Vietnam War, part II

1. Vietnam War, part II Ch. 24, Sec 3, 4

2. Protests against Vietnam • Majority of US wanted to win war, wanted increased action. • Vocal minority hated war, wanted US out. • Became known as New Left. • Believed social problems (war, poverty, racism) required radical, sometimes violent, change. • 1960-Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) created by Tom Hayden. (College movement) • Used protests to draw attention to “illegal war” in Vietnam. • Financed by Communist Party.

6. Students at UC Berkeley barred from handing out leaflets on campus. • Said 1st Amendments rights being prohibited. • Began to protest, fought police who came to arrest them. • UC Berkeley leadership pressed charges, students occupied Administration Building, 700 arrested. • Thousands of students & professors went on strike to protest college’s actions. • UC Berkeley was most radical college, but protests occurred on colleges across US.

7. UC Berkeley

8. Other College Protests

11. College students, professors led protest movement. • Bout 55 U. of Michigan professors held first teach-in-special session to discuss Vietnam War. • Thousands showed up, led to teach-ins on other campuses. • Until mid-1960s, only people opposed to draft were conscientious objectors-opposed fighting on moral/religious grounds. • 1965-LBJ doubled draft numbers twice. • Led to draft resistance movement-burned draft cards, tried to get out of draft on physical disability/C. O. status, about 100,000 fled to Canada. • College students got deferments-not drafted until graduation or dropped out.

16. 1968 was big year for protests. • 200 in first six months alone. • One of biggest was at Columbia in NYC. • SDS tried to get college to quit military research; black student group protested building new gym in Harlem. • Students took over President’s office, hundreds arrested; students struck in protest, university closed. • LBJ realized he was losing public opinion. • “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” • Democratic opponents Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy gaining ground in polls. • March 1968-LBJ announced on tv that he would not seek second term in office.

20. 1968 election • Democrats: • Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, Vice-President Hubert Humphrey all wanted nomination. • RFK assassinated, McCarthy seen as too anti-war Humphrey pro-civil rights, but seen as too supporting of LBJ’s war policies. • During Democratic National Convention in Chicago, thousands protested war effort. • Chicago riot police beat protestors, reporters, civilians on live tv. • Humphrey nominated, but Democratic Party torn apart, anti-war movement gained support.

24. Republicans: • Richard Nixon was easily nominated. • Very law & order, had “secret plan” to end Vietnam War. • Nixon stayed above campaign, let VP candidate Spiro Agnew do name calling. • American Independent Party: • George C. Wallace. • Pro-war, anti-communist, anti-hippie, represented blue collar southerners. • Shot while campaigning. • Nixon barely won popular vote, easily won electoral vote.

27. Final Years of War • Before LBJ left office, he started peace negotiations with N. Vietnam. • Paris Peace talks came to nothing. • When Nixon took office, he began policy of Vietnamization. • Removing US soldiers, replacing them with SV soldiers; turning fighting of war over to S. Vietnam. • By 1972, only 24,000 troops in Vietnam, from high of 568,000. • Nixon also ordered bombings of Hanoi, VC bases in Cambodia. • Sent SV & US troops into Cambodia. • Led to civil war in Cambodia, more protests in USA.

30. Nixon campaigned on law & order, stop violent protests that majority of USA opposed. • 1969-Part of SDS split off, formed Weathermen, began campaign of violence. • Riots in streets, letter bombs, attempted assassinations. • Majority of US opposed violence, protests, hippies. • Never got press coverage, called silent majority. • Nixon appealed to them, wanted him to bring order back to USA.

33. Protests peaked in 1970. • Kent State U. in Ohio; students tore up business district, burned down ROTC building on campus. • Governor ordered National Guard in; students threw rocks, Guard threw tear gas. • Guards opened fire (first?), four killed, nine wounded. • Known as Kent State Massacre. • Jackson State in Mississippi, students rioted, cops came in, two killed, eleven wounded.

38. Paris peace talks continued, still nothing. • 1972-NV began big attack on SV; Nixon increased bombing of Hanoi, mined NV harbors. • Jan. 1973, right after Nixon began 2nd term, peace agreement signed. • US would pull out all forces within 60 days. • All POWs released. • All military activity on both sides would end in Laos, Cambodia. • 17th Parallel would continue to divide NV &SV.

41. POW John McCain

43. After US pulled out, NV re-invaded, quickly began defeating SV. • Spring 1975-NV surrounded Saigon. • US evacuated 1,000 Americans, 6,000 S. Vietnamese out of SV before Saigon fell. • April 30, 1975-S. Vietnam surrendered, Vietnam reunited under Communism. • Nixon begged Congress to go back in, Congress refused. • After Vietnam, Cambodia fell to Communist Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot. • Killed 1.5 million Cambodians, 25% of population. • About 2 million Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians fled to US, known as “boat people”.

48. Results of Vietnam • 58,000 US dead, 300,000 wounded, 2,500 listed as POW & MIA. • Many have never come home. • No victory parades, no celebrations for returning troops. • War cost US $150 billion. • Millions of Vietnamese dead. • 1979-Veterans groups began raising funds to build memorial. • Designed by 21-year old Maya Ling Lin. • Vietnam Wall completed in 1982.