Vietnam War Winds Down. Vietnam As the war moves on, more public concern grows –Credibility Gap...
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Transcript of Vietnam War Winds Down. Vietnam As the war moves on, more public concern grows –Credibility Gap...
Vietnam War Winds Down
Vietnam
• As the war moves on, more public concern grows– Credibility Gap
• Information that was given didn’t seem right
– Government said one thing, but public saw another
• TV War
• Government begins to question themselves
Vietnam
• People start to protest– Hawks (pro war) and Doves (anti-war)– Anger at the draft
• Heavily publicized– Showed a nation that did not trust their
government– Government not in control of their people
Vietnam
• Things get worse• Tet Offensive- 1968
– North Vietnamese troops and Vietcong launch a surprise attack
• Massacre thousands of South Vietnamese political and religious leaders
– Americans fight back and drive out the Communists
• Advisors claim victory– Public see something else
1968
• Johnson decides not to run for re-election in 1968– Health issues, lack of public support
• MLK Jr, and Robert Kennedy assassinated
• Riots at the democratic national convention
• Nixon wins presidency
Vietnam
• Nixon tries to end Vietnam War– Put Henry Kissinger in charge– End war Diplomatically
• Started to withdraw troops– Vietnamization
• Not a sign of surrender– Orders air strikes over Cambodia
Vietnam
• Americans getting angrier
• My Lai Massacre– Over 200 unarmed South Vietnamese
civilians killed• Most were old men, women, and children
– Caught on camera
• US invades Cambodia– Gulf of Tonkin Resolution repealed
Vietnam
• Public support gone– Kent State
• Four protestors killed
– Jackson State • Two students killed
– Pentagon Papers• Revealed government officials privately
disagreeing with war, but publicly supporting it• Government lying
Vietnam
• Kissinger works hard at ending resolution– “peace is at hand”
• Nixon re-elected
• Peace talks break down– N. Vietnamese troops had to be out of S.
Vietnam– “Christmas Bombings”
• Negotiations resumed after massive bombings
Vietnam
• January 27, 1973– Peace Agreement finally signed
• U.S. troops withdraw– Last soldier left in 1975
• Peace treaty collapses– Americans no longer help South Vietnam– North now controls South
Vietnam
• Legacy– Lost $170 Billion– Lasted 8 years– 58,000 dead, 300,000 wounded– Huge psychological impact
• No welcome home parades, traumatic experiences
– Americans did not trust the government