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19.2: Vietnam Divides the Nation. A. An Antiwar Movement Emerges. Support for containment: 1965 a. 66% in favor b. 24% opposed Educational hearings – informing the Senate on military strategy. Wanted large # of troops by 1967 >500,000
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A. An Antiwar Movement Emerges • Support for containment: 1965 a. 66% in favor b. 24% opposed • Educational hearings – informing the Senate on military strategy.
Wanted large # of troops by 1967 >500,000 Living room war: Media and credibility gap effect Americans George Kennan – American diplomat: Vietnam not strategically important to US 3. General Westmoreland:“enemy’s hopes are bankrupt”
Students and teachers skipped class Gather to discuss the wrongs of the war Civil war Supporting a dictatorship 4. “Teach-ins”
Draft implemented; most in combat units avg. age 19; 21-26 WWII Disproportionately AA, Latino, and poor MLK criticizes high # of AA (13%, 10%, 20%) “White man’s war” Returning soldiers protest 5. Vietnam Soldiers & the Draft
g. Burn draft cards h. Leave country i. Serve jail time j. 26th Amendment – voting rights for 18 y/o. 5. Vietnam Soldiers & the Draft
a. Opposed war & wanted troops to withdraw from Vietnam b. Should continue & increase force in Vietnam 6. Doves vs. Hawks
B. 1968: The Pivotal Year The worst year of the 1960s!
1. The Tet Offensive • Vietnam’s New Years • Week-long peace agreement • Funerals being held during this time = easy attack • Deaths due to attacks: i. Vietcong - 32,000 ii. US - 3,000 • Victory? For who? How? • Americans realize war is a unwinnable Walter Cronkite
Before Tet Offensive 28% Doves 56% Hawks After Tet Offensive 40% Doves 40% Hawks 60 % war mishandled 50% mistake to go in 2. Public Opinion on War
3. A Season of Violence (1968) • March: Johnson announces he will not seek a second term • April: MLK assassinated; AA communities responded with riots; 46 dead c. June: Robert Kennedy assassinated d. August: Democratic National Convention; Chicago; Mayor Daley
Hubert Humphrey (D) Richard M. Nixon (R) Presidential Election 1968