1. The Stormy 1960s Vietnam & the Great Society

2. Lyndon B. Johnson  LBJ’s hero was FDR  Former Senate Majority Leader  Wanted to enact groundbreaking reform legislation= saw JFK’s assassination, his presidency & the Vietnam War as an opportunity to improve American society

3.  LBJ used national sadness over JFK’s death to pass Civil Rights reform= Civil Rights Act of 1964: outlawed discrimination in employment or public facilities based in race, color, religion or gender  Also used intimidation & his status as a southerner

4.  LBJ is re-elected in 1964  Goal= pass his domestic agenda called the “Great Society”= foundation of modern welfare state –Declared a “War on Poverty”  Project Head Start  VISTA= domestic Peace Corps  HUD (Dept. of Housing & Urban Development)  Medicaid (medical care for poor)  Welfare & food stamps

6.  Problem= funding both the Great Society & the Vietnam War.

7. Start of Vietnam  Vietnam War started between Vietnamese & France at the end of WWII  Vietnamese wanted independence & France didn’t want to give it to them.  Result: Revolution led by Vietnamese nationalist Ho Chi Minh

8. the battle of Dien Bien Phu  During the French/Vietnamese war, President Eisenhower sent in military advisors to help the French  USA didn’t want another domino (Vietnam) to fall to communism  In 1956 the French lost to the Vietnamese in the battle of Dien Bien Phu

9.  After Dien Bien Phu, the French agreed to leave Vietnam, but to divide Vietnam between the North & South. –North Vietnam= Communist & led by Minh –South Vietnam- capitalist & led by Ngo Dien Diem –In 1960 there would be an election & the nation would be reunited under whoever won the election

10. Diem Regime  Problem: no one in South Vietnam liked Diem. He took away their rights & imprisoned anyone who opposed him  Diem kept pushing back the election because he knew he would lose.

11.  To help Diem control South Vietnam, JFK sent in more military advisors & CIA agents  Still no one liked Diem –Communists in North Vietnam= Vietminh –Pro-communist guerillas in South Vietnam= Vietcong

12.  In 1963 JFK allows the CIA to help a coup to overthrow Diem  Diem is assassinated  2 weeks later JFK is assassinated & LBJ takes over  LBJ could have withdrawn troops, but refuses. Feels USA can overwhelm any opposition= increases “advisors” in South Vietnam

13. Gulf of Tonkin Incident  In 1964 US Navy reports the North Vietnamese sank a US destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin  LBJ goes to Congress & asks for permission to respond  Congress passes the “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution” giving LBJ a “blank check” (authority) to do whatever he feels necessary to protect American interests

14. Escalation  Result: massive escalation –Congress never declares war= UN police action –Increased # of American troops –Increased bombing of North Vietnam –Americanization of the war= US took over war for South Vietnam –Americans told we’re winning the war & it will be over shortly

15. Turning Point  In 1968 the Tet Offensive occurs= massive Vietcong uprising in all major South Vietnamese cities  Shocks Americans who think war was almost over= realize the military exaggerated wins  Public opinion turns against the war because people feel lied to

17. War Protest  After Tet= war protests increase –Oppose the draft –Started at UC Berkeley & college campuses  New Left movement starts by the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) –Anti-war protesters called “doves”

19. LBJ  LBJ goes on TV & withdraws from the 1968 election  3 people run for the democratic nomination: –Eugene McCarthy (anti- war) –Robert Kennedy (JFK’s brother) –Hubert Humphrey (LBJ’s VP)

20. 1968 Unrest  In April Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated  Riots break out in 150 cities to protest the assassination  In June democratic frontrunner Bobby Kennedy is assassinated  Assassinations convince many peaceful change is impossible  In August riots & fights break out at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago

21. 1968 Election  Republican= Richard Nixon  Democrat= Hubert Humphrey  Independent= George Wallace

22.  Nixon promised to end the Vietnam War & appealed to the “Silent Majority” who were not war protesters  Humphrey was depicted as being crazy & pro- nuclear war  Wallace ran on a pro- segregation, white supremacy campaign  Nixon won

23. Vietnamization  Nixon promised to end US involvement in Vietnam by replacing American troops with Vietnamese troops= “Vietnamization”  But he also increased the number of air strikes into North Vietnam & started bombing Laos & Cambodia  Public opinion started to turn against Nixon when by 1972 we still were not out of Vietnam  It looked like Nixon might lose the 1972 election to George McGovern

25. End of Vietnam  Secretary of State Henry Kissinger finally negotiated a peace agreement pulling US troops out of Vietnam in 1972 right before the election  Nixon wins in 1972

26. War Powers Act  In 1973 Congress passed the War Powers Act= ends blank checks to Presidents. Says Presidents must get approval from Congress for any military commitment lasting more than 60 days

27.  The Vietnam War finally ends in 1975 when North Vietnamese troops take over the South Vietnamese capitol of Saigon