1. WARM UP 1. What was the domino theory?
2. Who were the Vietcong and what fighting styles did they use?
3. What did the Tonkin Resolution allow Johnson to do?

2. Vietnam War Primary Source Analysis
Read Document A and B and answer the following questions on the same post – it as the warm up:
1. Why did MLK and John Kerry oppose the war?
2. Why did anti-war sentiment grow after 1968?
3. Based on what you read, who opposed the war in Vietnam?
4. Using all the documents, why did many Americans oppose the Vietnam War?
5. Considering the context, can you speculate what those Americans who supported the war said?

3. 8.2 – VIETNAM AT HOME

4. Early War at Home
More troops and money in Vietnam  economy and Great Society programs suffering
At first, Americans supported the war, however TV changed public opinions
Johnson told Americans the war was going well BUT TV told a different story with horrific and brutal scenes on the nightly news
Created a credibility gap - a lack of popular confidence in the truth of the claims or public statements made by the federal government

5. A “Manipulatable” Draft
Most soldiers were called to combat under the Selective Service System, or draft – system for requiring citizens to serve in the military
Established during WWI, males 18-26
Thousands of men found ways around the draft…
Medical exemptions from sympathetic doctors
Changed residences to go before a more lenient board
Joined National Guard or Coast Guard – deferment from draft
Enroll in university for a college deferment

6. African Americans in Vietnam
Draft dodgers were from affluent families  “working class war,” disproportionate number of blacks and people of low socioeconomic levels drafted
MLK refrained from speaking out on Vietnam, believing it would draw attention away from the movement, until 1967 when fighting in Vietnam increased
High racial tensions and violence in platoons  decreased morale

7. Women in Vietnam
No combat positions, but 10,000 women served as military nurses (full rank and benefits)
Thousands volunteered for the American Red Cross and United Services Organization to provide hospitality and entertainment to troops

8. The New Left
By the late 1960s, many college students were already politically and socially active  growing movement known as the New Left
Youth protest movement during the Vietnam War
Demanded changes in American society and withdrawal from Vietnam
College campuses = hotbeds of activism and protest
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) – Most prominent protest group of the New Left
Claimed corporations and large gov’t institutions had taken over America
Called for a restoration of “participatory democracy” and greater individual freedom
Free Speech Movement – New Left group at UC Berkeley
Grew out of a dispute between students and administration concerning free speech on campus

9. Emerging Protest Movement
By the mid 1960s, Americans provided many reasons to oppose the Vietnam War
US shouldn’t be involved in another country’s civil war
The South Vietnamese gov’t was just as corrupt and oppressive as Ho Chi Minh’s North Vietnamese gov’t
US should focus on more pressing international issues (USSR and Cold War)
High cost (lives and money) with low gains
The war was morally unjust
Protest moved beyond college campus as celebrities and musicians spoke out against the war as well.

10. Emerging Protest Movement
By 1967, protest marches and rallies against the draft and the war occurred in most large cities
Early 1970s - Nixon phased out the draft, but not before…
200,000 men were charged with draft resistance
4,000 draft resisters were jailed
10,000 Americans fled the country
Oct 1967 – March on the Pentagon
Anti-war demonstration at the Lincoln Memorial with 67,000 protesters
30,000 demonstrators marched on the Pentagon and broke past military police
Met with tear gas and clubs, 1,500 arrested and 700 injured

11. Doves vs Hawks
Doves
Opposed US involvement in Vietnam
Hawks
US should unleash military strength on Vietnam
While feelings about US involvement in Vietnam were mixed, 70% of Americans believed that protests were “acts of disloyalty”

12. Vietnam Tests Johnson
Johnson attacked by doves and hawks but was dismissive of both groups’ arguments  continued slow escalation
By the end of 1967, Johnson’s policy created turmoil in his administration  Sec. of Defense McNamara resigned, replaced by Clark Clifford
“It didn’t add up…What I was trying to find out was how the war went on year after year when we stopped the infiltration or shrunk it and when we had a very high body count and so on. It just didn’t make sense.”
Prelude to the tumultuous year of 1968…

13. Vietnam Protest Music Masters of War – Bob Dylan
Saigon Bride – Joan Baez
Note: Saigon was the capital of South Vietnam.
Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Note: Children of politicians were exempt from the draft
War (What Is It Good For) – Edwin Starr
Imagine – John Lennon

14. For Each Song… Song title and artist
What issues are being addressed (look for key terms, ideas, etc)?
Who is artist’s target audience?
What was the artist want the audience to do after listening to the song?
Is the song’s message still relevant today? Explain.