chapter29: war abroad, war at home. american communities “sign of the times” 1.goal for jobs or...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter29: War Abroad, War at Home
American Communities“Sign of the times”
1. Goal for Jobs or Income Now (JOIN)?
2. Sponsored by SDS
3. Port Huron statement
4. Ineffective
5. Success: increase civic participation
29.1: Vietnam: America’s Longest War
The United States tries to control the spread of communism in Vietnam
A. Johnson’s War: Roots of American Involvement
1. Rulers of Vietnam
a. Before WWII?
b. During WWII?
c. After WWII?i. North – Ho Chi Minh
ii. South – Ngo Din Diem
iii. France wants to return to power
2. Growth of Nationalism in Vietnam
a. Ho Chi Minh: Communist leader of Northern Vietnam
b. What did he want?Independence of Vietnam from French
c. Who were the Vietminh?North Vietnamese who wanted independence from France
d. How does he relate to containment?He was supported by SU and China
France vs. Vietminh*******a. U.S. supports Ho Chi Minh?
• During WWII to get rid of Japanese
b. France retakes the south of Vietnam (1946)
c. U.S. dilemma ?i. no longer supporting
colonization but still trying to fight against communism
ii. China’s fall ’49 & Korean War ‘53
iii. Truman decides to aid France
d. 1950-1954: U.S. spends $2.6 billion supporting France
VS.
3. Vietminh Drive out the French
a. Eisenhower’s Domino theory
b. 1954: French post at Dien Bien Phu falls/guerilla tactics
c. July 1954:Geneva Accords (peace agreement)/temporary divide at 17th parallel
d. Diem agreed to countrywide elections for 1956
4. French out = U.S. InSaigon in Trouble
a. Diem cancels elections of 1956
i. Minh supported by the people
ii. Diem Corrupt/suppressed opposition
iii. Repressed Buddhist practices
iv. Vietcong (NLF): worked w/Ho Chi Minh to remove Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem (South V.)
B. Pres. Johnson expands the conflict1. Tonkin Gulf Resolution
(1964): a. Granted Johnson military
powers in Vietnam without officially declaring war!
b. Written weeks prior to Tonkin incident
2. Operation Rolling Thundera. First prolonged bombing of
North Vietnamb. In hopes of avoiding
sending ground troops
3. US Supports War Efforts(Johnson Administration)
1. Support for Containment
i. cabinet members agree Vietnam needs help
ii. Citizens support it as well• 61% in favor
• 24% opposed
iii. Saigon on the verge of collapse
4. General Westmoreland
a. Advocate for very large number of troops
b. 500,000 by 1967
c. War of attrition
5. US Strategies
a. War of Attrition: wearing down the enemy by continuous harassment
b. body count, (unpatriotic) c. Win over the “hearts and minds” of the S.
Vietnamesed. Napalm/agent orangee. Search and destroy missions/civiliansf. Millions of refugees
• Riverboat clip
Napalm(gasoline-base bomb) attack
6. War in the Jungle
1. Tricks of the Vietcong “VC/Chuck”a. Guerilla tactics: irregular warfare such as
hit and run and ambush tacticsb. Hiding within civilian population/city and
countrysidec. Booby traps and land minesd. terraine. tunnels
Vietcong Tunnels
C. Losing Morale
1. soldiersa. Lose confidence b. Drugs and alcoholc. Killing superior
officers
2. At home
a. Economy suffers/
Inflation
b. Using SS funds
c. Increased taxes
d. $21 B a year on war
e. Living room war: media and credibility gap effect U.S.citizens
29.4: 1968
A. The Tet Offensive (1968)
1. Tet: January 30, Vietnam’s New Years Eve
2. Week-long peace agreement with Vietcong in honor of the holiday
3. Funerals also being held during this time
4. Vietcong used coffins as decoys; filled with with weapons
5. Deaths due to attacks
Vietcong: 32,000 US: 3,000
6. Americans and Congress: “unwinnable” war
B. Public Opinion on War
1. Before Tet Offensive28% Doves
56% Hawks
2. After Tet Offensive40% Doves
40% Hawks
3. 60 % war mishandled
4. 50% mistake to go in
Doves vs. Hawks
Opposed war & wanted troops to withdraw from Vietnam
• Should continue & increase force in Vietnam
C. Days of Loss (1968)
1. March: Johnson announces he will not seek a second term
