1960s Politics & Vietnam

1. 1960s Politics & Vietnam

2. Ho Chi Minh & Vietnam

3. Election of 1960

4. Election of 1960

5. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” “Macho” presidency

6. Camelot

7. New Frontier • Convinced Congress to continue deficit spending to deal with recession (unemployment was at 6%) • Pushed for higher minimum wage, increased Social Security benefits, and modest housing and educational programs • Congress defeated plans for federal aid to education, health insurance for the elderly, and programs to help migrant workers, unemployed youths, and urban commuters • Peace Corps – addressed poverty in Third World countries • Alliance for Progress – economic assistance to Latin America to prevent the spread of communism • Space Race

8. New Frontier

9. New Frontier • Began to address issues of poverty and race relations in 1963 (The Other America by Michael Harrington, 1962 and Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin, 1961) • African Americans had supplied Kennedy’s margin of victory in 1960; expected presidential actions • At first Kennedy was quiet on civil rights issues to win southern congressional support • Attorney General Robert Kennedy helped protesters when federal laws were violated • Increasing (televised) violence in South led Kennedy to act in 1963; publicly supported integration of schools and end of Jim Crow in South

10. Kennedy & Cold War

11. Cuba & Fidel Castro

12. Bay of Pigs Fiasco Bay of Pigs Invasion

13. Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

14. Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

15. Kennedy & Cold War • Kennedy was criticized for “brinkmanship” policy and for not ousting Castro; Cubans switched to Republican Party • Khrushchev was forced out of power in USSR • “hot line” established between U.S. and U.S.S.R. • Limited Test Ban Treaty, 1963

16. Tragedy in Dallas

17. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

18. “War on Poverty” • Economic Opportunity Act, 1964 • (Job Corps, Neighborhood Youth Corps, VISTA, Head Start) • 1964 tax cut to spur economic growth • 1964 Civil Rights Act

19. Election of 1964

20. Election of 1964

21. Election of 1964

22. Election of 1964 • Barry Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative (1960) • Kevin Phillips’ The Emerging Republican Party (1969) • 1964 returns showed important shift in power to West and South; rise of Sunbelt and conservatism

23. Great Society

24. Great Society • Johnson’s domestic agenda resulted in Congress passing more than 206 bills in the areas of education, housing, poverty, health, civil rights, the environment, and consumer advocacy. • Child Health Improvement and Protection Act, 1968 • Fair Housing Act of 1968 • Executive Order 11246 (1965) • Robert Weaver, first black Cabinet member (1966) • Constance Baker Motley, first black female federal judge (1966) • Thurgood Marshall, first black Supreme Court justice (1967)

25. Warren Court • Warren Court rejected loyalty oaths, affirmed free speech, and affirmed church-state separation; Engel v. Vitale (1962) • Warren Court forced reapportionment; Baker v. Carr (1962) • Warren Court greatly increased the ability of accused criminals to defend themselves; Mapp v. Ohio (1961), Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), Escobedo v. Illinois (1964), Miranda v. Arizona (1968)

26. Legacy of Great Society • In 1960, 20% of population (40 million) were classified as poor; in 1969, only 12% (24 million) were classified as poor • Great Society extended health insurance to poor and elderly and provided better housing for low-income families; Number of families living in home without indoor plumbing fell from 20% to 11% • Infant mortality rate among the poor fell by one-third between 1965 and 1975; By 1970 only 8% of poor had never seen a doctor (20% in 1965) • African American median family income rose 53%; employment in professional fields and educational attainments also rose • Percentage of African Americans below the poverty line fell from 55% in 1960 to 27% in 1968

27. Legacy of Great Society

28. Legacy of Great Society

29. White Backlash • Ghetto rioting, rise of black militancy, and resentment over Great Society social legislation combined to produce a backlash among many whites; acceleration of “white flight” • 1968 Republican candidate Richard Nixon appealed to “silent majority” and promised to restore law and order, eliminate “wasteful” federal antipoverty programs, and appoint “strict constructionists” to Supreme Court • As president, Nixon did away with Model Cities program and Office of Economic Opportunity; urged Congress not to extend Voting Rights Act of 1965 or to enforce Fair Housing Act • Appointed four conservatives to the Supreme Court including Chief Justice Warren Burger and later Chief Justice William Rehnquist; Milliken v. Bradley (1974) and Bakke v. Regents of University of California (1978)

