•35th President of the U.S., 1961-63
•Served in WWII
•Senator from Massachusetts
•Popular president
ACHIEVEMENTS / EVENTS
•New Frontier
•Space race---put a man on the moon
•Berlin Wall built
•Alliance for Progress and Peace Corp
•Cuban Missile Crisis
•U.S. involvement in Vietnam
•Negotiates first nuclear test ban treaty with Soviets
•Assassinated, Nov. 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald?
The first televised
presidential debates
in US History took
place between John
Kennedy and Richard
Nixon
These debates impacted how the presidency would
be perceived by Americans.
John Kennedy
Won a close and
disputed election.
Youngest
president to be
elected.
42 years of age.
The Election of 1960
A New Type of Candidate
• Democratic Senator John F.
Kennedy had served in the House
and Senate for 14 years when he
ran for President in 1960.
• Still, some questioned his
candidacy because of his young
age, 43, and his Roman Catholic
religious beliefs.
• Kennedy proved to be an
engaging television personality
during the 1960 presidential
debates, the first such debates to
be televised.
A Narrow Kennedy Victory
• Kennedy won the 1960 election
by an extremely close margin.
• Kennedy was separated from his
opponent, Republican Richard
Nixon, by fewer than 119,000
popular votes out of nearly 69
million cast.
• Because of the close election,
Kennedy entered office without a
mandate, or public endorsement
of his proposals.
KENNEDY PRESIDENCY
The Camelot Years
The Kennedy Mystique
• Kennedy wins presidency in close election
• Critics argue his smooth style lacks substance
• Kennedy White House known as Camelot for its glamour,
culture, wit
• First Lady admired for her elegance; constant articles
about family
The Best and the Brightest
• JFK’s advisers called “the best and the brightest”
• Brother Robert Kennedy named attorney general
NEXT
Kennedy's New Frontier Domestic Program
•Federal funding for education
•Medical care for the elderly
•Government intervention to halt the
recession with tax cuts.
•End to racial discrimination.
•Established
•Alliance for Progress and Peace Corps to help Third World
countries
•President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity
to end racial discrimination in hiring of govt employees.
New Frontier impossible to complete
•Due to conservative Congress.
•Disappointed many civil rights activists = feared splitting
Democratic Party.
•New Frontier ideas led to President Johnson's "Great Society"
Alliance for
Progress
statistics in
Latin America.
Kennedy’s Domestic Programs
• In a speech early in his presidency, Kennedy said that the nation was
poised at the edge of a “New Frontier.”
• This phrase came to refer to Kennedy’s proposals to improve the
economy, assist the poor, and speed up the space program.
• Kennedy’s efforts to improve the economy included ordering a federal
investigation into steel price fixing and proposing a large tax cut. His
tax cut proposal, however, became stuck in Congress.
• Many of Kennedy’s proposals aimed to combat poverty and
inequality. Although some were rejected by Congress, others were
passed.
• These included an increase in the minimum wage, funding for urban
renewal, abolishment of poll taxes, and the Equal Pay Act, which
required all employees doing the same work in the same workplace to
receive equal wages.
KENNEDY FOREIGN POLICY
A New Military Policy
Defining a Military Strategy
• JFK believes must redefine nation’s nuclear strategy
• Flexible response—fight conventional wars, keep
nuclear arms balanced
• JFK increases defense spending in three areas:
- strengthens conventional forces
- creates army Special Forces (Green Berets)
- triples nuclear capabilities
NEXT
KENNEDY FOREIGN POLICY
Crisis over Berlin
The Berlin Crisis
• By 1961 20% of Germans flee to West Berlin; economic drain on
East
• Khrushchev wants to close access roads to West Berlin; JFK
refuses
• Soviets isolate West Berlin from East Germany with Berlin Wall
Searching for Ways to Ease Tensions
• Khrushchev, Kennedy conscious of danger of quick decisions
• Establish hot line—direct phone between White House, Kremlin
