The Tet Offensive: A Turning Point

End of the Cold War 1968-1990US vs. Union of Soviet Socialist RepublicsDemocracy vs. CommunismCapitalism vs. Socialism

The Tet Offensive: A Turning Point • On January 30, 1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnam launched a major offensive. • This series of attacks was called the Tet Offensive since it occurred during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. • Over 60,000 soldiers invaded and took over, for a short time, 200 South Vietnamese cities. • The US and its Vietnamese allies were able to beat back the Viet Cong, retake the cities, and virtually disable or destroy the majority of VC forces.

End of the War • Americans now knew that the Viet Cong could launch massive attacks, • Because no end to the war was in sight, the Tet Offensive proved to be a major psychological victory for the Viet Cong and a turning point in the war. • Soon after, American troops began to withdraw

Vietnam Atrocities • Communists slaughtered anyone they labeled an enemy • Americans massacred hundreds of civilians at My Lai, a small village in South Vietnam. • A helicopter crew that stopped the massacre was later rewarded, and the officer who had ordered it was imprisoned. • When the American public discovered the truth, it horrified people and led them to mock returning US soldiers as “baby-killers. • Gave fuel to US protestors

Student Movement and the Vietnam Conflict • The Teach-in Movement — Begun at the University of Michigan in March 1965, teach-ins, or special sessions at which issues concerning the war could be discussed, soon became a popular means of expressing antiwar sentiment. • Continued Protests — Hundreds of demonstrations continued at colleges and universities around the country. • One of the most dramatic, at Columbia University in New York City, linked the issues of civil rights and the war.

Draft Resistance • To increase the available fighting force, the United States invoked the Selective Service Act of 1951, drafting young men between the ages of 18 and 26 into the armed forces. • Most of those who refused to be drafted in the early 1960s were conscientious objectors, people who opposed fighting on moral or religious grounds. • As the Vietnam War progressed, the draft-resistance movement grew, with many young men burning their draft cards or fleeing the country to avoid the draft.

The Draft and College • College students could receive a deferment, or postponement of their call to serve. • Deferments were eliminated in 1971 in response to complaints that they were unfair to those who could not afford college. • Which group of people did deferments benefit the most? Why?

Johnson and Vietnam • The Tet Offensive in 1968 illustrated that the Vietcong could strike at any place at any time. • Though it failed to achieve any military goals, it made people realize that they were being misled by the US government about the success of the war • Continuing protests and an increasing number of casualties steadily decreased popular support for Johnson’s handling of the war. • After the Tet Offensive, Johnson rarely left the White House for fear of angry protesters.

The Election of 1968 The Democratic Convention At the time of the Democratic Convention in Chicago, Eugene McCarthy was thought too far out of the mainstream, and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated. During the convention, police attacked protesters, with much of the violence taking place in front of television cameras. Vice President Hubert Humphrey won the Democratic nomination, but the party had been further torn apart by the convention’s events. DNC 1968 Video

The Nation Chooses Nixon • Richard M. Nixon received the Republican Party’s nomination for President. • Nixon soon took the lead in national polls, allowing his running mate Spiro Agnew to make harsh accusations, while Nixon stayed “above the fray.” • Although Johnson stopped the bombing of North Vietnam before the election, Hubert Humphrey’s candidacy was hurt by his defense of the President’s Vietnam policies. • Independent candidate George C. Wallace drew many votes that may have gone to Democrats. • Additionally, many disillusioned Democrats did not vote. • In a close race, Nixon won the presidency in the 1968 election.

Other Factors in the 1968 Election • The 1960s was an unsettling period for mainstream Americans, a group sometimes referred to as Middle America. • Many turned to the Republican Party for stability, voting for Republican candidates such as Nixon. • Many Americans were disillusioned by Johnson’s handling of the Vietnam War. • In general, middle class Americans had lost faith in the Democratic Party and Republicans would be elected President in 7 of the next 10 elections.

Nixon Calls for Law and Order • Nixon had campaigned promising a return to law and order. • As President, he strengthened this position, discouraging protest against the war. • In a 1969 speech, Nixon appealed to those who, he felt, quietly supported his policies: middle class suburban Americans. • He referred to this group of Americans as “the silent majority.”

