Chapter 17 Section 3: Vietnam Divides the Nation

A Growing Credibility Gap
The Gap
Starting in 1965 most Americans approved the military effort.
A Gallup Poll showed 66% of Americans approved of the policy in Vietnam.
As the war progress, many grew suspicious of the government’s truthfulness about the war for many reasons.
General William Westmoreland reported that the enemy was on the brink of defeat stating in 1967 “enemy’s hopes are bankrupt” and “the end begins to come into view.”
Television however shown on nightly evening news showed wounded and dead Americans showing a credibility gap between Johnson’s reports and what was being seen.
Congress in February 1966 led hearing calling on several policy makers to explain the war program.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee also met with critics including Diplomat George Kennan (created the policy of containment) and he argued that Vietnam was not strategically important and a waste of time.
The Antiwar Movement Emerges
Teach-Ins Begin
March 1965, group of faculty members and students at the University of Michigan abandoned their classes and joined together in a “teach-in” where they discussed the issues surrounding the war and reaffirmed their reasons for opposing it.
Many campuses did the same “teach-ins” where some saw this as a civil war where the US should not be involved while other saw South Vietnam as a dictatorship and insisted that defending South Vietnam was immoral and unjust.
Anger at the Draft
Young protesters focused on the unfair draft system.
At the start of the war, college students were often deferred until graduation while low income families were sent to Vietnam because they couldn’t afford college.
Minorities made up most of the drafted men
1967 African Americans were 20% of the combat death.
The high number of African Americans angered many leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
During the war, officials increased the draft call now including college students.
500,000 draftees refused to go and some publicly burned their draft cards or did not report when called for induction.
Some fled to Canada and Sweden
Others stayed and went to prison rather than fight
Between 1965 and 1968, 3,300 were prosecuted for refusing to serve.
In 1969, the government introduced a lottery system where only low lottery numbers were subject to the draft.
Besides college campuses, demonstrators held public rallies and marches throughout the nation.
April 1965, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized a march on Washington drawing 20,000 people.
October 1967, the same march at Washington’s Lincoln Memorial drew tens of thousands.
Draft also fueled discussion about the voting age.
In 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified giving all citizens age 18 and older the right to vote.
“old enough to fight, old enough to vote”
Hawks and Doves
In a poll in mid 1967, 68% favored continuation of the war while 32% wanted to end it.
Those is opposed the war were criticized as having a lack of patriotism.
By 1968 the nation was dived into two major camps.
The Doves who wanted the US to withdraw from Vietnam
The Hawks who wanted the US to stay and fight.
1968: The Pivotal Year
The Tet Offensive
On January 30, 1968, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese launched a massive surprise attack during the Vietnamese New Year called Tet. (Tet Offensive)
Guerrilla fighters attacked all American airbases in South Vietnam and all of the cities in the South.
The worst (bloodiest) battle took place in Hue, the 3rd largest city.
After 4 weeks of taking back the city, Americans found mass graves of the massacred poltical and religious leaders as well as any associated with the government.
3,000 bodies were found, thousands more remained missing.
Overall the Tet offensive was a militarily disaster since American and South Vietnamese repelled the enemy troops inflicting heavy losses on the Communist side.
However the Tet scored a political victory since the American public was shocked of the massive surprise attack and that General Westmoreland requested 206,000 more troops proving the US could not win the war.
The media began now to criticized the war.
Walter Cronkite said it was “more certain than ever that the bloody experience in Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.”
Public opinion no longer favored the war after Tet and Johnson’s approval rating dropped from 35% to 26%.
Johnson Leaves the Presidential Race
Democratic party began looking for alternative candidates to nominate as president in 1968 instead of the incumbent Johnson.
November 1967 Eugene McCarthy, Dove senator from Minnesota, announced his candidacy against Johnson
McCarthy stunned the nation by winning more than 40% of the votes of the New Hampshire primary and almost defeating the President.
Senator Robert Kennedy, also a Dove, then also entered the race for the Democratic nomination.
March 31, 1968, Johnson announced that he would not run for president in order to not create a partisan division among the Democrats.
A Season of Violence
Following Johnson’s announcement, James Earl Ray was arrested for the assassination of MLK jr and then Robert Kennedy was assassinated in California after winning the state’s Democratic nomination.
These events culminated with clashes between protesters and police at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago demanding the Democrats adopt an antiwar platform.
The August convention chose Hubert Humphrey as their presidential nominee.
Nixon Wins the Presidency
In 1968, the Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon benefited from the chaos in the democratic party as well as Governor George Wallace from Alabama who ran as a independent.
Polls gave Nixon a lead over both candidates and Nixon promised to unify the nation and restore law and order to America as well as end the war in Vietnam.
Humphrey also made promises to stop the bombing but it was to little to late.
Nixon defeated Humphrey by more than 100 electoral votes
Nixon only barley won the popular vote; Nixon 43% to Humphrey 42.7%, Wallace only 13%