• Limited Test Ban Treaty bans nuclear tests in atmosphere
NEXT
Taking advantage
of a demoralized
US after the
failed Bay of Pigs
invasion and the
U-2 spy plane
incident,
Khruschev orders
Allies out of West
Berlin….
BERLIN WALL
A young woman and her boyfriend talking to the woman’s mother,
who is on the east side of the Berlin Wall (1962).
•1961, Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall to force
Allies out of West Berlin. Became a symbol of the
Cold War. Berlin would by be a divided city.
•Families and
friends found
themselves
separated and most
Berliners were
lucky just to
establish visual
contact over the
Wall.
•Stretching for more than 100 miles, escape was
virtually impossible because of mines, attack dogs
and armed guards with shoot-to-kill orders.
KENNEDY FOREIGN POLICY
Crises over Cuba
The Cuban Dilemma
• Revolutionary leader Fidel Castro declares
himself communist
- seizes U.S. properties; Eisenhower cuts off
diplomatic relations
• 10% of Cuban population goes into exile; mostly
to U.S.
The Bay of Pigs
• Cuban exiles, CIA plan invasion to topple Castro
• Plans go wrong; exile forces killed, taken prisoner
• JFK pays ransom in food, medicine; mission is
Continued . . .
public embarrassment
NEXT
•CIA operative to overthrow
Fidel Castro’s dictatorship
•U.S. feared Castro was
becoming an ally with the
Soviet Union.
•Failed invasion of Cuba in
April of 1961.
•Embarrassment for
President Kennedy because
the U.S. tried to cover up
their involvement.
KENNEDY FOREIGN POLICY
Crises over Cuba
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• Nikita Khrushchev sends weapons to Cuba, including
nuclear missiles
• JFK warns Soviets that missile attack will trigger war
on U.S.S.R.
• Soviets avoid confrontation at sea; reach agreement
with U.S.
Kennedy and Khrushchev Take the Heat
• Khrushchev’s prestige severely damaged in U.S.S.R.
• JFK criticized for brinkmanship, also for not ousting
Castro
• Cuban exiles switch to GOP; Castro bans flights to
and from Miami
NEXT
cuban missile2
•This U-2 reconnaissance photo showed concrete evidence of
missile assembly in Cuba. Shown here are missile transporters
and missile-ready tents where fueling and maintenance took
place.Courtesy of CIA
cuban missile2
•Low altitude view of missile preparation area. The pilot taking
this shot flew at an altitude of about 250 feet, and at the speed
of sound.
cuban missile2
Photographed from an RF-101 Voodoo, this view of a Soviet SA-2
(surface-to-air) missile pattern provided additional evidence of the
Russian arming of Cuba.
•The crisis developed as the U.S.
demanded the Soviets to dismantle
missiles in Cuba or the U.S. would
invade Cuba.
•Soviets
refused to
dismantle
missile sites
unless U.S.
dismantled
missile sites
in Turkey.
Adlai Stevenson shows aerial photos of Cuban missiles to the United
Nations in November 1962.
cuban missile2
President Kennedy in the Oval Office with General Curtis LeMay and
reconnaissance pilots who flew the Cuban missions. Third from the
left is Major Richard Heyser who took the first photos of Cuban
missiles.
cuban missile2
•U.S. and Soviets prepared for war…..U.S. placed a
blockade around Cuba and warned Soviets not to break
through the blockade. The Soviets sent their Naval fleet
to protect Cuba.
•Last minute decision made: Soviets would dismantle
missile sites in Cuba in return for U.S.not invading Cuba.
•U.S. would later dismantle missile sites in Turkey…..Not
part of original deal.
•Kennedy and
Khruschev both
realized how
close they came
to nuclear war.
•The “monster” of
nuclear war must
never be released.
•Both leaders
vowed to better
communicate
with one another.
•US and Soviet
Union would sign
their first nuclear
arms limitation
treaty in 1963.
Kennedy Is Assassinated
• On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was shot while riding in
an open limousine through Dallas, Texas. He had traveled
to Texas to mobilize support for his upcoming reelection
campaign.
• Shots fired from the sixth-floor window of the empty Texas
School Book Depository mortally wounded Kennedy,
making Vice President Lyndon Johnson the new President.