Nixon’s Vietnam Policy • President Nixon campaigned on the claim that he had a secret plan to end the war. • In June 1969, he began the policy of Vietnamization, replacing American troops in Vietnam with South Vietnamese soldiers. • With immense pressure from average Americans, the USA ended their direct involvement in Vietnam in 1972

Nixon and Cambodia Although Nixon wanted to end the war, he did not want to lose it. He therefore launched secret bombing raids and expanded the war to Cambodia, hoping to destroy Viet Cong camps there. Nixon hoped his Cambodian attacks would help America in peace negotiations. Instead, the attacks resulted in both civil war in Cambodia and more antiwar protests in the United States. Nixon’s Bombing Campaign in Cambodia Video

Kent State • When student antiwar protesters at Kent State University in Ohio reacted angrily to Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia, Nixon ordered the National Guard to Kent State. • After students threw rocks at the guardsmen, the troops opened fire, killing and wounding both protesters and bystanders. • The violence at Kent State, and a similar incident at Jackson State in Mississippi, horrified Americans.

American Withdrawal Provisions of Peace Settlement Between the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong, Signed in Paris in January 1973 • The United States would withdraw all its forces from South Vietnam within 60 days. • All prisoners of war would be released. • All parties to the agreement would end military activities in Laos and Cambodia. • The 17th parallel would continue to divide North and South Vietnam until the country could be reunited.

Aftermath of the War in Asia • After American forces had withdrawn, North Vietnam attacked strategic cities in South Vietnam, ending with its capital, Saigon. • Following a last-minute evacuation of both American soldiers and Vietnamese refugees, South Vietnam surrendered in April 1975, and Vietnam became unified under a Communist government. • The city of Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City

Southeast Asia after the War • In April 1975, Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge, a Communist force led by Pol Pot. • The Khmer Rouge killed a quarter of the Cambodian population, claiming they were “tainted” with Western ways. • Vietnam’s new leaders forced hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese into “reeducation camps”

Effects of the War in Vietnam • American pilots dropped an herbicide called Agent Orange over Vietnamese jungles, killing vegetation and exposing Viet Cong hiding places. • Agent Orange was later discovered to cause health problems in livestock and humans. • In Vietnam, millions were dead or wounded, many of them civilians. • The war also heavily damaged the landscape of Vietnam. • Many non-communist Vietnamese civilians flee to the U.S. after the war

The Legacy of the War • With a cost of at least $150 billion, and hundreds of thousands of American soldiers killed or wounded, the Vietnam War was the 2nd longest and least successful war in American history (Afghanistan is now the longest). • Many Americans treated returning Vietnam veterans horribly because of the many stories of violence against civilians in Vietnam. • Thousands of American soldiers who did not return home after the war were listed as POWs (prisoners of war) or MIAs (missing in action). • Many remain unaccounted for today. • In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaked what became known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times. • These papers confirmed that the government had not been honest with the public about the war in Vietnam. • In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act as a way to reestablish some limits on executive power. • In general, most Americans were now much more cautious about trusting their government.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial • In response to the treatment of returning soldiers, many people believed something should be done to honor those who had died in service to our nation during the Vietnam era. • Designed by 21-year old Maya Ying Lin and completed in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Henry Kissinger: Practical Politics • Kissinger admired the European political philosophy of realpolitik, or practical politics. Under this policy, nations make decisions based on maintaining their strength rather than on moral principles. • Kissinger applied a realpolitik approach to his dealings with China and the Soviet Union, which led to better diplomatic relations with both nations.

Public Opinion A magazine cover about ping pong diplomacy, so called because better relations between the US and China came after the two countries’ ping pong teams played each other. • Kissinger understood the power of the media and was able to use it to shape public opinion. • Kissinger’s efforts in ending the Vietnam War and easing Cold War tensions made him a celebrity. • He topped a list of most-admired Americans, was often featured on the cover of Time magazine, and in 1973 shared the Nobel peace prize.

Relaxing Tensions Richard and Pat Nixon (in an appropriately red coat) at the Great Wall of China Détente • Although Nixon had built a reputation as a strong anti-Communist, he and Kissinger reversed the direction of postwar American foreign policy by holding talks with China and the Soviet Union. • Nixon and Kissinger’s greatest accomplishment was in bringing about détente, or a relaxation in tensions, between the United States and these Communist nations. • Kissinger understood that foreign affairs were more complicated than just a standoff between the United States and communism. • The Soviet Union and China, once allies, had become bitter enemies. • This development had the potential to reshape global politics.

