1968

Ch. 22 Section 4

Tet Offensive

• Jan 30th = Vietnamese New Year– Known as “Tet”

• Week long truce proclaimed for Tet– Celebrated or funerals being held

• Some coffins full of weapons of Vietcong

• Vietcong launched an attack over 100 cities in S. Vietnam & 12 U.S. air bases

Tet Offensive• U.S. embassy in Saigon attacked

– 5 Americans were killed

• Tet Offense continued for a month before U.S. & S. Vietnamese forces gained control of the cities

• Gen. Westmoreland declared attacks overwhelming defeat of Vietcong– Purely from a military standpoint

• Vietcong lost 32,000• U.S. & ARVN lost little over 3,000

Tet Offensive

• Gen. Westmorland wrong from a psychological & political standpoint

• Shook American public – They had been told U.S. close to victory

• Johnson Administration credibility gap grew to a point it couldn’t recover

Tet Offense

• In a matter of weeks Tet Offensive changed minds of Americans

• Poll before T.O. only 28% Doves & 56% Hawks

• After T.O. both sides claimed 40%• Media now openly criticized war

– Walter Cronkite

Minds changing in White House

• Robert McNamara resigned as defense secretary

• LBJ choose Clark Clifford for vacant position

• Clifford = friend & supporter of LBJ Vietnam policy

• However, Clifford concluded war = unwinnable

February 1968

• Following T.O. LBJ’s popularity plummeted

– Nearly 60% of Americans disapproved of the handling of the war

– Nearly 50% of U.S. felt it was a mistake to send American troops to Vietnam

LBJ recognized change too…

• ‘If I’ve lost Walter [Cronkite], then it’s over. I’ve lost Mr. Average Citizen.’

-LBJ

Days of Loss & Rage

• Two assignations– Who?

• Series of urban riots – Where?

• Surge in college campus protests– Where?

• “That …war…killed the lady I loved-the Great Society.” - LBJ

• Turmoil in Chicago Pg. 752 What happened?

Election of 1968

• Who were the 3 candidates?

• What parties were they running for?

• Who won?

• Why did this candidate win?

The End of the War & Its Legacy

• Leaving Vietnam

• Henry Kissinger, German emigrant, expert in international relations– Creates Vietnamization

• Vietnamization--> gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops in order for S.Vietnamese to tale a more active role in the war.

• “Peace with honor”

The End of the War & Its Legacy

• U.S. bomb tonnage Pg. 755

• More bombs used in WWII & Korean War or just in Vietnam?

• What is the silent majority?

My Lai Massacre

• My Lai Massacre – Read Pg. 756

• Invasion of Cambodia – Nixon announced April 30, 1970

• Clear out N.Vietnam & Vietcong supply centers

• Sparked 1st general student strike in history – > 1.5 million students closed down some 1,200

campuses • Columbia & Kent State

The Pentagon Papers• Nixon bombed & invaded Cambodia without

notifying Congress– Angered American public

• Dec. 31, 1970 Congress repealed Tonkin Gulf Resolution – What does this mean?

• Daniel Ellsberg former Defense Secretary of McNamara leaked Pentagon Papers– June 1971 – Read Pg. 757

“Peace is at Hand”

• 1971 poll --> 60% of Americans believed ALL troops should be withdrawn from Vietnam by end of year

• When were troops all finally out?• Henry Kissinger served as Nixon’s top negotiator in Vietnam

– Met with N. Vietnam’s top negotiator secretly

• Gave up on U.S. demanding N. Vietnamese troops leave S. Vietnam

The Final Push

• Nixon won reelection by promising peace– Didn’t happen

• 2 days after peace talks broke off Nixon unleashed ferocious bombing campaign– Bombed Hanoi and Haiphong

• 2 largest cities in N. Vietnam

• Became known as “Christmas Bombings”– U.S. planes dropped 100,000 bombs in 11 days

– Pausing only on Christmas Day

March 29, 1973

• Last U.S. combat troops left for home

• For America, the Vietnam War had ended

• War raged on in Vietnam

• March 1975 N. Vietnam launched full on invasion of S. Vietnam

• April 30, 1975 N.V. tanks rolled into Saigon & captured the city --> soon after S.V. surrendered

War leaves Painful Legacy• Over 58,000 Americans killed

– 303,000 Americans wounded

• North & South Vietnamese deaths topped 2 million

• War left Southeast Asia unstable – Led to further war in Cambodia

• War left Americans with more cautious outlook on foreign affairs – More cynical view of their government

• WHAT CAUSED THIS?

War leaves Painful Legacy

• Many Vietnam veterans adjusted back to civilian life successfully

• However, 15% of 3.3 million soldiers who served developed post-traumatic stress disorder

• Other became apathetic or began using drugs or alcohol

• Several thousand committed suicide

War Powers Act

• Stipulated that the president must inform Congress within 48 hrs. of sending forces into a hostile area without a declaration of war

• Also, troops may only remain 90 days unless Congress approves the president’s actions or declares war