• The prime suspect in Kennedy’s murder, Lee Harvey
Oswald, was murdered by a man named Jack Ruby two
days later, while being transferred from one jail to another.
• To investigate Kennedy’s murder, President Johnson
appointed The President’s Commission on the
Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, better known
as the Warren Commission, after its chairman, Supreme
Court Chief Justice Earl Warren.
• The Warren Commission determined that Oswald had
acted alone. However, theories that Oswald and Ruby had
belonged to a conspiracy persisted.
Lee Harvey Oswald, “the lone gunman”, killed
JFK……..Oswald murdered by Jack Ruby two days after
JFK’s murder…..
lbj sworn in
assassination2
•WWII served in Navy as a
lieutenant commander
•won Silver Star in the S.
Pacific
•Member of U.S. House of
Representatives, 1937- 49
•United States Senator,
1949 - 61
•Vice President, 1961- 63
•36th President, 1963 – 69
•Democrat, VP – Hubert
Humphrey
Major Events
•Civil Rights Movement
•Civil Rights Act, 1964
•Voting Rights Act, 1965
•War On Poverty = "Great
Society"
•Anti-Poverty Act, 1964
•Education reform
•Cold War = US
involvement in Vietnam
LBJ’s Path to the White House
• Lyndon Johnson became President unexpectedly following
Kennedy’s assassination.
• However, his political career had been leading up to this
position for many years.
• While serving in the House and Senate, Johnson had
established a reputation for both his political talent and his
ambition. In 1954, he became Senate Majority Leader.
• Kennedy had named Johnson his running mate in 1960 after
Johnson’s own bid for the Democratic nomination had failed.
• Johnson became President immediately after Kennedy’s
death, taking the oath of office an hour and a half later.
The Election of 1964
•
•
•
In the 1964 election, Johnson won a landslide victory over Republican opponent Barry
Goldwater.
A controversial television advertisement known as the “daisy” commercial took
advantage of Americans’ fear of nuclear war to support Johnson’s campaign.
Republicans nominate Senator Barry Goldwater
– Goldwater: government should not deal with social,
economic problems
– Threatens to bomb North Vietnam, advocates intervention
•
•
LBJ says will not send troops to Vietnam; wins by landslide
Democrats big majority; Southern Democrats not needed to pass bills
LBJ is re-elected
by a landslide in
the 1964
Presidential
election.
A poster urging voters
to elect Lyndon B.
Johnson for president
and Hubert Humphrey
for vice-president.
The Great Society
• Johnson used his talent in working with
Congress to initiate many reforms on
domestic issues.
• Johnson’s programs on poverty aid,
education, healthcare, economic
development, and conservation became
collectively known as the Great Society.
GREAT SOCIETY
LBJ's Great Society
Head Start
(1965)
Job Corps
Great Society
•Under President Johnson
War on Poverty in the
1960s, the welfare
programs of FDR’s New
Deal were greatly
expanded.
•It was LBJ’s Great Society
programs that created the
modern American welfare
state.
(1966)
Medicare
(1965)
Medicaid
(1966)
VISTA
(1966)
Provided poor, disabled, and minority
kids with extra academic assistance
through pre-school in order to ensure
educational success.
Provided training for poor, minority
inner-city youth in order to cultivate job
skills.
Extended Social Security benefits by
providing health insurance for the
elderly.
Provides health insurance for the poor
and disabled.
Volunteers In Service To America;
Organized youth volunteers to work in
economically depressed areas.
Great Society Programs
• The Tax Cut — Like Kennedy, Johnson believed that a budget deficit
could be used to improve the economy. A tax cut caused the deficit to
shrink, since renewed prosperity generated new tax revenues.
• The War on Poverty — Johnson initiated new programs such as Head
Start, a preschool program for low-income families, and Volunteers in
Service to America (VISTA), which sent volunteers to help people in
poor communities.
• Aid to Education — The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act,
