Finding no Vietcong, the military rounded up about 200 civilians and shot them
“I poured about four clips into the group…The mothers was hugging their children…Well, we kept right on firing.”
Troops insisted they were just following orders and when asked what
those orders were one replied,
“Kill anything that breathed”
Invasion of Cambodia
April 30, 1970 – Nixon announces that US troops invaded Cambodia to clear out North Vietnamese and Vietcong supply centers
This led to a fresh round of protests on college campuses First strike of college students 1.5 million students closed
down 1,200 campuses
Kent State – May 4, 1970
Students burn ROTC building and mayor brings in the National Guard
Two days later while students are crossing between classes, the National Guard fires on the students
4 Killed – one shot in back, one just going to class
9 wounded
“Ohio”Crosby Stills Nash & Young
Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'.We're finally on our own.This summer I hear the drummin'.Four dead in Ohio.
(chorus) Gotta get down to it.Soldiers are cutting us down.Should have been done long ago.What if you knew her andFound her dead on the ground?How can you run when you know?
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
(chorus)
Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'.We're finally on our own.This summer I hear the drummin'.Four dead in Ohio. (9X)
Jackson State – May 14, 1970
All-black college in Mississippi National Guardsmen confront antiwar
demonstrators and fired on the crowd 2 killed 12 wounded
Pentagon Papers
Former Defense Dept. worker Daniel Ellsberg leaked a 7,000 page document written by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara in 1967-68
Revealed plans for entering the war started while LBJ was promising not to send American troops to Vietnam
No plan to end the war as long as North Vietnam persisted
Government was lying about the war to the people
Peace Negotiations
Henry Kissinger & Le Duc Tho were secretly negotiating starting in 1969
Nixon is reelected in 1972 Talks end in December 1972
Christmas Bombings
Hanoi & Haiphong – 2 largest cities in North Vietnam U.S. planes dropped 100,000 bombs over 11 straight
days – pausing only on Christmas Day
Parties return to the peace table January 27, 1973 sign an agreement to end the war –
Nixon agrees to withdraw and allow North Vietnamese troops to stay in the South
March 1975
Within months of the cease-fire, the fighting resumes
March 1975 – North Vietnam launches a full-scale invasion of the South
America provides economic aid but no troops
Veterans
Nation as a whole turned its back on returning veterans
Many faced hostility from those upset over the war
About 15% suffered from PTSD Others turned to drugs or alcohol Several thousand committed suicide
Boat People
Communists imprisoned over 400,000 people in “re-education” camps or labor camps
1.5 million fled Vietnam – citizens who had supported the U.S., business owners
Many boat people met tragedy on the South China Sea and nearly 50,000 died of exposure, drowning or piracy
Cambodia – Khmer Rouge – Pol Pot
U.S. invasion led to civil war By 1975 Pol Pot seized power
using his military group the Khmer Rouge
Massive executions “Re-education” camps –
wanted to rid country of professionals and educated – wanted a peasant society
At least 1 million killed
War Powers Act
A president must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending forces into a hostile area without a declaration of war
Troops may remain there no longer than 90 days unless Congress approves the president’s actions or declares war
Vietnam Legacy
Overall cynicism among Americans about the government and political leaders
Suspicious of misleading information from government
Suspicious of
government conducting
secret activities