Chapter 30: The Vietnam EraSection 3: The Vietnam Years at Home

April 20, 2010

Section 3Objectives• Describe what factors contributed to the rise of

the protest movement.• Explain how Americans at home responded to

the war in Vietnam.Key Terms• Counterculture• deferment • dove

• hawk• credibility gap• silent majority

1960s TV Shows

1960s Music

The Youth Protest• Many youth had radical ideas and

rejected traditional values—formed a counterculture.

• People who supported the war were known as Hawks.

• People who opposed the war were known as Doves

• Many student protests focused on opposition to the draft.

• All men had to register for the draft at age 18.– Why would this cause problems?

The Youth Protest• reasons people protested the draft.- Some thought that ending the draft would

stop the supply of soldiers, thereby ending the war.

- Many argued that the majority of soldiers came from poor or working-class backgrounds because full-time college students got deferments

- Some people became conscientious objectors, or people who claimed their religions or moral beliefs did not allow them to fight in any war.

The Youth Protest

• To show their opposition to the draft many people burned their draft cards

Youth Protests• Americans had many reasons for opposing the

war.• Some thought the U.S. shouldn’t be in

Vietnam at all.• Others didn’t like the way the war was being

fought. • Both hawks and doves criticized Johnson for

his handling of the war, his approval rating fell.

The Youth Protest• As opposition grew,

protesters planned larger demonstrations.

• Because of deep feelings against the war, the Secret Service began to fear for Johnson’s safety.

• The president appeared less frequently in public.

1968-Year of Crisis• In January 1968, the Johnson administration

experienced the first of many crises, North Korea captured a U.S. spy ship—the public was shocked

• Then the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong launched a series of assaults on the South called the Tet offensive.

• The Vietcong attacked U.S. bases, penetrated the ground of the American embassy, and captured one of South Vietnam’s most important cities, Hue.

• The Americans and the South Vietnamese finally drove the Vietcong back, inflicting thousands of casualties.

1968-Year of Crisis

• The Tet offensive turned many American against the war.

• American TV viewers were shocked by news reports showing Vietcong killing Americans in the U.S. embassy.

• The many days needed to retake Hue from the Vietcong also contradicted reports that the American military was winning the war.

• The public & media grew more critical.

1968-Year of Crisis

• Johnson soon faced opposition from his party.• In late 1967, both Democratic senator Eugene

McCarthy of MN and Senator Robert F. Kennedy of NY announced that they would challenge Johnson for the Democratic presidential nomination.

1968-Year of Crisis

• In March 1968, President Johnson appeared on TV to announce a new step toward peace.

• He told the American public that he would halt the bombing of North Vietnam’s cities.

• He asked North Vietnam for a comparable concession so that peace talks could begin.

• Johnson also announced that he would not run for reelection.

Violence Erupts

• A few days after Johnson’s announcement, Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed in Memphis

• The assassination triggered anger and rioting in many U.S. cities.

• Army troops were brought in to urban areas to restore order, and many Americans worried about the renewal of urban violence.

Violence Erupts

• The presidential race also heated up, with Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey joining Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy in seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

• As 1968 continued, McCarthy and Kennedy faced each other in several primaries.

• After Robert F. Kennedy won the California primary in early June, he was assassinated.

Robert F. Kennedy

Violence Erupts

• The Democrats held their nominating convention in Chicago in 1968.

• It was clear that Humphrey had enough support to win the nomination.

• Antiwar factions disliked Humphrey because he was Johnson’s vice president and had supported the Vietnam War.

Violence Erupts

• During the convention, protesters and police clashed outside the convention hall.

• When the protesters began hurling objects at the police, the police attacked the protesters with tear gas and nightsticks.

• Humphrey won the nomination, but the violence outside the convention hall and the anger inside–all shown on national TV–damaged the image of the Democratic Party and Humphrey’s candidacy.

Election of 1968

• The Republican Party nominated Nixon.

• Richard M. Nixon promised to return “law and order” and to represent what he called the “silent majority” who did not shout and protest.

• Nixon made the vague promise that he would achieve “peace with honor” in Vietnam.

• Nixon won the Election of 1968.

Richard M. Nixon

Vocabulary Boxes

• Doves• Hawks• Counterculture

Term Picture

Definition So What?