APUSH
Unit 15
THE 1960s
KENNEDY’S PRESIDENCY

I. Election of 1960
    A. Nominees
        1. Republicans nominated Vice President Richard M. Nixon
            a. One of most active vice presidents in U.S. history
            b. Traveled throughout the world as a "troubleshooter" in various capacities.
                -- Defended US democracy in his Moscow "kitchen debate" w/ Krushchev
        2. Democrats nominated Senator John F. Kennedy
            a. Lyndon B. Johnson, Senate majority leader, was Kennedy’s runningmate
            b. Acceptance speech: Kennedy called upon American people for sacrifices to
                achieve their potential greatness -- The New Frontier
                -- "We stand today on the edge of a new frontier -- the frontier of the 1960s, a
                  frontier of unknown opportunities and paths, a frontier of unfulfilled hopes &
                  threats. The new frontier I speak is not a set of promises -- it is a set of
                challenges."
    B. Campaign
        1. Kennedy’s Catholicism a major issue until Sept. 12 when he told a gathering of
            Protestant ministers that he accepted separation of church and state and that
            Catholic leaders would not tell him how to act as president.
        2. Debates
            a. First-time debates shown on national television; determined fate of the election
            b. First debate most important (3 more followed)
                i. Those listening on the radio gave the edge to Nixon.
                ii. Those watching TV gave the edge to Kennedy
        3. Kennedy earned the support of African Americans when he arranged to have Martin
            Luther King released from a Georgia jail (for having been involved in a protest)
    C. Result
        1. Kennedy d. Nixon by slightly over 100,000 popular votes; 303-219 in electoralvotes
            -- Closest election in U.S. history; difference less than 1/10 of 1%
        2. Only Catholic president in U.S. history; youngest to be elected at age 43.
        3. Democrats swept both houses in Congress, although lost a few seats
    D. Inaugural speech: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for
        your country."

II. Kennedy’s domestic policy
    A. Legislative failures: JFK unable to get much through Congress due to resistance from
        Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats.
        1. Congress blocked plans for federal aid to education, urban renewal, medical care the
            aged, reductions in income taxes, and creation of Dept. of Urban Affairs
        2. Lyndon Johnson would later get these measures passed after JFK was assassinated.
    B. Minimum wage raised from $1 to $1.25 an hour and extended to 3 million more workers.
    C. Area Redevelopment Act of 1961: provided $400 million in loans to "distressed areas."
    D. Housing Act of 1961: Provided nearly $5 billion over four years for preservation of open
        urban spaces, development of mass transit, and the construction of middle class housing.
    E. Steel Prices: 1961, Kennedy "jawboned" the steel industry into overturning a price increase
        after having encouraged labor to lower its wage demands.
    F. Space Race
        1. Kennedy promoted $24 billion project to land an American on the moon.
            -- As of the early 1960s, the U.S. was behind the Russians in space technology.
        2. Critics charge money could be better spent elsewhere.
        3. 1969, Apollo 11 mission transported two American astronauts successfully to the moon:
           Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
    G. The Kennedys continued their crusade against organized crime
        --Robert Kennedy (RFK) was JFK’s attorney general

III. JFK and Civil Rights
    A. Did nothing during his first two years.
        1. Tried to avoid losing either white or black southern vote.
        2. Most civil rights initiatives were merely symbolic
        3. RFK’s attempts at enfranchisement in the South was largely unsuccessful
            a. Only small percentage of blacks able to register due to spelling mistakes on
               literacy tests, poll taxes, white primaries, and grandfather clauses.
            b. White segregationists wreaked terror on Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
                (SNCC – "snick"); church bombings; assaults on blacks
        4. While Kennedy was initially able to satisfy both sides of the issue, the rise of civil rights
            militants forced his hand.
    B. Kennedy and the militants
        1. May 1961, Freedom Riders organized by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)
            a. Rode interstate buses to verify that segregation was not occurring..
            b. In Alabama, Freedom Riders were arrested by police, state troopers, and
                National Guard; some were severely beaten.
            c. More Freedom Riders kept coming all summer.
            d. RFK petitioned Interstate Commerce Commission to issue a ruling against
              segregation of interstate facilities; sent 400 marshals to protect freedom riders.
            e. ICC made the announcement on Sept. 22, 1961; CORE victorious.
        2. Sept. 1962, JFK had to send the U.S. Army to enforce a court order to enroll
           James Meredith in the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss)
            -- Kennedy was losing control of the segregation issue.
        3. Showdown in Birmingham, Alabama
            a. 1963, Birmingham closed parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, and
                golf courses to avoid desegregation.
            b. King chose Birmingham because it was the toughest challenge and a
                victory would break segregation.
            c. MLK and supporters arrested on Good Friday for marching without a
                permit and spent 2 weeks in jail.

