8 th grade united states history. essential question: what were the key foreign policy challenges...
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8th 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 1965-1968 - 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?
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