2. April: MLK assassinateda. AA communities responded with riots; 46 dead,
b. Chicago: Mayor Daley “shoot to kill” order,
c. Stokely Carmichael “US declares war on us”
3. Citizens became more critical of the war
4. June: Robert Kennedy assassinated
1968 DNC - Chicago
Presidential Election 1968
Hubert Humphrey (D)
Richard M. Nixon (R)
29.6:Nixon’s War
“To bring peace with honor”
A. Nixon and Vietnamization
1. Allowing for the Vietnamese to take a more active role by withdrawing US troops
2. Peace with honor… “save face”; wanted a say at negotiation table
3. Secretly continues to bomb supply routes in N. Vietnam military bases, Laos and Cambodia
4. Silent majority: mainstream Americans who quietly supported the president’s strategy
Ho Chi Minh trail
B. Invasion of Cambodia (4/’70)
a. Destroy N. Vietnamese and Vietcong supply centers
b. Leads to incidents such as student strikes and protest rallies on college campuses; ie, Kent State, Jackson State
C. Kent State, Ohio (5/’70)
1. ROTC targeted due to military connection
2. National Guard sent out; 4 killed
3. Jackson State, Ms/2 killed
D. Henry Kissinger
1. National Security Advisor
2. Main negotiator w/N.Vietnam
3. Nobel Peace Prize winner 1973
•
E. My Lai Massacre (11/69)
29.2: A Generation in Conflict
A. Vietnam’s Effect on America1. Draft stopped
2. War Powers Act (1973)a. President must inform congress within 48 hours if
b. US forces are sent into a hostile area without a declaration of war
c. Troops may not stay longer than 90 days unless congress approves presidents action or declares war
3. Foreign affairs: what risks do we take by getting involved?
4. Truman’s Containment policy unenforceable
B. War’s Painful Legacy
1. American’s vets come home
a. Came home to hostiles; no parades
b. 15% (450,000) PTSD, suicides, addicts
c. 1982: Vietnams Veterans Memorial
1. Woodstock, NY(concert?)
2. Pot & LSD
4. Campus Protests
a. Classroom strikes
b. Sit-ins
c. War and campus issues
D. Vietnam Soldiers
1. Young – avg. 19; 26 WWII
2. Disproportionately AA and Latino
3. “White man’s war”
4. Returning soldiers protest
29.3: Johnson’s Great Society
A. War on Poverty
1. Programs:a. Economic
b. Educational*
c. National programs*i. legal programs
ii. health centers
iii. Head Start
B. Root of Poverty
1. Unequal income distribution
– LBJ never addresses it
2. Social Welfare budget increases by > 50%
– Medicare, Social Security, and unemployment comp
C. Crisis in the Cities1. Federal Housing Admin
a. Dev. of suburbia, not cities
b. Redlining neighborhoods
c. “Slum lords”
d. Highway disruptions
2. Unemployment & pollution high
3. Inner city growth a. AA: south
b. Whites: Appalachia
c. Latinos: Puerto Rico
D. Urban Uprising
1. Why?a. Police brutality
b. Unemployment
c. No health facilities
d. Poor schools
e. Inadequate housing
2. Where– Watts, San Francisco,
Detroit, Cleveland, Newark
Watts Riots (1965)
E. Kerner Commission1. Riots due to “white racism”
2. “two societies, one black, one white – separate and unequal”
F. Nixon, China & the S.U.1. Policy of détente –
easing cold war tensions
2. Feb. 1972 Nixon visits China = better relations
3. Visits Leonid Brezhnev @ Moscow
– Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I)
Nixon and Arm Sales
• Iran: Shah Pahlavi• Philippines: F. Marcos• South Africa: P. Botha• Nicaragua: A. Samoza
G. Watergate
1. Major Players a. Carl Bernstein
b. Bob Woodward
c. Ben Bradleei. Serves as vice president
to the Washington Post today
ii. Responsible for revealing the Pentagon Papers @ the Washington Post
iii. Daniel Ellsberg released them
– “Plumbers” after him
Bernstein, Bradlee, & Woodward
d. H. R. Haldeman
i. Chief of Staff
ii. President’s right hand man
2. “Saturday Night Massacre”
Archibald Cox Special Prosecutor
President Nixon’s Last Day
3. House Judiciary Committee
a. Three articles of impeachment: obstruction of justice
b. VP Agnew resigned in Oct ’73; tax evasion, kickbacks as gov. of Maryland
c. Gerald Ford new VP
d. Nixon resigns Aug ’74
e. Gerald Ford new Pres