also initiated by Johnson, provided billions of dollars in aid to public
and private schools.
• Medicare and Medicaid — Johnson helped Congress pass two new
programs, Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare provides low-cost medical
insurance to most Americans over age 65, while Medicaid provides
similar services to poor Americans of any age.
• Immigration Reform — The Immigration Act of 1965 replaced
immigration quotas with overall limits from various parts of the world.
Immigration rose during the 1960s and 1970s.
Effects of the Great Society
Effects on Poverty
• During the 1960s and early
1970s, the number of
Americans living in poverty in
the United States was cut in
half.
• However, some Americans
complained that too many of
their tax dollars were being
spent on poor people. Others
criticized the way Great
Society antipoverty programs
expanded the size of the
federal government.
The End of the Great Society
• Johnson received both praise
and criticism for Great
Society reforms.
• A conflict in Southeast Asia,
later to become the Vietnam
War, began to consume the
resources Johnson needed
for his domestic programs.
• The Great Society came to an
end when Johnson failed to
contain the Southeast Asia
conflict.
GREAT SOCIETY
GREAT SOCIETY
The Warren Court
•
•
•
•
During the Kennedy-Johnson years, the Supreme Court, headed
by Chief Justice Earl Warren, handed down many controversial
landmark verdicts.
The Court ruled on social issues including obscenity, prayer in
public schools, and use of birth control.
The Warren Court was also interested in safeguarding the rights
of persons accused of committing crimes. The Miranda rule, a
result of the 1966 case Miranda v. Arizona, required police to
inform accused persons of their rights.
A series of Warren Court decisions changed the nature of
apportionment, or the distribution of the seats in a legislature
among electoral districts.
Important Warren Court cases
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Engel v. Vitale (1962) and Abington Township v. Schempp (1963)School Prayer and Bible Reading
Baker v. Carr (1962) and Reynolds v. Sims (1964)- Apportionment
(“one person, one vote”)
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)- Libel
Tinker v. Des Moines (1965)- Freedom of Expression
Mapp v. Ohio (1961): protection against unreasonable search and
seizure
Gideon v. Wainright (1963): right to a lawyer
Miranda v. Arizona (1966): protect against self- incrimination
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): Right to Privacy
America’s most unpopular war
Cost LBJ his second term to Richard Nixon
America’s longest and most expensive war
Divided America on the homefront
The best technical war money could buy
America hardly ever lost a tactical battle
A war America did not win
Today, we are living with the
“ghosts of Vietnam”.
Background of the War
•
•
•
•
According to President Eisenhower’s domino theory, if one
Southeast Asian nation fell to communism, others would soon
follow.
Ho Chi Minh, a pro-Communist leader in Vietnam, led a group
called the Vietminh against French control of his nation before,
during, and after World War II.
After the Vietminh successfully defeated the French in 1954, a
peace agreement called the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into
Communist North Vietnam and anti-Communist South Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh led North Vietnam, while Ngo Dinh Diem led South
Vietnam.
The United States began providing economic aid to the French in
Vietnam in 1950. In 1960, President Eisenhower sent hundreds of
military advisors to help South Vietnam’s struggle against the
North.
Southeast Asian
Conflict
A Chronology of Events
The War in Southeast Asia
vn map
“Domino Theory”
Must “contain” communism and not
allow it to spread. If it does, it
would lead to more countries falling
to the communists.
Background
to the War
Vietnamese culture
Villages and rice
Buddhist
Historic tension with
Chinese
Laos, Vietnam and
Cambodia were
originally a French
colony (French
IndoChina) in the
late19th century
Imperialism
Background
to the War

