Vietnam: The Media, Popular Opinion, & Exit When and why did U.S. popular opinion shift?

Vietnam War Total U.S. Deaths: 58,193Iraq War Total U.S. Deaths: 4,400 (5/10), Afghanistan: 1,000 (5/10)

: Escalation A War of Attrition: Troop levels increase dramatically – 1964 – 23,300 – 1968 – 536,100 Dec : Operation Rolling Thunder – 300,000+ sorties – 865,000 tons of bombs dropped (every NV bridge and major RR line hit) – Targeted NV, VC, and Ho Chi Minh Trail B-52 Stratofortress

Escalation Operation Rolling Thunder – Failed: Supplies were still coming down Ho Chi Minh Trail – Failed: Stiffened the will of the VC and NVA Troop Build Up – Failed: Many in SV disliked both sides, didn’t see U.S. as liberators

1968: A Year of Change Jan ’68 – Tet Offensive – U.S. Policy Makers: “Light at the end of the tunnel” – Truce during Tet (Vietnamese New Year) – Nationwide attack on 100+ cities in SV by Communists – Saigon, Hue, Khe Sahn – Goal: Provoke a popular uprising against the Americans – Military Defeat for the VC and NVA Est. 45,000 NVA & VC troops KIA Est. 1,500 U.S. troops KIA Est. 2,700 ARVN troops KIA – BUT… Tet Offensive Targets

Tet Offensive – CBS News

Tet Offensive – Walter Cronkite Commentary (Feb. 7, 1968)

Indicator Pre- TET Post- TET Change Approves Johnson's handling of job as president 48%36%-12 Approves Johnson's handling of Vietnam 39%26%-13 Regards war in Vietnam as a mistake45%49%+4 Proportion classifying themselves as "hawks" 60%41%-19 Tet Offensive: A Political Defeat

1968: Growing Tensions at Home April MLK killed, streets explode, a vision dies June Bobby Kennedy killed- had been anti-war Democratic favorite

Growing Anti-War Movement Initially seen as unpatriotic Small groups of activists before Tet – Many associated with Civil Rights Movement (MLK, Muhammad Ali) 1967 – 50,000 March on the Pentagon- Draft Card burning Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) – Student movement (mid-1960s) – Chapters at college campuses across the country Tet (1968) – sets off a wave of protests – 1,000 US dying/month – No end in sight Draft Lottery – Greater resistance/”dodgers” – No more education deferments

SHOW VIDEO ON DRAFT CARDS

1968 Election LBJ surprise announcement- not running again Opened up field- dems split

Election of 1968 LBJ withdraws under intense pressure RFK – seen as a favorite – assassinated June ’68 MLK/RFK assassinations – set off race riots and antiwar protests Robert Kennedy Burning US Cities- anger over MLK’s Death (April 1968)

Chicago Democratic Convention 1968 Dems split- Hawks (Humphrey- LBJ’s VP) vs. Doves (Eugene McCarthy) Mayor Daley’s police vs. anti-war protesters- “The whole world is watching!”- Live on TV In Nov. election, Dems split vote and Nixon won- said he represented “The Silent Majority.”

The Candidates ‘68 Hubert Humphrey Democrat Vice President Supported LBJ’s war policies George WallaceRichard Nixon American Independent Party Segregationist Posed a threat to steal votes from Nixon & Humphrey Last 3 rd party candidate to win electoral votes Republican “Peace with honor” “Secret plan” to end the war

Nixon: 31,785,480 ; 301 electoral Humphrey: 31,275,166 ; 191 electoral Wallace: 9,9066,473; 46 electoral

The Anti-War Movement Grows Nov – My Lai Massacre made public Moratorium in DC, SF, NY, etc.- mass protests to end war 1970 – Kent State Massacre – 2,000 unarmed college students protest invasion of Cambodia – Ohio National Guard called upon – 4 students killed; 9 wounded Jackson State killings- 10 days later, state and local police fire on student demonstrators at Jackson State (Mississippi) -2 killed, 10 wounded - predominantly Black university

Jackson State Killings 1970

Nixon and Vietnam- Press Secretly bombing Cambodia-1969 (Congress and people didn’t know) Pentagon Papers Daniel Ellsberg Nixon tried to issue “prior restraint”, Supreme Court said no- free press- right to know

Nixon and Vietnam- Policy Vietnamization: building up ARVN, gradually w/draw U.S. troops – 1969 – 475,000 U.S. troops – 1973 – 50 U.S. troops Invasion of Cambodia (1970)- expansion – Seized large amounts of enemy supplies – Communists retreat farther into Cambodia – Sparks more protests at home (ex: Kent St.) – US recruited Hmong and Mien fighters- Laos 1972 Christmas Bombings – Lead to 1973 Paris Peace Accords – By this time- only 70,000 troops/6,000 combat

1973 Paris Peace Accords Ceasefire in place Jan 27, 1973 U.S. troops to withdraw within 60 days – return of POWs Negotiations between Saigon and VC to set up democratic elections

The Fall of Saigon Early 1975: NVA crosses into South Vietnam President Gerald Ford asks for more military aid to South Vietnam Congress refuses April 30, 1975 – Saigon falls to the Communists Thousands of Refugees flee the country

Fall of Saigon: April 30, 1975 U.S. Embassy

The Legacy of Vietnam War Powers Act (1973) – Loss of faith in government – Prevent future wars from starting w/o Congressional approval – President must inform Congress 2 days prior to any use of U.S. troops – must be withdrawn w/in 60 days if Congress does not support their deployment Veterans – No hero’s welcome – Psychological problems – perhaps 500,000 – Vietnam Memorial (1982) Aftermath in Indochina – Domino Theory correct? – Communists takeover in Cambodia and Laos – mass refugees Military – Decline in Military Spending in the years following Vietnam – U.S. no longer seems invincible – humbling experience – No major military conflicts until the Gulf War (1991)