1968 Chapter 30 Section 4

Disturbing events in 1968 Tet Offensive Assassination of MLK Assassination of RFK Tet Offensive deals a terrible blow to LBJ’s approval ratings/popularity

Tet Offensive Jan. 30 – Feb. 24, 1968 – Vietcong and North Vietnamese launch a major offensive Coincides with Vietnamese New Year Firecrackers, coffins for dead, etc (lots of activity) Many coffins contain weapons Many villagers were Vietcong agents

By 1968, US spending $322,000 on each Communist killed in Vietnam Poverty programs at home (Great Society, etc) received ~$53 per person

U.S. regains control? After about a month US and S. Vietnamese forces regain control of cities (about 100 were attacked)

Tet Offensive - effects Military standpoint – Huge defeat for Vietcong Psychological/Political standpoint – shook American public/Johnson’s administration. U.S. support of war drops Journalists become skeptical

McNamara replaced LBJ picks Clark Clifford to replace R. McNamara as Sec. of Defense

“If I’ve lost Walter…”

MLK Urban violence erupts after Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated

Robert Kennedy Assassinated June 5, 1968 (about 2 months after MLK), Robert Kennedy was assassinated in a hotel He had just won Cali. primary.

The Assassin Sirhan Sirhan – Palestinian immigrant Upset over RFK’s support of Israel

The Democratic Circus of ‘68 Eugene McCarthy – Dem. Challenger – wants to end war in Vietnam Robert Kennedy – a late entry Johnson announces that he will not run

Democratic National Convention Eugene McCarthy vs. Hubert Humphrey (LBJ’s VP) 10,000 protesters show up in Chicago Protesting Humphrey’s nomination and to pressure Dems. into an anti-war platform Yippies hoped to discredit Dem. party

Violence in Chicago Violence in streets – Police vs. Protesters Violence in convention hall – shouting/punching Broadcast to millions of Americans on TV

Nixon slides into the White House Thanks to turmoil at DNC and entry of George Wallace into race, Richard Nixon (Republican) wins election of 1968

My Lai Lt. William Calley orders massacre of 200 Vietnamese America looks bad

Vietnamization Henry Kissinger’s plan to pull the U.S. out of Vietnam and make the South Vietnamese responsible for carrying on the war

Kent State National Guard kills 4 students

Pentagon Papers Published in 1971 by NY Times. Showed that government was not being truthful about Vietnam Led to mistrust of gov’t NY Times v US Compare to recent wikileaks????

War Powers Act During Nixon’s administration, Congress limited the number of troops that a president could send into combat without its approval Reversed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution

Nixon Doctrine US Allies in Asia would receive US support w/o extensive use of ground forces

Cambodia/Laos Nixon’s secret bombing

Paris Peace Accords Cease-fire and free elections Armistice didn’t really end war US spent $118 billion on war and began an inflationary cycle