© Karalynn Tyler 2016

When you see the pencil appear, fill in the information in red on your info-graphic guided notes page.

© Karalynn Tyler 2016

Lyndon B. JohnsonExpanded civil rights to minorities. Increased U.S. military presence in

Vietnam.

After John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took office. He was able to continue Kennedy’s work with the Civil Rights movement and other social reforms he called the Great Society. In this way he worked to expand civil rights to more Americans.

However, many Americans became frustrated with Johnson over his commitment to U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia- mainly the Vietnam War. The year before Johnson took office, the U.S. had 11,000 troops and military advisors in Vietnam. In 1963, Johnson committed more military support to South Vietnam. In 1965, he had sent 180,000 American troops. By 1968, there were half a million U.S. military troops, most of them drafted, fighting in Vietnam. And Congress had never voted to formally declare war on

© Karalynn Tyler 2016

Youn

g peo

ple be

gan t

o ques

tion

America

’s invo

lvement

in Viet

nam

Protest

s, marc

hes, an

d

demon

strati

ons t

ook

place.

As the Vietnam War dragged on, more and more Americans, especially the young adults of the Baby Boom generation, became less and less supportive of the war. As their family, friends, classmates, and neighbors were fighting and often dying , the young people who remained behind began to question President Johnson’s commitment to the war. Especially after seeing much of the war through television. Antiwar protests began to spread across the country.

When Johnson decided not to run for re-election, Richard Nixon campaigned with promises to bring American troops home from Vietnam. Nixon did bring troops home in 1973, but only after the war had expanded into Laos and

© Karalynn Tyler 2016

Some Americans were embarrassed at the lack of support for American soldiers in Vietnam. Many Americans felt that Communism was a continued threat to society and the Viet Cong and Ho Chi Minh must be stopped. These people were nicknamed “hawks” after predatory birds. The increasing number of Americans who did not support the war and were calling for peace were nicknamed “doves”, a bird that has long symbolized peace. Some Americans felt caught in between- not supporting the war itself, but wanting to support sons, brothers, husbands, and friends who

Felt the U.S.

should stay &

fight

communism.

Felt the U.S. should end

fighting in Vietnam.

© Karalynn Tyler 2016

P.O.W.’s1300 U.S. soldiers were listed as prisoners of war

and 1200 listed as missing in action during

the Vietnam War.

More than 58,000 Americans died fighting the Vietnam War. Hundreds of thousands more came home wounded, disabled, and suffering from emotional and mental health problems such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Still, roughly 1300 U.S. soldiers had been captured and classified as prisoners of war; held captive in terrifying prison camps where they were often tortured. Another 1200 troops were listed as missing in action and their fates were never known.

Some of the POW’s were later released by the Vietnamese. One of them was U.S. Senator and 2008 Presidential Candidate John McCain. As a captain in the Navy, he had been captured in 1967 and was a prisoner of war for five years, during which he was beaten and tortured into confessing to war crimes. He was released in 1973.

© Karalynn Tyler 2016

Kent StateFour students died when the National Guard opened fire on a crowd of Vietnam War protesters in May, 1970.

The youth of America was increasingly challenging the government for a war they felt was unnecessary. College age Americans began to speak out vigorously. Many college campuses held antiwar demonstrations which took many forms. Marches, rallies, and “teach-ins” took place as students questioned the government’s version of what was happening in Vietnam.

The distrust of the government grew even greater after the tragedy at Kent State University in Ohio, May of 1970. Four people were shot and killed when the National Guard was called in to respond to an antiwar demonstration taking place on campus. Citizens had gathered to protest the expansion of Vietnam into Laos and Cambodia. President Nixon blamed the protestors saying, “when dissent turns to violence, it invites tragedy.”

© Karalynn Tyler 2016

Youn

g peo

ple be

gan t

o ques

tion

America

’s invo

lvement

in Viet

nam

Protest

s, marc

hes, an

d

demon

strati

ons t

ook

place.

Felt the U.S.

should stay &

fight

communism.

Felt the U.S. should end

fighting in Vietnam.

Hippies openly challenged

authority

and society’s values. They

created

communes where groups worked

together and shared

everything.

The baby boom generation had reached young adulthood had become idealistic in the 1960’s. Many began to openly challenge society and people in authority. They sought an end to injustice and rejected traditional values.