Japan took control
during World War II

Opposed by
guerrilla force led
by Ho Chi Minh

1941
US backed Ho Chi
Minh’s to remove
Japan
Japanese Expansion
•1933
1941
•Control
Attacks
Background
to the War

At end of WW II,
Ho Chi Minh
declared Vietnam
an independent
nation
 President Truman
refused to
recognize Ho Chi
Minh and
Vietnam.
With U.S. aid,
France attempted
re-colonize
Vietnam

Background
to the War

Fighting between
France and Vietminh
began in 1946
 The French lost control
to Ho Chi Minh’s Viet
Minh forces at Dien Bien
Phu…. May 7, 1954
 France requested
US air support
 Nuclear if necessary
 President Eisenhower
declined to intervene on
behalf of France.
 French withdrew from
Indochina
French
defeat at
Dien Bien
Phu
Background to
the War
 International Conference at
Geneva in 1954
 Vietnam was divided at 17th parallel
Ho Chi Minh’s nationalist forces
controlled the North
Ngo Dinh Diem, a Frencheducated, Roman Catholic
claimed control of the South
Elections were to be held two
years later.
“You can kill 10 of my men for every one I kill of yours, yet even
at those odds, you will lose and I will win”
•Founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party
•Traveled for almost 30 years around the
world. Visited France, England, Russia, China,
Thailand and the United States.
•In that time he learned to speak fluent
Russian, Chinese and English.
•Patriot or Communist?
•Motivated the Vietnamese to rebel and fight
against France/US for independence.
•Became Vietnam’s first president.
Ho Chi Minh 1890-1969
“Light-Bringer"

