America in Vietnam 1968-1975 Name ______________________________

History 8

1968 Tet Offensive begins in late January. Live television covers the communist assault on South Vietnamese cities.

77 day siege of Khe Sanh

Should the U.S. send more troops to Vietnam?

President Johnson denies General Westmoreland’s request for additional troops

Eugene McCarthy nearly defeats Johnson in the New Hampshire primary

Robert Kennedy enters the Democratic primaries

Johnson withdraws from the presidential race and announces a partial bombing halt

Should the United States withdraw from Vietnam?

Martin Luther King assassinated. Cities erupt in riots

After winning most of the Democratic primaries, Kennedy is assassinated

Amid violent demonstrations in Chicago, Democrats nominate Hubert Humphrey on a platform supporting Johnson’s war policy.

Richard Nixon narrowly defeats Humphrey for the presidency on a pledge of “Peace with Honor.”

1969 Peace negotiations begin in Paris

Vietnamization begins. U.S. removes 25,000 troops from Vietnam

Secret bombing of Cambodia begins

One million people participate in the first Vietnam Moratorium Day

U.S. troop morale begins to decline

Hamburger Hill

My Lai Massacre revealed by the press

Over 1.5 million South Vietnamese villagers have been killed in the war

1970 Should the U.S. invade Cambodia to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail?

Invasion of Cambodia

Four students killed at Kent State in Ohio

U.S. forces in Vietnam have been cut 200,000 since their 1968 peak

1971 Vietnamese invasion of Laos

Pentagon Papers released. White House Plumbers formed

1972 Nixon visits China

Communist Easter Offensive

Massive U.S. bombing of the North and the mining of Haiphong Harbor generate little Soviet protest

U.S. troop strength drops to 170,000

Kissinger proclaims “Peace is at Hand” but negotiations collapse

Nixon re-elected in a landslide

Christmas Bombing

1973 Should the U.S. sign the Paris Peace Accords?

1974 Paris Peace Accords. U.S. troops leave Vietnam. U.S. prisoners of war

returned

Watergate Scandal dominates the U.S.

War Powers Act passed by Congress

1974 Nixon resigns

North Vietnam begins invasion of the South

1975 Saigon falls to North Vietnamese troops on April 30

Main Ideas

1. Describe the Tet Offensive. In what ways did the fighting differ from the fighting earlier in the war? What images did the media transmit of the fighting?

2. Describe the siege of Khe Sanh. Compare this battle with the siege of Dien Bien Phu.

3. What was the credibility gap? Why did it develop? What impact did this have on the analysis of the Tet Offensive?

4. Why did both hawks and doves conclude that the Tet Offensive was the turning point of the war?

5. What impact did the 1968 New Hampshire primary have on American politics? What impact did Robert Kennedy’s candidacy have on the campaign? Why did President Johnson withdraw from the race?

6. Compare the campaign strategies of McCarthy, Kennedy, Humphrey, and Nixon during the spring of 1968. Why was the Indiana Democratic primary significant? What did the results of the Democratic primaries indicate?

7. Describe the growth of the anti-war movement. Describe the ways that men could avoid the draft and/or combat service in Vietnam. In what ways was the selective service system discriminatory?

8. Describe the demonstrations that took place at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. What was the political effect of the demonstrations?

9. What issues impeded the peace talks in Paris?

10. Describe President Nixon’s plans to obtain “peace with honor.”

11. Why did President Nixon order the bombing of Cambodia? Why was it kept secret?

12. Describe the activities the anti-war movement in 1969-70. How did President Nixon respond to the anti-war protests?

13. Identify examples of the decline of U.S. troop morale after 1968. Why did this occur?

14. Describe the events at My Lai in March 1968. What factors contributed to atrocities against civilians?

15. Identify the factors that led to the 1970 invasion of Cambodia. What were the military results of the invasion? What impact did the invasion have within the U.S.?

16. What role did President Nixon’s overtures to China and the USSR play in the war?

17. Describe North Vietnam’s 1972 Easter Offensive. What response did the U.S. make to this?

18. What concessions were made by both sides during the peace negotiations in 1972-73? Why did the October 1972 agreement collapse? What response did the U.S. make to the collapse of the negotiations?

19. Describe the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. Why did President Thieu consider them a betrayal?

20. Identify the factors that led to the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975.

Key Terms

A) Walter Cronkite

B) dove

C) hawk

D) Clark Clifford

E) Eugene McCarthy

F) Robert F. Kennedy

G) Hubert Humphrey

H) Richard Nixon

I) Henry Kissinger

J) Vietnamization

K) fragging

L) William Calley

M) Khmer Rouge

N) Christmas Bombing

O) War Powers Act of 1973