Agent Orange Tet Offensive Walter Cronkite Kent State

Agent Orange Tet Offensive Walter Cronkite Kent State Woodstock The Vietnam War Years 19551975

Vietnam Background � Ho Chi Minh led Communist rebels (Vietminh) against French colonial rule Divided Vietnam at 17 th parallel � US Supported Diem: corrupt dictator who targeted Buddhists and lost support of poor farmers

Domino Theory �After stalemate in Korea, US afraid if Vietnam fell it would be like dominoes Advisors/weapons/money

Vietcong �Ho Chi Minh Trail: Trail from N. to S. to supply with weapons �Elusive Enemy: Hid in network of tunnels and hard to distinguish Booby traps and knowledge of the land advantage

Gulf of Tonkin � Claimed Vietcong fired on US Ships Spying 2 nd attack made up � Congress: Gave Johnson unlimited war powers

Draft �Overwhelmingly drafted minorities: College deferment “Poor men fighting a rich mans war”

Search and Destroy �Napalm: Bombs laced with gasoline to destroy jungle potentially hiding Vietcong �Agent Orange: chemical sprayed to kill cropsled to birth defects.

Credibility Gap and the Tet Offensive � Tet Offensive: aired in American living rooms, showed the strength of the Vietcong, and revealed govts lies about success in Vietnam Credibility Gap: Americans no longer trusted what the government was telling them

Walter Cronkite �Read the Document and answer the questions. �Central Question: How did Cronkite’s report impact American opinion on the war?

We will be following along on the timeline while looking at images and quotes from the people involved Days of Loss and Rage

The Great Society � A legislative program to end poverty and racial injustice. � A War On Poverty 1 billion to schools Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act passed Medicare/Medicaid Power to the cities through Low Income housing units with African American leader of Department of Housing and Urban Development Immigration Act 1965: Ended national quotas for immigration Environment: Ending dumping of toxic wastes Consumer Protection: Safety Standards Reapportionment: more representation in more populated cities Rights of the Accused: Miranda vs. Arizona

“Peace With Honor” � President Nixon called for Vietnamization: gradual withdrawal while training South Vietnamese to take a more active role Appealed to “silent majority” Secretly begins heaving bombing of Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh trail

Kent State � 1, 200 Campuses SHUT DOWN �In Ohio, protestors burned ROTC building & threw rocks at police…in return they opened fire

Image Analysis How Should the Vietnam War Be Remembered?