“I first met Ho on the China border between China and Indochina in
the last days of April of 1945. He was an interesting individual. Very
sensitive, very gentle, rather a frail type. We spoke quite at length
about the general situation, not only in Indochina, but the world at
large.”– ARCHIMEDES PATTI (OSS Officer)
•First democratically elected
President of South Vietnam
in 1955.
•Next 7 years, he presided
over an increasingly corrupt,
nepotistic and repressive
regime.
•Communist guerrillas (VC)
backed by North Vietnam
launched a new rebellion
•A civil disobedience led by the country's Buddhist
monks contributed more directly to his downfall.
•Brutal persecution of Buddhist monks in 1963
damaged Diem’s shaky international reputation.
•With US support, Vietnamese generals overthrew
and assassinated Ngo later that year.
SEATO
Southeast Asia
Treaty Organization

Initiated by the US in Sept 1954 to prevent
spread of communism
– “Domino Theory”



Member nations were: US, Great Britain,
France, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand
Philippines, and Pakistan
Didn’t require participants to support each
other with military force
Politically justified US actions in South
Vietnam
8
Background to
the War
A
date was set for
democratic
elections to
reunify Vietnam
 Diem
backed out
of the elections,
leading to military
conflict between
North and South
U.S. Military
Involvement
Begins
Repressive
dictatorial rule by Diem
 Diem’s
family holds all power
 Wealth is hoarded by the elite
 Buddhist majority persecuted
 Torture, lack of political freedom prevail
The
U.S. aided Diem’s government
 Ike
sent financial and military aid
 675 U.S. Army advisors sent by 1960.
Early Protests of
Diem’s Government
Self-Emulation by a Buddhist Monk protesting
against the brutality of Diem’s government
 April 1955--US agrees to advise
South Vietnam
– Green Berets arrive Oct. 1959
to train only South Vietnam troops.
 1959 -- North Vietnam increased
actions to unify North and South
”insurgents”
– US increased action to prevent a
North Vietnam victory
Troop
Levels:
South
243,000
Vietnamese
American
900
1960
U.S. Military
Involvement
Begins
 Kennedy
elected 1960
 Increases
military “advisors” to 16,000
 1963:
JFK supports a S. Vietnamese
military coup d’etat – Diem and his
brother are murdered (Nov. 2)
 Kennedy
was assassinated just weeks
later (Nov. 22)
Kennedy’s Vietnam Policy
Diem’s Downfall
• During the early 1960s, Ngo Dinh
Diem’s policies lost him the
support of his people.
• Realizing that the struggle
against communism could not be
won under Diem’s rule, President
Kennedy told South Vietnamese
military leaders that the United
States would not object to Diem’s
overthrow.
• In November 1963, military
leaders seized control of South
Vietnam and assassinated Diem.
McNamara’s Role
• Robert McNamara, President
Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense,
was influential in shaping
American policy toward Vietnam.
• McNamara used his strong
business background to cut
costs while modernizing the
armed forces.
• In the coming years, McNamara
would push for direct American
involvement in Vietnam.
U.S. Troop
Deployments in
Vietnam
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
U.S. Troops
200,000
100,000
1961 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968
0
1961 and 1962
Troop Levels:
South
Vietnamese
243,000
American
3,205
In order to contain the spread of
Communism, newly elected President
Kennedy agreed to further US military
assistance to South Vietnam.
1963
Troop levels:
South
Vietnamese
American
243,000
Australian
30
16,300
President Johnson and Communist Advances
• Shortly after Diem’s assassination in November 1963,
President Kennedy was assassinated, and Vice
President Johnson assumed the presidency.
• In South Vietnam, the military leaders who had taken
over the government were unsuccessful and
unpopular. As a result, Communist guerrillas in South
Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, made gains in both
territory and loyalty. The Viet Cong’s political wing
was known as the National Liberation Front.
Lyndon Johnson,
Speech at Johns
Hopkins University,
"Why are we in
South Vietnam"
vietnam collage
•Why are we in South
Vietnam? We are there
because we have a promise
to keep. Since 1954 every
American President has
offered to support the people
of South Vietnam.
•We have helped to build and
we have helped to defend.
Thus, over many years, we
have made a national pledge
to help South Vietnam defend
its independence.
•I intend to keep our
promise. To dishonor that
pledge, to abandon this small
and brave nation to its enemy
and to the terror that must
follow would be an
unforgivable wrong.
Lyndon Johnson,
Speech at Johns
Hopkins University,
"Why are we in
South Vietnam"
vietnam collage
•We are there to strengthen
