Section 3: Vietnam Divides the

NationChapter

A Growing Credibility Gap

• ‘65, there were many supporters– Gallup Poll: 66% approved U.S. involvement

• Approval ratings dropped– Suspicious of the gov’s truthfulness about the

war

– 1967: General Westmoreland “enemy was on the brink of defeat”

• Media painted a different picture– First televised war

– Images of deceased and the wounded

• Credibility Gap – hard to believe what the Johnson admin. said about the war

An Anti-war Movement Emerges

• People began to protest the war

• Teach-Ins: March 1965

– Staff and students at U of M had a teach-in

– Informally discussed the issues

– Inspired teach-ins at many schools

– By May, 122 colleges held a “National Teach-In” by radio for more than 100,000 antiwar demonstrators

Teach In @ U. of Michigan

Reasons for protest: 1. Some saw the conflict as a civil war in which the U.S. had

no business

2. Others viewed South Vietnam as a corrupt & immoral dictatorship

Anger at the Draft

• Young protestors focused on the unfair draft system

• A college student could usually defer military service until after graduation

• Low-income families were more likely to be sent to Vietnam

• By 1967: Afr. Americans accounted for 20 of combat deaths—2x their proportion of the U.S. pop

– MLK speaks out in 1967 against the conflict

Increasing the Draft Call

• U.S. officials increased the draft call, putting college students at risk

• 500,000 draftees refused to go

– Publically burned their draft cards

– Did not report when called for induction

• Some fled the country to Canada, Sweden, or other nations

• Others stayed and went to prison rather than fight

The Draft & Voting Age• 1965-68 Prosecuted over 3,300

Americans for refusing to serve

• 1969 Gov’t introduced a lottery system

– Low lottery numbers were subject to the draft

• April 1965, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized a march on Washington, D.C.

– 20,000 protestors

• Anger over the draft fueled debate about the voting age

– Old enough to fight, but not vote??

– 1971: 26th Amendment

• Changed age to 18

Hawks & Doves

• Growing opposition, but Johnson remained determined

– But the majority opinion 68% favored continuing the war

• 1968: Nation divided

– Doves: Wanted to withdraw from Vietnam

– Hawks: Wanted to stay and fight

Hawks v. Doves Activity

• With your group, carefully read each excerpt to determine whether the speaker supports (“Hawk”) or does not support (“Dove”) increased U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

• On the appropriate side of your T-chart, write the number of the excerpt and a short summary in your own words of the argument(s) the speaker uses to support his position.

Summary

• Your group will use this information to help form a recommendation on this question:

– Should the president significantly increase U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?

– 6-8 sentences answering the question, support your answer!!!

– Include and disprove a counter argument, to help support your claim. (What would the other viewpoint say in response?? Explain why that’s less important)