8 th Grade United States History

 Essential Question: What were the key foreign policy challenges the United States faced during the Kennedy administration?

 1961 – Cold War continued to deepen President Kennedy continues anti-communist campaign  Throughout the world, communist groups fought to take control of national government Kennedy introduced a plan called “flexible response” in response to guerilla warfare Green Berets

 Communist promises of economic equality was attractive Latin America, Asia, Africa  Kennedy provided aid to those countries to weaken the appeal of communism  Executive order created the Peace Corps to aid countries in need Volunteers worked as teachers and health workers Advisers for government, farming and industry

 1959 – Fidel Castro seizes power and sets up a Communist dictatorship Ally of the Soviet Union  CIA plans to overthrow Castro by recruiting Cuban refugees in USA to spark uprising in Cuba  Bay of Pigs Many mistakes made in the beginning of invasion Kennedy refused air support Kennedy took blame for the failure

 Kennedy never completely trusted military and intelligence advice  Nations in Latin America lost trust in Kennedy  Soviet leader Khrushchev saw Kennedy as a weak leader

 Khrushchev built the Berlin Wall in 1961 Keep western troops out of East Berlin following WWII Prevent refugees seeking freedom from East Berlin from entering West Berlin Cut communications between the two parts of the city Wall came to symbolize Communist repression

 1962 – American spy plane took photographs revealing Soviets building launching sites for nuclear weapons in Cuba Could reach U.S. in minutes Kennedy ordered blockade of Cuba until missiles were removed Kennedy warned that a nuclear attack from the Soviets would result in a nuclear attack by the U.S. After 5 days, Soviets removed missiles Two nations started to work together to avoid nuclear war

 1961 – Kennedy commits U.S. to landing on the moon by the end of the decade  NASA expands July 20, 1969 – The Eagle lands on the surface of the moon Neil Armstrong  “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

 What motivated the Soviet Union to build the Berlin Wall?  How did the United States attempt to contain communism during the Kennedy administration?  Answer the Essential Question: What were the key foreign policy challenges the United States faced during the Kennedy administration?

 Essential Question: How and why did American involve itself in the war in Vietnam?

 After WWII, Vietnamese Communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, declared independence from the French  French were unwilling to give up their Indochina colony Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam Rice, rubber and tin  Ho Chi Minh defeated French forces in 1954

 1954 – U.S., France, Great Britain, Soviet Union, China and Vietnam meet in Geneva, Switzerland  Decided Vietnam would be temporarily divided Ho Chi Minh = Communist North Vietnam United States would support non-Communist South Vietnam United States emphasized that it would act if the Communist North moved against the South

 South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold elections and cracked down on Communism in the South Communists set up the Vietcong (National Liberation Front) in response Began a war against Diem regime

 Eisenhower and Kennedy supported South Vietnam in the form of economic aid and training of troops  Diem was urged to made reforms that would weaken the appeal of Communism but few reforms were made Took rights away from Buddhist population South Vietnamese overthrew Diem with support of the United States

 16,000 American troops were in Vietnam at the time of Kennedy’s assassination  Vietcong attacks caused Americans to get more involved  Gulf of Tonkin Resolution North Vietnamese patrol boats allegedly attacked American destroyers near Gulf of Tonkin Congress gave President Johnson the ability to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States”  1965 – 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam  U.S. Bombing campaign

 Fighting a ground war was difficult Dense jungles Muddy trails Swampy rice paddies Guerilla warfare  Search and destroy missions  Planes bombed areas of South Vietnam to drive guerillas out of the jungle Napalm Agent Orange

 No matter how many Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops were destroyed, they were always replaced Soldiers became frustrated  Opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam began to grow at home

 What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and why was it important?  Why was it difficult for U.S. soldiers to fight in Vietnam?  Answer the Essential Question: How and why did American involve itself in the war in Vietnam?

 Essential Question: How did the Vietnam War affect the political and social climate in the United States?

 The war divided the nation Generation gap Doves and hawks

 Some considered it a Civil War between the Vietnamese  Believed the cost of war was hurting domestic programs  Viewed South Vietnam as a corrupt dictatorship that was not worth assisting  Loss of countryside  Loss of Lives

 Challenge to traditional middle class values  Challenge to customary social roles of work and family  Reject competition for material goods and personal success

 Student protests targeted the selective service system Sought to halt the supply of soldiers needed to fight the war Argued that deferments discriminated against poor and working class families  Conscientious Objectors

 January 31, 1968 – North Vietnamese and Vietcong launched attacks Military bases South Vietnam’s cities United States embassy in Saigon  U.S. pushed back all communist forces  Many Americans began to turn against the war and President Johnson Concerned that an enemy they were assured was so close to defeat could launch such a large attack People began to distrust the Johnson administration

 American commander in Vietnam requested more troops  Johnson ordered a reevaluation of the war  1968 – Johnson stated that no more bombs would be dropped on N. Vietnamese cities Asked for peace talks  Informed the nation that he would not seek a second term

 April 4, 1968 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated Riots erupt all over the country  June 1968 – Robert Kennedy is assassinated

 Protestors flocked to Chicago to protest the presidential nomination of Democratic Senator Hubert Humphrey Humphrey favored Johnson’s Vietnam policy Protestors threw bottles and sticks at police Police threw tear gas, beat protesters with night sticks and arrested many  Republican Richard Nixon wins the election of 1968

 What were draft deferments and who benefited from them?  What was the Tet Offensive and why was it significant to the course of the war?  Answer the Essential Question: How did the Vietnam War affect the political and social climate of the United States?