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American History Chapter 29-3. 1968: A Turning Point. The Tet Offensive. Tet Offensive : Series of coordinated attacks by the Vietcong in South Vietnam. The Vietcong employed a 77 day siege against the U.S. military base at Khe Sanh to divert attention.
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American History Chapter 29-3 1968: A Turning Point
The Tet Offensive • Tet Offensive: Series of coordinated attacks by the Vietcong in South Vietnam. • The Vietcong employed a 77 day siege against the U.S. military base at KheSanh to divert attention. • Tet is the Vietnamese New Year & there was usually a cease fire. • Using surprise, 84,000 Communist soldiers attacked 12 U.S. military bases & over 100 South Vietnamese cities. • Effects: • Ended the hope for an end to the war with a U.S. victory. • Respected TV anchor, Walter Cronkite, criticized the effort, causing much concern for Americans.
Election of 1968 • President Johnson chose not to run for re-election. • 75% of Americans disapproved of how he handled the war. • Division in the Democratic party. • Intense media criticisms of Johnson. • Presidential candidate, Robert Kennedy, was assassinated in Los Angeles, SirhanSirhan
1968 Election Con’t. • Protesters at the Democratic Convention tried to influence the candidates to reject Johnson’s war policies. • Chicago mayor, Richard Daley, had to dispatch 1000’s of police & National Guard to disperse the protesters. • Dem. Hubert Humphrey, Rep. Richard Nixon, Ind. George Wallace.