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The War Divides America

The War Divides America. US History Chapter 16, Section 3 Mrs. Huston. Division in America. At the beginning … US supported the goals More troops sent More people died No closer to winning. Critics Speak Out. Senator William Fulbright Voted FOR the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

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The War Divides America

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  1. The War Divides America US History Chapter 16, Section 3 Mrs. Huston

  2. Division in America • At the beginning … US supported the goals • More troops sent • More people died • No closer to winning

  3. Critics Speak Out • Senator William Fulbright • Voted FOR the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution • Began to oppose more troops and bombing

  4. The Draft • Fewer people volunteered to go • More than 1.5 million were drafted • Local draft boards have significant influence • Draft deferments given to college students • Result: most draftees came from working class or poor backgrounds

  5. So who was drafted? • Minorities, especially African Americans • Poor whites • Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke out against the draft as racist • Died in higher percentages • Less likely to be officers

  6. Public Response • Stop the Draft week in October, 1967 • Burning of draft cards • 1969 began the lottery system • Some draftees escaped to Canada

  7. College Campuses • Even though college students were draft deferred … • Professors and students protested the war • More extreme than general public • Students for a Democratic Society founded in 1960

  8. SDS • Organized “teach-ins” • Led demonstrations • Encouraged draft-age males to sign the “We Won’t Go” petition • Led to clash with authorities

  9. UC Berkeley • 1964: School wouldn’t allow students to organize protest activities on campus • Students formed the Free Speech Movement • Occupied a university building, Police arrested them • Students cut classes and marched • Eventually university allowed activities

  10. The “Living Room War” • People increasingly frustrated by lack of progress and growing body count • Government continued to issue optimistic statements • War correspondents reported deaths and frustrations

  11. The “Credibility Gap” • This term represents the difference between what people saw on their televisions in the news reports and what the government was saying

  12. Tet Offensive • The commander in Vietnam, General Westmoreland had told President Johnson that the Vietcong were losing strength • Proved wrong by the Tet Offensive • Named after the Vietnamese new year

  13. Coordinated Attack • The enemy hit 36 provincial capitals, 5 major cities, US Embassy in Saigon, etc. all at the same time • Hoped for an urban uprising to support their cause • Hope to end the war

  14. Results • US and South Vietnamese able to repel the attacks • Strategic blow immense • Demonstrated the communists had not lost the ability or the will to fight

  15. More troops requested • New Secretary of Defense appointed • Said taxes would need to be raised, the draft increased and reserves called up • Predicted we still might not win

  16. Johnson steps down • President Johnson declared he would not run for a 2nd term • Democratic contenders: Eugene McCarthy—anti war candidate and Robert Kennedy—also felt the war drained resources needed at home

  17. Negotiations • March 31, 1968 Johnson announced the US would seek a negotiated settlement to the war • People taken by surprise

  18. Deaths • Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated April 4 • Robert F. Kennedy assassinated June 5

  19. Chicago Democratic Convention • Violence in the streets • Chicago police respond with violence • Spreads across America • Hubert Humphrey wins the nomination

  20. Three-way Election • Democrats – Hubert Humphrey • Republicans – Richard M. Nixon • Independent – George Wallace, governor of Alabama • White backlash candidate

  21. A New President • Richard M. Nixon won the election • Promised “peace with honor” in Vietnam • Promised law and order at home

  22. THE END

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