world order.
•Around the globe from Berlin
to Thailand are people whose
well-being rests, in part, on
the belief they can count on
us if they are attacked.
Lyndon Johnson,
Speech at Johns
Hopkins University,
"Why are we in
South Vietnam"
vietnam collage
•To leave Vietnam to its fate
would shake the confidence
of all these people in the
value of American
commitment. The result
would be increased unrest
and instability, or even war.
Johnson Sends
Ground Forces
Remembers
Truman’s “loss”
of China --> Domino Theory
revived
I’m not going to be
the president who
saw Southeast Asia
go the way China
went.
Johnson Sends
Ground Forces
 Advised
to rout the
communists by
Secretary of State,
Robert S.
McNamara
 Tonkin
Gulf Incident --> 1964
 Tonkin
Gulf Resolution
(acc. to Johnson – attacks were unprovoked)
 “The
Blank Check”
1964
Aug ‘64 -- N Vietnamese gunboats
attack 2 US destroyers in Gulf of
Tonkin…maybe
Troop levels:
South Vietnamese
American
Australian
514,000
23,300
80
Philippines
South Korea
New Zealand
20
200
30
1964
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Passed by Congress 5 Aug 1964
– Radically altered the War in Southeast Asia
– Gave President Johnson a “blank check”:
“To take all necessary steps to repel armed
attack against US forces”, including force, to
assist South Vietnam and any member of
SEATO”
Committed US to fight for S Vietnam
Expanding Presidential Power
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
What Inspired the Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution?
What Was the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution?
What Additional Powers
Did It Give the President?
In August 1964, Johnson
announced that North
Vietnamese torpedo boats
had attacked American
destroyers in the Gulf of
Tonkin. However, some
people doubted that this
incident had happened and
believed it was only an
excuse for further U.S.
involvement in Vietnam.
The Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution, passed by
Congress in 1964, regarded
peace and security in
Southeast Asia as vital to
American national interest,
and it gave the President
additional powers to assist
any Southeast Asian
country “requesting
assistance in defense of its
freedoms.”
Under the resolution, the
President had authority to
“take all necessary
measures to repel any
armed attack against the
forces of the United States
and to prevent further
aggression.” The
resolution, therefore,
changed the balance of
power between Congress
and the President.
The Vietnam War,
1964 to 1975
1964
Gulf of Tonkin
Incident
The Ho Chi Minh Trail
• North Vietnamese
troops and supplies
entered South Vietnam
via the Ho Chi Minh
Trail, a route that
passed through Laos
and Cambodia.
Intensifying the War
• After the election of 1964, President Johnson began a
gradual escalation, or expansion of the war. The number of
American soldiers stationed in Vietnam rose from about
25,000 at the beginning of 1965 to nearly 536,000 by the end
of 1968.
• Originally, American soldiers had been sent to advise the
South Vietnamese; now their task was to prop up a failing
South Vietnamese government led by Nguyen Cao Ky.
• Despite the large buildup of American troops, between 1965
and 1967 the war was at a stalemate.
• Within the United States, debate raged between hawks,
those who supported the war, and doves, those who did
not.
In February the US
commences bombardment
of North Vietnam and begins
to send combat troops to
Vietnam.
1965
Troop Levels:
First U.S. combat
troops land in Da
Nang, South
Vietnam.
South
Vietnamese
American
Australian
New Zealand
South Korea
Philippines
Thailand
642,500
184,300
1,560
120
20,620
70
20
The Air and Ground Wars
Some Weapons Used in the Vietnam War
• Land Mines — Land mines,which can be set off by the pressure
of a footstep, are explosive devices planted in the ground. Viet
Cong landmines killed and wounded both American GIs and
Vietnamese civilians.
• Saturation Bombing — American B-52 bomber planes dropped
thousands of tons of explosives, resulting in saturation bombing of
North Vietnam.
• Fragmentation Bombs — Fragmentation bombs, dropped by
Americans over both North and South Vietnam, threw pieces of
their thick metal casings in all directions when they exploded. In
South Vietnam, fragmentation bombs killed and maimed countless
civilians.
The Air and Ground Wars
Some Weapons Used in the Vietnam War
• Agent Orange — American pilots dropped an herbicide
called Agent Orange over Vietnamese jungles, killing
vegetation and exposing Viet Cong hiding places.
Agent Orange was later discovered to cause health
problems in livestock and humans.
• Napalm — Another chemical weapon used in Vietnam,
napalm,was a jellylike substance which, when dropped
from planes splattered, and burned uncontrollably.
The Air War
1965-1968

