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1968 The Year American Came Apart. 1968. The Tet Offensive (January) The Mai Lai Massacre (March) President Johnson declines to seek reelection (March) Martin Luther King assassinated (April) Robert Kennedy assassinated (June) Riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago (August).
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1968 • The Tet Offensive (January) • The Mai Lai Massacre (March) • President Johnson declines to seek reelection (March) • Martin Luther King assassinated (April) • Robert Kennedy assassinated (June) • Riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago (August)
The Tet Offensive • January 30th, 1968 • A huge North Vietnamese attack upon the South • Actually a military defeat for the North • Proved that the war was not even close to being over • US officials had promised this for years • Major growth in anti-war movement
The Mai Lai Massacre • March 16, 1968 • American troops in a small South Vietnamese village massacred 300 unarmed civilians • News slowly leaks out • Commander claims he was following orders • Turns out not to be unique event
LBJ Announces He Won’t Seek Reelection • March 31, 1968 • Johnson looked awful on TV • Clearly worn down by failure of the War • Felt like America’s leader was abandoning the fight
King’s Assassination • April 4th, 1968 • Killed in Memphis (probably) by James Earl Ray • Massive riots in many American cities • Bobby Kennedy pleads for peace in • DC only major US city not to have riots
Bobby Kennedy’s Assassination • June 5, 1968 • Had just won the California Democratic Primary • Was running for president as the peace and civil rights candidate • Many saw him as the best chance to unify the country
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.com/rfk_mlking.rm RFK’s Assassination
Democratic Convention in Chicago • August, 1968 • Anti-war protesters fill the streets • Mayor Daley’s police attack the protesters • TV cameras pick up the violence • IS THE WHOLE COUNTRY FALLING APART? • November: Richard Nixon is elected President
Democratic Convention Riots The “Chicago Seven”