Many young adults and youth began calling themselves “hippies”. They rejected cultural trends of pursuing money and consumer goods and embraced values that seemed opposite of America’s middle class suburban life. They wanted to start an era of peace, love, and freedom. They grew their hair long and some moved to “communes” where they farmed and shared everything together. Their rejection of modern culture made their movement a “counterculture”.

© Karalynn Tyler 2016

26th Amendment

Changed the voting age from

21 to 18.

Beyond protesting the government’s expansion of Vietnam, many youth were protesting the way the government was drafting young men to serve in the military. Boys were required by law to register for the draft when they turned 18. If their draft number was chosen, they were forced to report for military training and sent to fight in a war that many of them did not support. Many young men resisted the draft- fleeing to Canada and burning their draft cards.

A movement began to amend the Constitution and change the voting age from 21 to 18- if they were going to have to fight the country’s wars, they should at least have a voice in choosing the country’s leaders. In March of 1971, a proposal for a Constitutional amendment was submitted and was ratified July 1, legally changing the voting age to 18. It

© Karalynn Tyler 2016

In the 1970’s the oldest of the baby boomers were settling down and starting to raise families. Nixon began reducing the number of troops in Vietnam and ended U.S. involvement in 1973. The counterculture began to die down. However, the distrust of the government, specifically the executive branch, lingered. The distrust and unrest grew after Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign was caught breaking into the Watergate Hotel where the democratic party had its headquarters. When an investigation took place, Nixon tried to cover up the incident and lied about his campaign’s involvement. In 1973, a Senate committee learned Nixon had tape recorded conversations in the Oval office. People began to call for impeachment but instead, Nixon resigned from office.

Watergate

Richard NixonEnded U.S. involvement in

Vietnam. Resigned because of the Watergate Scandal.

Nixon’s reelection campaign was caught breaking into the

democratic party headquarters.

© Karalynn Tyler 2016

Gas ShortageOil exporting countries cut

supplies to the U.S. for supporting Israel, creating

an energy crisis.

Another issue captured Americans’ attention in the 1970’s and created more unrest. People relied heavily on petroleum and gasoline resources to fuel their cars and heat their homes. Most of America’s oil was imported from countries in the Middle East who were members of OPEC- the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

In 1973, the nation of Israel was invaded by some of the countries in OPEC and the United States gave support to Israel in the Arab-Israeli War. In response, OPEC suppliers cut production and reduced the amount of oil exported to the United States resulting in an oil shortage. Suddenly, America was experiencing an energy crisis. Gas shortages forced drivers to spend hours waiting in lines at gas stations and homeowners worried about rising fuel costs. Americans were weary and ready for

Optional Video Resources• The Wonder Years: Pilot Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eme2-Utvu2c&list=PLciWCLt_SjCvbMmcX3z9CAfScTkzEUoj0 • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Ohio (Kent State

University 1970) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68g76j9VBvM • Country Joe’s Anti-Vietnam War Song at Woodstock (uses

the word “damn”) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Y0ekr-3So • The Watergate Scandal: Watch Mojo.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHnmriyXYeg • OPEC Oil Embargo NBC nightly news coverage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCLRlVxOH-Q • 1970’s History Channel http://www.history.com/topics/energy-crisis/videos/1970s?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

• History Mystery: The War That Was Lost in Our Living Rooms Your students will become investigators on a history mystery analyzing primary and secondary sources surrounding the United States' involvement in

the Vietnam War. This activity includes over a dozen primary and secondary sources set up in 8 investigation stations and students' investigation packet. Teams of students work together to solve the mystery of why the Vietnam War lacked support from many Americans. Includes a PowerPoint

for teachers to use for the activity along with answers to the student's activity packet.

• 1968 Time Warp Activity Take your students back to the year 1968 to experience some of the images and music from this turbulent year. This product contains colorful fact

cards, links to songs, and student analysis graphic organizers that allow students to dive into some primary sources from 1968. Topics include:Tet Offensive

Martin Luther King Jr.'s AssassinationVietnam Protest song "The War is Over" by Phil Ochs

Robert Kennedy's AssassinationThe Rascals' hit song "People Got to be Free"

The Hippie MovementThe Beatles' hit "Revolution"

The Apollo 8 Mission