1965: Sustained bombing of North Vietnam begins
 Operation Rolling Thunder (March 2, 1965)

1966-68: Ongoing bombing of Hanoi nonstop for 3
years! Esp. targets the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
 Downed Pilots: P.O.W.s
 Carpet Bombing – napalm
The Vietnam War,
1964 to 1975
1964
Gulf of Tonkin
Incident
1965
First sustained
bombing of North
Vietnam
1966
U.S. air raids over
Hanoi, 1966 to
1968
The War in
Southeast Asia
Background

Americans flew from bases in Thailand,
Laos, Guam and South Vietnam

Troops from Thailand, Australia, New
Zealand, South Korea and Philippines
fought with the US and South Vietnam

China and the Soviet Union
– heavily supported North Vietnam
3
Battlefield Conditions
American Troops
• Had superior weapons
• Were unprepared for heat,
terrain, or guerrilla tactics
• Lacked support of most
South Vietnamese
• Most never saw the enemy
but constantly faced the
possibility of sudden
danger.
Viet Cong Troops
• Fought as guerrillas;
avoided head-on clashes
• Were familiar with terrain;
had support of many
South Vietnamese
• Built and hid in elaborate
underground tunnels
Who Is the
Enemy?
Vietcong: founded in South Vietnam who
were communists—supported by N. Vietnam.
 Farmers by day; guerillas at night.
 Very patient people willing to accept many
casualties.
 The US grossly underestimated their resolve
and their resourcefulness.
 “Charlies” to American Troops that will later
fight them.
The guerilla wins if he does not lose,
the conventional army loses if it does
not win.
-- Mao Zedong
Who Is the
Enemy?
The Vietcong consisted of a well
organized guerilla fighting force in
South Vietnam.
Their guerilla and jungle hit and
run tactics made them a menace
for American, South Vietnamese,
and other allied forces.
Who Is the
Enemy?
The Vietcong possessed
underground networks of tunnels
Passageways that contained hidden
caches weapons and supplies that
were difficult to locate and destroy.
vc
Who Is the
Enemy?
Who’s your enemy?
U.S. and South Vietnamese
forces found it extremely difficult
to fight the Vietcong’s hit and run
tactics.
Vietcong could easily blend into
a village where they could move
about freely since they did not
belong to a “standard” army.
Who Is the
Enemy?
The Ground War
1965-1968
 No
territorial goals
 Body counts on TV every night
(first “living room” war)
 Viet
Cong supplies over the
Ho Chi Minh Trail
The Tet Offensive,
January 1968
N.
Vietnamese Army + Viet
Cong attack South
simultaneously
80,000
attack 100 cities, bases
and the US embassy in Saigon
Take every major southern city
U.S.
+ ARVN beat back the
offensive
Viet
Cong destroyed
N. Vietnamese army debilitated
The Vietnam War,
1964 to 1975
1964
Gulf of Tonkin
Incident
1965
First sustained
bombing of North
Vietnam
1966
U.S. air raids over
Hanoi, 1966 to 1968
1968
Tet Offensive,
Jan. 30 to Feb. 24
The Tet Offensive
US troops defending the American
Embassy in Saigon
The Tet Offensive: A Turning Point
• On January 30, 1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnam launched a
major offensive. This series of attacks was called the Tet Offensive
since it occurred during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year.
• During and after the Tet Offensive, both sides were guilty of brutal
atrocities. Communists slaughtered anyone they labeled an enemy;
Americans massacred hundreds of civilians at My Lai, a small village in
South Vietnam. A helicopter crew that stopped the massacre was later
rewarded, and the officer who had ordered it was imprisoned.
• Because Americans now knew that the Viet Cong could launch
massive attacks, and because no end to the war was in sight, the Tet
Offensive proved to be a major psychological victory for the Viet Cong
and a turning point in the war.
The Tet Offensive,
January 1968
Because of the Tet
Offensive, the US
media announced the
US was loosing the
war.
Walter Cronkite, part
of CBS news who
opposed the war after
Tet.
Impact of the
Tet Offensive
 Domestic
U.S. Reaction:
Disbelief, Anger, Distrust
of Johnson
Administration
Hey,
Hey LBJ! How
many kids did you
kill today?
Impact of the Tet Offensive
TET OFFENSIVE
NVA Invades South Vietnam
January 1968
PARIS
SOUTH
VIETNAM
USA
Peace talks begin
after Tet to
halt the bombing of
North Vietnam
City of Hue' destroyed
SVN retakes cities and
towns, but government
loses support
Johnson criticized by
Hawks and Doves
Johnson steps down
Americans want out of Vietnam
Talks make no progress
Increased bombing in
South Vietnam
Democratic Party splinters
Robert Kennedy assassinated
General Westmoreland
asks for more troops
Riots in Chicago during
Democratic Party
Convention
Nixon wins 1968
Presidential Election
1968
Troop Levels:
South
Vietnamese
American
Australian
New Zealand
South Korea
Philippines
Thailand
820,000
536,100
7,660
520
50,000
1,580
6,000
Are We Becoming
the Enemy?
Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry
 My lai Massacre, 1968
 200-500 unarmed villagers
 Lt. William Calley,
Platoon Leader
The Vietnam War,
1964 to 1975
1964
Gulf of Tonkin
Incident
1965
First sustained
bombing of North
Vietnam
1966
U.S. air raids over
Hanoi, 1966 to 1968
1968
Tet Offensive,
Jan. 30 to Feb. 24
My Lai Massacre,
March 16

LBJ disgraced
Tet offensive
 Refuses to run for Presidency in 1968


Democratic Party collapses

Eugene McCarthy vs. Robert Kennedy for
control of party
Both gain anti-war support
 Kennedy assassinated----Sirhan, Sirhan


Democratic National Convention in
Chicago
mass protests against war
 Americans witness the radical “anti-war and
counter culture” on TV


VP Hubert Humphrey wins Democratic
nomination
Civil Rights
Black
Panther Party opposes MLK
Cities burn with Black riots
MLK assassinated
Robert Kennedy assassinated
George Wallace: Third Party appeal = White
Back Lash
Republican Richard Nixon is elected
My Lai Massacre in Vietnam
Cold War
Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
USS PUEBLO attacked by North Korean
Organizations form to end the war.
National Mobilization Committee
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
Youth International Party (YIPPIES). Abbie
Hoffman and Jerry Rubin
•National Mobilization Committee
to End the War in Vietnam.
•Students for a Democratic
Society (SDS).
•Youth International Party
(YIPPIES). Abbie Hoffman and
Jerry Rubin
•Bobby Seale was a founder of the
Black Panthers.
•charged under provisions of the
1968 Civil Rights Act, which made
it a federal crime to cross state
lines to incite a riot.
Impact of the
Vietnam War
Johnson announces (March, 1968):

I do not believe that I
should devote an hour
or a day of my time to
any personal partisan
causes, or to any duties
other than the
awesome duties of this
office, the Presidency
of your country.
Accordingly, I shall not
seek, and I will not
accept, the nomination of
my party for another term
as your President.