30. In the beginning… la mission civilisatrice Declaration of Independence (1945) Ho Chi Minh Vietminh Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Mao Zedong & Joseph Stalin $2.6 billion Dien Bien Phu (1954)

31. In the beginning… Geneva Agreements (1954) 17th Parallel Dwight D. Eisenhower Ngo Dinh Diem “because we know no one better” “Diem’s the only boy we got out there” “free” elections – 98.2 percent strategic hamlet program Vietcong & Ho Chi Minh Trail

32. Kennedy & Vietnam “flexible response” Conventional & counterinsurgency forces as well nuclear response Special Forces (Green Berets) American “advisors” 1961 – 3205 “advisors” 1962 – 11,300 “advisors” 1963 – 16,300 “advisors” “save” South Vietnam

33. Kennedy & Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem Buddhist monk protests Madame Nhu – “barbecues” American reporters isolation and paranoia November 1, 1963 Kennedy assassination De-escalation? Mekong Delta

34. Johnson & Vietnam Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) “domino theory” “nail coonskin to the wall” Election of 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incidents U.S.S. Maddox, 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

35. Lyndon’s War “He made appointments, approved promotions, reviewed troop requests, determined deployments, selected bombing targets, and restricted aircraft sorties. Night after night, wearing a dressing gown and carrying a flashlight, he would descend into the White House basement “situation room” to monitor the conduct of the conflict … often, too, he would doze by his bedside telephone, waiting to hear the outcome of a mission to rescue one of “my pilots” shot down over Haiphong or Vinh or Thai Nguyen. It was his war.”

36. Lyndon’s War • Succession of unstable military dictators in South Vietnam • Johnson’s advisors were divided: • SecDefense Robert McNamara and SecState Dean Rusk wanted a more aggressive military presence in Vietnam including more ground troops • George Ball believed United States was making same mistake as the French; “Once on the tiger’s back, we cannot be sure of picking the place to dismount.” • Johnson chose to escalate the war

37. Lyndon’s War • February 1965 – Vietcong attacked an American base, killing several American soldiers • Operation ROLLING THUNDER • Between 1965 and 1973, American pilots flew more than 526,000 sorties and dropped 6,162,000 tons of bombs on enemy targets (3x the total amount of bombs dropped by all belligerent countries in World War II) • Bombings had no harmful effects on North Vietnamese morale and actually increased support for communist regime; undermined U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in South Vietnam

38. Lyndon’s War • Massive use of air power actually Bombing raids killed enemies and civilians; napalm, Agent Orange • Larger air war led to escalation of ground troops under command of General William Westmoreland: • 1965: 184,300 troops 636 killed • 1966: 385,300 troops 6644 killed • 1967: 485,600 troops 16,021 killed • 1968: 536,000 troops 30,610 killed

39. Lyndon’s War

40. Lyndon’s War • Search-and-destroy missions displaced South Vietnamese; 3 million refugees by 1967

41. Tet Offensive Loyalty to the “party line’ William Westmoreland Tet Offensive Saigon, Hue Walter Cronkite “credibility gap” Eugene McCarthy Robert Kennedy Pete Seeger March 31, 1968

42. Fall of Johnson Modus operandi Duplicity Should have called up reserves and National Guradsmen and pushed for higher taxes Slow, steady escalation Dissatisfaction surfaced first with the young who were being asked to fight and die for the cause

43. Fighting in the Jungle Vietcong were everywhere Vietcong tunnel system I & I “smoke-in” “hearts and minds”

44. Fighting in the Jungle

45. My Lai Massacre

46. Fighting in the Jungle Desertion and AWOL rates skyrocketed; lowered morale 1966 – 14.9/57.2 per thousand 1971 – 73.5/176.9 per thousand “fragging” – 1101 officers Terrain, weather

47. Student Protests at Home Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) doves Eugene McCarthy Robert Kennedy (RFK) Assassination

48. Election of 1968

49. George Wallace American Independent Hubert Humphrey Democratic party Richard M. Nixon Republican party Election of 1968

50. Election of 1968