A Nation Divided

Public Opinion• 1965– 66% supported

• 1965– Teach-Ins begin• Informally discuss opposition to the war

– Civil War– South Vietnam was corrupt

• 1967 – Credibility gap widens– T.V.– Contradicting viewpoints/images

Tet Offensive 1968• Surprise attack on New years Day– Major cities– Provincial capitals– American Embassy

Two sides• General Westmorland

“well laid plans went afoul”

• Public Opinion – Shocked!– Media influence – Walter Cronkite

“…bloody experience in Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.”• Credibility gap widens even more

Draft• College students– Defer

• Low-income/minorities– No choice

• No way!– Burned draft cards– Fled– Prison

• 1969– Lottery system

• 1971– 26th Amendment was passed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHk4TGWx0ZM

Hawks Doves• Pro-war– 1968-53% – Determined to stay and

fight– Openly criticized doves– Pride– Johnson

• Antiwar– 1968-24%

• Viewed as– Naïve– Unpatriotic – Unappreciative to

resisting communism– Eugene McCarthy– Robert Kennedy

1968 Rolls On• March– Johnson states he will not run

• April– MLK assassinated – James Earl Ray arrested

• June– Robert Kennedy assassinated

• August– Chaos at the Democratic Convention Center– Antiwar platform– Riots

Abbie Hoffman“The whole world is watching!”

Politics• Democrats – Hubert Humphrey– Associated with violence & chaos– Called for a complete end to the bombings

• Independent– Governor George Wallace – Outspoken segregationist

• Republicans– Richard Nixon– Promised unification– Restore law and order– Plan for ending the war

Assignment 1 (10 points)• Create a poster that would be appropriate for your position

on the war• Use pictures or symbols associated with your side (can be a

person or idea)• Keep in mind it CAN be a slogan, however, you need to

decorate it • Must be colored• Must clearly express your side (put your sticky note on it)

Assignment 2 (5 points)Write a headline that supports your poster. For example, if you are a

hawk, your headline may include a quote from General Westmorland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpCasiuAFF8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0VsJT7dVkY&feature=fvst

Be ready to share with the class Due at the end of the hour

Review

• Why did support for the Vietnam War begin to dwindle by the late 1960s?– Mounting causalities– The draft– Credibility gap– Media coverage