1. The Vietnam War

2. Costs of War  Low morale of soldiers quickly lost all hopes of winning the war (*many turned to drugs)  first television war ‘living room” *horrible graphic pics contradicted the war scenario  -credibility gap develops- of what Johnson’s administration was reporting & then what was actually happening.

3. Opposition  Hawks unleash military to win war  Doves believed we should withdraw forces  The Draft

4. Tet Offensive  Leaders predicting end of war soon.  Cease fire called to celebrate Tet holiday  Viet Cong and NVA attacked the American embassy. Major coordinated attack on Jan. 1968  Military victory for US, but not really  Johnson’s popularity drops after Tet.  Walter Cronkite: “More Certain now the war will end in a bloody stalemate”  “If I’ve lost Walter, I’ve lost Mr. Average Citizen”- LBJ

5. Protests Begin  Students for a Democratic Society demanded changes in AM. Society- claimed Am was ran by “The Machine”  - Known as the “New Left”  -backlash against anti-war view : Conservatives

6. Protest Movement  Kent State University: students attacked businesses & ROTC buildings- Gov. Called in Nat’l Guard which opened fire on 4 students  Jackson State University: violent protests-police called in and kill 2 students.  1967-March on Washington: 100,000 march to Pentagon to protest war. As protests spread into Vietnam, soldiers began to protest the war. Fragging Insubordination

7. Protest Movement  “March of Death”  Pentagon Papers (Daniel Ellsberg): -classified documents taken from the Pentagon that document the actions of several Presidents during Vietnam acting without Congressional knowledge  New York Times v. US, 1971

11. The Draft  Based on birthday  Deferments: Good academic standing=you would NOT be drafted  500,000 men dodged the draft – 8 million enlisted  Draft targets: Youth, Minorities, Poor  Project 100,000  Drug Abuse

12. Year 1968  LBJ scales back war effort and decides to not seek re-election.  RFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated  Riots of ‘68 as nation mourns  -Democratic Convention, Chicago rioting occurs (1000s)  Against the Dem Party– pressured them to adapt an ANTI-war Platform

14. Nixon Presidency  My Lai Massacre, 1968: War time atrocities, killing hundreds of innocent civilians  Vietnam Veterans Against the War - war crime trials: John Kerry  Nixon begins pulling troops out of Vietnam  Vietnamization: handing war back over to S. Vietnam – withdrawal of American troops  Bombing of Laos and Cambodia to stop Viet Cong supply lines.  Easter Offensive: massive conventional offensive by N. Vietnamese.  Christmas Bombing: 36,000 tons of bombs dropped on Hanoi

16. Nixon Presidency  Jan. 1973: Paris Peace Accords signed  American troops leave and Vietnam is still divided at 17 th parallel.  American advisors left behind  Nov. 1973: War Powers Act-- limits the ability of Presidents to wage war  - President must notify Congress when sending troops into battle, If Congress does not Approve within 48 hrs, troops must be withdrawn  Passage of 26 th amendment: lowers voting age to 18.

18. Fall of Saigon  American soldiers have left Vietnam – only advisors are left in S. Vietnam.  N. Vietnam attacks S. Vietnam – takes less than 60 days to reach Saigon.  Thousands of Americans and some refugees are evacuated  May 1, 1975 – End of S. Vietnam government

20. Aftermath  2000: 1,498 Americans unaccounted for from Vietnam  PTSD: Nightmares, Night Sweats, Sleep Walking, Flashbacks  Higher rates of suicide, drug addictions  Sicknesses & birth defects from Agent Orange exposure