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The Vietnam Era

The Vietnam Era. Kent State —buried Constitution, burned ROTC building: National Guard opens fire; four dead, nine wounded Jackson State —again, unarmed students (this time, at black school) fired upon; two dead, dozen wounded. The Road to Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh —nationalistic, independent,

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The Vietnam Era

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  1. The Vietnam Era Kent State—buried Constitution, burned ROTC building: National Guard opens fire; four dead, nine wounded Jackson State—again, unarmed students (this time, at black school) fired upon; two dead, dozen wounded

  2. The Road to Vietnam • Ho Chi Minh—nationalistic, independent, communist: wary of China, France, U.S. • Ngo Dinh Diem—Eisenhower’s choice over free elections; Vietcong, Buddhists rise up • The domino theory—if one falls, all fall • Tonkin Gulf incident—skirmishes, deception provide pretext for “all necessary measures”: “blank check” • Escalation—full bore or get out • Air strikes—Operation Rolling Thunder aimed at North: failure—why? North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh. A Buddhist monk sacrifices himself to protest against the South Vietnamese Catholic-dominated government of Ngo Dinh Diem.

  3. Social Consequences of the War American “grunts” (avg. age, 19) in Vietnam. • Body counts—only way to keep score, territory irrelevant—why? • Technology and its limits —overwhelming supplies, napalm, white phosphorus, cluster bombs, Agent Orange: “destroying in order to save”; more bombs than WWII • Hawks and doves • McNamara loses faith–no “light at the end of the tunnel” • Inflation—massive war, Great Society spending Johnson and McNamara agonize over the War.

  4. The Unraveling • Stalemate—intelligence nightmare, Tet creates “credibility gap” in U.S. public opinion • My Lai—body count gone wild: tip of iceberg? • “Clean for Gene”—hippies got haircuts in supporting McCarthy for N.H. defeat/victory: RFK jumps in, too • LBJ withdraws– “I shall not seek, and I will not accept…” Summary execution of a Viet Cong by South Vietnamese officer during Tet Offensive.

  5. The King/Kennedy assassinations —shocking events in turbulent times: much of the strength of liberal tradition gunned down with them • Revolutionary clashes worldwide —Chicago one of many student uprisings worldwide in 1968 Aides point out the direction of the fatal gunshot that struck down Martin Luther King; a busboy tries to help the fatally wounded RFK in a Los Angeles hotel. Chicago Police clash with protesters who chanted “The whole world’s watching” during demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic convention.

  6. Nixon’s “silent majority”—hard-working, non-protesting • The election of 1968—Vietnam, civil rights, Wallace overwhelm Humphrey End of Reading

  7. Henry Kissinger Nixon’s War • Henry Kissinger—Nixon’s foreign policy man: end the war 1st priority • Invading Cambodia—escalating again to put hurting on North, give South time; disillusionment at home • Nixon Doctrine—U.S. can’t do it all: others should share burden; “détente” to deal with Soviets • SALT I—no new antiballistic systems and limits on deployed missiles Nixon announcing the invasion of Cambodia on national television.

  8. The New Identity Politics • Separate Identities vs. assimilation—African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, feminists, gays • Puerto Ricans and Cubans—alienated island people • Cesar Chavez and the UFW —nonviolence, marches, consumer boycotts • Chicano activists—Latino militants: culture dismissed, labor exploited, advancement denied • La Raza Unida—paramilitary “Brown Berets” demanding concessions from government Cesar Chavez, leader of the United Farm Workers, mustering support for a boycott of table grapes.

  9. Termination—push Native Americans off tribal lands • American Indian Movement —like other groups, Native Americans turned to social activism; Alcatraz • Wounded Knee—lack of unity and support led to abandonment of takeover Russell Means and Dennis Banks, leaders of AIM, the American Indian Movement; Banks talks to reporters.

  10. Stonewall incident —Homosexuals fight back; American Psychiatric Association revision in ’74 • The Feminine Mystique —“problem that has no name”: lack of growth and fulfillment • NOW—“systemic discrimination” makes “sexism” rank with racism • Women divided—ERA and abortion Betty Friedan, author of the The Feminine Mystique. A NOW logo; and Gloria Steinem, founder of Ms. magazine.

  11. The End of an Era • Paris peace treaty—“Peace with honor”: provide aid to North Vietnamese, send soldiers back (secret pledge) if needed • Vietnam and the cold war—realization: limits to what U.S. could do both at home and abroad

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