THE VIETNAM WAR AND THE 1960S
KENNEDY PRESIDENCY, 1960-1963
•
1960 – first televised Presidential
debate
•
John F. Kennedy narrowly defeated
Richard Nixon and became youngest
man ever elected to the Presidency
•
In Inaugural Address, he challenged
Americans to “ask not what your
country can do for you but what you
can do for your country.”
•
Speech sough to ignite the spirit of
American idealism
DOMESTIC POLICY UNDER KENNEDY
•
Kennedy’s New Frontier symbolized the vigor
of the youth
•
Kennedy and wife Jackie brought elegant style
to the White House
•
Sought to use powers of the federal
government to solve the nation’s problems
•
Proposed tax cut to stimulate the economy,
the creation of Medicare, civil rights
legislation, and increased aid to education
•
•
None passed under Kennedy
Kennedy created Peace Corps
•
American volunteers went to developing
countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin
America to share their skills
DOMESTIC POLICY UNDER KENNEDY
•
The Space Race
• To counter Soviet space program,
Kennedy announced America
would place a man on the moon
• 1962 – John Glenn became the
first American to orbit the Earth
• Later Presidents continued the
program and by 196, US became
first country to land two men on
the moon – Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin
DOMESTIC POLICY UNDER KENNEDY
•
The Space Race
• Led to advances in technology
that have improved quality of life
• Led to invention of solar cells,
new lubricants, infrared earth
thermometers, enriched baby
food, cordless power tools, and
tempur-pedic foam for mattresses
FOREIGN POLICY UNDER KENNEDY
•
Bay of Pigs Invasion
•
Alliance for Progress
• Program of grants and loans to
Latin American countries to
promote economic progress, land
reform, and trade
•
Cuban Missile Crisis
25TH AMENDMENT
•
President Kennedy was assassinated
November 22, 1963
•
His Vice President Lyndon Johnson
became President
•
Constitution not clear on succession
• Johnson had already had a heart
attack and next three in line of
succession all 70+ years old
•
Created 25 th amendment (1967)
• Clearly spelled out who was to
take power if President died or
was unable to perform duties
THE VIETNAM WAR
•
Vietnam had been a French colony in
Indochina
•
1954 – Vietnamese nationalists, led by
Ho Chi Minh, defeated their French
rulers
•
Geneva Conference that followed,
Laos and Cambodia were divided into
two independent states
•
Vietnam was split in half – Communist
north and pro-western south.
•
Country to be reunited in 1956 after
elections held
THE VIETNAM WAR
•
After Geneva, US replaced France as
South Vietnam’s chief supporter
•
1954 – Ho Chi Minh introduced land
reform “re-education” and other
policies in the north similar to China
•
Catholics fled to the South
•
South Vietnam refused to hold
elections to reunify Vietnam since they
feared elections in the North would not
be free
THE VIETNAM WAR
•
South Vietnamese Communists
(Vietcong) with North Vietnamese
support began a guerilla war against
the govt of the South
•
Assassinated South Vietnamese
officials and seized control of
Vietnamese villages
•
South Vietnam not a democracy;
President was a dictator who was
opposed by Vietnamese Buddhists
•
1963 – overthrown and murdered in a
coup
VIETNAM UNDER KENNEDY
•
President Eisenhower had suggested fall of French Indochina would create “domino effect”
•
Domino Theory –
• South Vietnam fell to communism, neighboring Southeast Asia countries would also fall
like a row of dominos
• Resisting in Vietnam would prevent the collapse
VIETNAM UNDER KENNEDY
•
Domino Theory affected Kennedy
•
Kennedy sent aid and US military
advisors at the South’s request
•
Kennedy also felt good democracy
would serve as model for other
developing countries in Asia, Africa,
and Latin America
VIETNAM UNDER JOHNSON
•
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)