Easing Relations Between the United States and China • Historical Background — After its Communist takeover in 1949, the United States refused to recognize the People’s Republic of China, viewing the government of Taiwan as the legitimate Chinese rulers. • Steps to Ease Relations — During the early 1970s, relations eased between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Nixon referred to the nation by name, travel and trade restrictions were lifted, and American table-tennis players visited China, beginning “Ping-Pong diplomacy.” • Nixon’s Visit to China — In February 1972, Nixon became the first American President to visit China. Touring Chinese sites in front of television cameras, Nixon established the basis for future diplomatic ties during his visit. • Recognizing the Chinese Government — The United States decided to join other nations in recognizing the Chinese government. In October 1971, Taiwan lost its seat in the United Nations to the People’s Republic of China.

The Slow Thaw… • In 1969 Nixon began negotiations with USSR on SALT I, common name for the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty Agreement. • SALT I froze the number of ballistic missile launchers at existing levels, and provided for the addition of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers only after the same number of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and SLBM launchers had been dismantled. • It was the first effort between US/USSR to stop increase nuclear weapons. • SALT II was a second round of US/USSR talks (1972-1979), which sought to reduce manufacture of nuclear weapons. SALT II was the first nuclear treaty seeking real reductions in strategic forces to 2,250 of all categories on both sides. Nixon and Brezhnev toast the SALT I treaty. Carter and Brezhnev sign the SALT II treaty.

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Interrupts Thaw Movie poster for Charlie Wilson’s War about US efforts to support the mujahideen Muhahideen celebrate the downing of a Soviet helicopter • In 1978, the USSR invaded Afghanistan and tried to set up a friendly government. • It became the USSR’s Vietnam, a long war with no clear victory possible and many casualties and high costs. • The US supported the Afghani rebels known as the mujahideen. • In 1989 the Soviets finally withdrew. Islamic extremists used the opportunity to take over the country. • The defeat weakened the Soviet’s economy and morale.

Reagan’s Star Wars Interrupts Thaw • The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposal by President Reagan on in 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the US from attack by nuclear ballistic missiles. It focused on strategic defense rather than doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD). • It was quickly nicknamed “Star Wars.” • Criticism of SDI: • It would require the US to change, withdraw from, or break earlier treaties. • The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which requires "States Parties to the Treaty undertake not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner" and would forbid the US from pre-positioning in Earth orbit any devices powered by nuclear weapons and any devices capable of "mass destruction.“ • The program proposed to use unproven technology. • The program would cost many billions of dollars. • It would start a new arms race with the Soviets. Artist rendering of satellites and lasers to be used in SDI

Cold War Thaw Continues Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev President Reagan delivers his speech in Berlin. • Gorbachev becomes Soviet premier and understands that the Soviet economy cannot compete with the West, partly because of Afghanistan and partly because of the costs of keeping up militarily. • Gorbachev recognizes there is increasing unrest in the country. • He tries to reform the USSR with glasnost (= openness: think “glass” because you can see through it) and perestroika (=restructuring: think “structure/stroika”). • Gorbachev is further pressured to reform the USSR when Reagan gives his speech in Germany challenging Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”

The Wall Falls, 1989 • A wave of rebellion against Soviet influence occurs throughout its European allies. • Poland’s Solidarity movement breaks the Soviet hold on that country • Hungary removed its border restrictions with Austria. • Riots and protests break out in East Germany. • East Germans storm the wall. Confused and outnumbered, border guards do not fight back. • The wall is breached. • Eventually East and West Germany are reunited in 1990.

The USSR Dissolves Boris Yeltsin (far left) stands on a tank to defy the 1991 coup Rocky beats Ivan Drago. • On December 21, 1991, the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha Accords declaring the USSR dissolved and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its place. • On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev yielded as the president of the USSR, declaring the office extinct. He turned the powers that until then were vested in him over to Boris Yeltsin, president of Russia. • The following day, the Supreme Soviet, the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union, recognized the collapse of the Soviet Union and dissolved itself. • This is generally recognized as the official, final dissolution of the Soviet Union as a functioning state.

The Tet Offensive: A Turning Point