1. The Vietnam War

2. Vietnam Divides the Nation
66% of Americans supported war in 1965
As war dragged on public support dropped because
Body counts on TV every night (first “living room” war)
Creates Credibility Gap: Gov’t says we are winning, images on news show the opposite
Unfair draft system

3. How is the draft unfair?
College students could defer draft until graduation
Working class men more likely to be drafted b/c they could not afford college
Minorities more likely to be drafted b/c they were less likely to go to college
Men begin protesting draft and burning draft cards

4. Fortunate Son

5. We can see the “light at the end of the tunnel.”
The Ground War
General Westmoreland, late 1967: Helps create credibility gap
We can see the “light at the end of the tunnel.”

6. The Tet Offensive, January 1968
N. Vietnamese Army + VietCong attack South simultaneously
Take every major southern city
Attack American Embassy in Saigon, SV
U.S. + SV beat back the offensive
N. Vietnamese army militarily defeated
BUT…it’s seen as an American defeat by the media

7. Credibility Gap
Reports from the U.S. Government
Media reports on T.V.
Credibility Gap
Even though we won Tet militarily, it turns public opinion against war

8. Impact of the Tet Offensive
Domestic U.S. Reaction: Disbelief, Anger, Distrust of Johnson Administration
Hey, Hey LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?

9. Johnson’s popularity dropped in 1968 from 48% to 36%.

10. Impact of the Vietnam War on 1968 Election
Johnson announces (March, 1968):
…I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.

11. Who will run for Election in 1968?
Republicans: Richard M. Nixon
Democrats:
Robert Kennedy: Best hope
Assassinated during campaign in 1968
Hubert Humphrey runs
Nixon wins b/c he promises to end war

12. American Morale Begins to Dip
Disproportionate representation of poor people and minorities in combat.
Severe racial problems.
Major drug problems.

13. 1968 – Year that changes everything
Lyndon Johnson does not run for re-election
Robert Kennedy assassinated
Riots at Democratic National Convention
Nixon Elected President
Martin Luther King Jr assassinated
Tet offensive

14. Changes after Tet 26th Amendment Pentagon Papers Voting age 18
Old enough to serve, old enough to vote
Pentagon Papers
Secret Papers on war leaked to media
Shows gov. had not been honest about war
Gov’t loses more credibility