• 1964 – President Johnson
announced North Vietnamese had
attacked US ships in international
waters at Gulf of Tonkin
• Congress gave Johnson full
military powers to stop Vietcong
aggression
• Years later revealed that US ships
had been in North Vietnamese
waters in cooperation with South
Vietnamese warships that were
bombing North Vietnam
VIETNAM UNDER JOHNSON
•
Congress did not officially declare war
•
Johnson used Gulf of Tonkin to
escalate the war
•
Ordered massive bombing raids over
N. Vietnam
•
Sent more troops to S. Vietnam
•
1968 – half a million US soldiers
stationed in S. Vietnam
•
Weapons like napalm (stick, gasolinebased jelly that burns) did massive
damage and herbicides like Agent
Orange destroyed forests where
Vietcong hid
VIETNAM UNDER JOHNSON
•
Tet Offensive
•
1968 – Vietcong launched massive
offensive throughout S. Vietnam,
seizing many major cities including
capital of Saigon
•
Vietcong committed brutal acts of
terror against S. Vietnamese
officials
•
American forces finally drove out,
the offensive was turning point in
war
•
Demonstrated to public victory was
a long way away
•
Disproved American govt rhetoric
that Vietcong were weak, undersupplied, disorganized, and low in
morale
VIETNAM UNDER JOHNSON
•
May 1968 Roy Benavidez, facing
constant enemy fire, carried wounded
members of his platoon to rescuehelicopters
•
He was critically wounded but refused
to stop gathering survivors, saving the
lives of 8 men
•
Awarded Distinguished Service Cross
•
Full story became known, given
Congressional Medal of Honor by
President Reagan in 1981
•
Lived in San Antonio until death in
1998
DIFFICULTIES IN VIETNAM
•
End of 1968 US had dropped more
bombs on Vietnam than all of WWII
•
War costing $25 billion/year
•
US unable to win
DIFFICULTIES IN VIETNAM – REASONS FOR
DEFEAT
•
Popularity of the Nationalist Cause
•
N. Vietnamese and many S.
Vietnamese saw Ho Chi Minh as
“father” of their country
•
Fighting for independence and
willing to suffer huge losses to
reunite
•
Disruptions of the war weakened S.
Vietnam govt
• Corruption became
widespread
• S. Vietnam govt unable to gain
popular support
• After 1967, S. Vietnam ruled
by military dictator
DIFFICULTIES IN VIETNAM – REASONS FOR
DEFEAT
•
Guerilla Warfare
• Most American soldiers unfamiliar
with Vietnamese language,
people, or physical environment
• American forces unable to tell
who was friendly and enemy
• Jungles perfect cover for guerillas
• Location made it good for
Communists to send steady flow
of supplies
DIFFICULTIES IN VIETNAM – REASONS FOR
DEFEAT
•
Growing Dissent – Anti-War Movement
• Media had a great influence in
shaping public opinion
• First time American audiences
could watch destructiveness of
war on TV
• Johnson told Americans US was
winning, but journalists reported
otherwise
• “Credibility gap” – many
Americans lost faith in
government’s reliability
DIFFICULTIES IN VIETNAM – REASONS FOR
DEFEAT
•
Growing Dissent – Anti-War Movement
• Young Americans objected to
country’s involvement in Vietnam
• Mass anti-war demonstrations
occurred from 1965 on.
• Young people burned their draft
cards, marched on the Pentagon,
held rallies, staged
demonstrations
• 1968 – millions of young people
actively protesting the war
DIFFICULTIES IN VIETNAM – REASONS FOR
DEFEAT
•
Growing Dissent – Anti-War Movement
• Anti-war movement greatly
influenced US military policy
• American “doves” wanted US to
withdraw from Vietnam civil war
• American leaders were acting
immorally by bombing civilians
and burning villages
• “Hawks” supported the war, which
they saw as an attempt to free
Vietnamese from Communist
repression
DIFFICULTIES IN VIETNAM – REASONS FOR
DEFEAT
•
Growing Dissent – Anti-War Movement
•
Draft – in response to an increase of
U.S. military presence in Southeast
Asia, the draft was reinstituted during
the war.
•
Many people burned draft cards or fled
to Canada
•
At 18 you could be sent to war but
could not vote on leaders sending you
•
26th Amendment – reduced the voting
age from 21 to 18. This gave the
young men being drafted to fight in
Vietnam a way to influence policies
that affected them.
ANTI-WAR MOVEMENTS
•
Tinker v. Des Moines(1969) – The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that students had
the right to wear armbands to school
to protest the Vietnam War.
•
It defined the constitutional rights of
students (freedom of speech protected
by the 1st Amendment)
•
Example of Effects: opened
opportunities for interpretation of free
speech to also mean freedom of
expression
VIETNAM UNDER NIXON
•
Division among Democrats over the
war, assassination of Robert F.
Kennedy (JFK’s younger brother), and
violence at Democratic National
Convention in Chicago led to 1968
election of Republican Richard Nixon
as President
•
Nixon was anti-Communist, “peace
with honor” in Vietnam
VIETNAM UNDER NIXON
•
Nixon, under Kissinger, adopted
complex approach in Vietnam
•
“Vietnamization” – increase bombing
and diplomacy
VIETNAM UNDER NIXON
•
Vietnamization
• Army of S. Vietnam gradually took
over fighting, allowing withdraw of
US forces
• Nixon increased bombing on N.
Vietnam and provided military aid
to S. Vietnam
•
Invasion of Cambodia
• Take out supply routes through
Cambodia and war would be
shortened
• US invaded Cambodia in 1970
VIETNAM UNDER NIXON
•
Diplomatic Overtures
• Nixon negotiated with Vietnam’s
Communist allies, China, and the
Soviet Union, to put pressure on
N. Vietnam
VIETNAM UNDER NIXON
•
Anti-war movement increased in
intensity under Nixon
•
Anti-war protestors shocked with
bombing and Cambodia
•
1969 – national guardsmen shot and
killed four student demonstrators at
Kent State, Ohio
•
Colleges across the nation closed with
demonstrations
•
Students marched in Washington, D.C.
and other major cities
VIETNAM UNDER NIXON
•
Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew
insisted most Americans supported the
war
•
They were the “silent majority”
•
Sometimes exchanges between pro
and anti-war supporters became
violent
VIETNAM UNDER NIXON
•
The Pentagon Papers, leaked govt
documents were published in New
York Times in 1971
•
Govt tried to stop but lost case to US
Supreme Court
•
Documents showed several Presidents
before Nixon lied to American people
about Vietnam
•
President felt they couldn’t win in
Vietnam, but none wanted that defeat
associated with their Presidency
FALL OF SAIGON – END OF THE WAR
•
After Vietnamization, troops gradually
reduced
•
1973 – US negotiators in Paris, led by
Henry Kissinger, worked out a ceasefire agreement with N. Vietnam
•
Nixon agreed to pull out remaining
troops from Vietnam and N. Vietnam
agreed to release US prisoners of war
•
After US withdraw, fighting continued
FALL OF SAIGON – END OF THE WAR
•
By 1975, what remained of S. Vietnam
Army incapable of stopping N. Vietnam
Army
•
April 1975, Saigon fell to N. Vietnam
forces
•
Fall of Saigon (today Ho Chi Minh
City) marked the end of Vietnam War
•
S. Vietnamese govt officials, military
officers, and soldiers who supported
American presence sent to Communist
“re-education” camps where they
faced torture, disease, and
malnutrition
LEGACY OF VIETNAM
•
Death and destruction –
• Over 58,000 Americans died and
many others faced physical and
psychological injuries.
• Over 1 million Vietnamese killed
and many were left homeless
•
Impact of War on US and abroad
•
Wartime expenses cut out some
Great Society programs and
brought rising inflation
•
War demonstrated govt actions
could be greatly affected by public
opinion
•
Led to a crisis of American selfconfidence
•
Next to Civil War, Vietnam War most
divisive war in history
•
Americans became more aware of
limits of US power and cautious
about where to act abroad
LEGACY OF VIETNAM
•
Limit of Presidential Power
•
Korea and Vietnam, President sent
troops into extended combat w/out
first getting declaration of war
•
1973 – Congress attempted to
reclaim constitutional power by
passing over Nixon’s veto the War
Powers Resolution
• Set limits on Presidential
power in conflict w/out formal
declaration of war by Congress
• Requires President to inform
Congress within 48 hours of
sending troops overseas
• If 60 days Congress does not
approve, President must
withdraw
POST-WAR LITERATURE, ART, AND MUSIC
•
1960s – counter culture in full swing
•
Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 and Kurt
Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five
• Two late WWII novels
• Challenged mainstream thinking
by exposing absurdity of armed
conflict
• Mailer became critic of Vietnam in
books Why Are We in Vietnam?
and Armies of the Night
POST-WAR LITERATURE, ART, AND MUSIC
•
1960s literature became more open in
treatment of human condition and
sexuality
• Short stories of Philip Roth
Goodbye Columbus and
Portnoy’s Compaint, and
American Pastoral
• American Pastoral Roth
dealt with coming to terms
with middle class radicalism
of 1960s
POST-WAR LITERATURE, ART, AND MUSIC
•
Early 1960s Motown Sound came from
Detroit with African American artists like
the Temptations, Four Tops, the
Supremes
•
Artist and song writer Bob Dylan brought
influence of folk to rock and roll
•
1964 –Beatles and the “British invasion”
•
•
Rolling Stones, the Who
Late 1960s – Jimi Hendrix, Country Joe
and the Fish, Crosby, Stills, and Nash,
and Young became icons of counterculture and anti-war movement
•
Protested Vietnam and celebrated
psychedelic experience
POST-WAR LITERATURE, ART, AND MUSIC
•
Visual arts went in diverse directions
•
Action painters like Jackson Pollock
•
Mark Rothko leading abstract
expressionist
•
Andy Warhol with Pop Art (popular art)
• Used symbols from massproduced, mass-marketed
consume culture
•
Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein
were two other prominent Pop Artists