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was ‘well-timed’ in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the worked "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that justice too long delayed is justice denied." -- Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail

            d. After his release, King began using black school children in the demonstrations:
                i. Police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor used cattle prods and ordered police
                    dogs on demonstrators and used fire hoses on children as world watched in horror.
                ii. Public pressure mounted for civil rights legislation.
            e. Local business leaders gave in and agreed to desegregate the big department stores.
                -- King called off the demonstrations.
            f. Shortly after, King’s motel was bombed as was his brother’s home
                i. Rioting erupted.
                ii. Kennedy decided to side with King.
        4. Kennedy actively pursues civil rights
            a. June 1963, JFK federalized Alabama National Guard to enforce a court
              order requiring the admission of two blacks to the University of Alabama.
                -- Governor George Wallace symbolically stood in the door way protesting that
                    states’ rights were being crushed (earlier had said in his inaugural speech:
                    "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.")
            b. That night, Medgar Evers, NAACP director in Mississippi, was assassinated
                -- Seen as retaliation for University of Alabama incident
            c. In response, JFK announced he would send Congress a civil rights bill which would
                crush segregation, outlaw discrimination in elections, and give the justice department
                authority to enforce school integration.
            d. March on Washington, August 28, 1963
                i. Largest protest in nation’s history thus far; 200,000
                    -- Organized in part by A. Philip Randolph (who had started March on
                        Washington Movement during WWII)
                ii. Protesters demanded support for Kennedy’s civil rights bill and
                    for better and more jobs.
                iii. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech

"I have a dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’....I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains, and the crooked places shall be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.... This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, ‘My country ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims’ pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring’..... When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

                iii. By the time JFK was assassinated, his civil rights bill was moving
                    toward passage in the House.

IV. Kennedy and the Cold War
    A. "flexible response" -- Kennedy developed conventional military trategies to deal with
         difficult challenges around the world.
        1. Krushchev: "Soviets would back wars of liberation" in third world countries.
        2.During presidential election of 1960, Kennedy had criticized Eisenhower for allowing a
            "missile gap" that favored the Soviets.
            -- When JFK became president, he learned that the gap was actually in favor of the US;
                yet he continued the largest peacetime military buildup in history.
        3. Kennedy ordered buildup of conventional armed forces to fight localized wars in the Third
           World.
            a. Replaced Ike’s heavy reliance on nuclear weapons.
            b. Set up Green Berets (elite commando force)
            c. Built up nuclear arsenal for 2nd strike capability.
    B. Bay of Pigs
        1. Early 1860, Eisenhower authorized CIA to organize, train, and arm in Central America a
            brigade of 1,400 Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba to overthrow Fidel Castro.
            a. Invaders would presumably trigger a popular uprising in Cuba
            b. JFK continued the plan
        2. In April 1961, Bay of Pigs invasion pinned down and forced to surrender
            a. Kennedy had decided a day earlier against direct U.S. intervention as he did not want
                to spark an international diplomatic crisis.
            b. Some 1,189 men were captured, 400 killed, only 14 exiles rescued
                -- Cuban people did not support the invasion
        3. Kennedy publicly took full responsibility on national TV for the ill-conceived mission.
            -- Privately Kennedy blamed the CIA for faulty information
        4. Significance: brought USSR and Cuba closer together in planning for defense of a
           future U.S. invasion.
    C. Operation Mongoose
        1. CIA-backed plan to overthrow and assassinate Fidel Castro
        2. Ultimately failed and abandoned after Cuban Missile Crisis.
    D. Peace Corps – one of Kennedy’s most popular programs
        1. Est. in 1961, sent young volunteers (doctors, lawyers and engineers) to third world
            countries to contribute their skills in locally sponsored projects to improve economic
            stagnation, poor health and inadequate education.
        2. Alternative to military containment of communism.
        3. By 1966, 15,000 volunteers served in 46 countries but were often overwhelmed.
    E. Alliance for Progress
        1. 1961, JFK gave $20 billion in aid to Latin America ("Latin American Marshall Plan")
        2. Primary goal was to help Latin American countries to close the gap between
           rich and poor thus quieting communist sympathies.
        3. Result: Little positive impact on Latin America’s social problems.
    F. Berlin Wall
        1. 1949-1961 -- Thousands of East Germans flee to West Berlin.
        2. Krushchev delivered new ultimatum on Berlin; saw U.S. weakness in Bay of Pigs
            a. USSR would give Berlin to East Germany, stripping western access to Berlin.
            b. Kennedy: US would not abandon West Berlin
        3. USSR announced increase in defense; Kennedy asked for a $3.2 billion increase as well.
        4. August, 1961 -- Soviet Union builds wall separating West Berlin from the rest of Berlin
           and East Germany almost overnight.
            -- Purpose: Stem the flow of 100,000 people leaving East Berlin
        5. Kennedy calls up 1,500 US reserves to reinforce West German garrisons.
            -- On personal trip to Berlin: "Ich bin eine Berliner" ("I am a Berliner")
        6. Tensions eased as treaty not signed between USSR and East Germany
            -- Air and land routes to West Berlin were kept open.
        7. Wall remained until November, 1989
    G. Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962)
        1. Khrushchev began placing nuclear weapons in Cuba, just 90 miles off Florida
            coast in October 1962.
            a. Soviets intended to use weapons to force U.S. into backing down on Berlin, Cuba,
                and other troubled areas.
            b. Only the Pacific Northwest was out of range from the Soviet missiles.
        2. Oct. 14, U.S. aerial photographs revealed Russians were secretly and speedily installing
            nuclear missiles.
            a. Warning of missile attack would shrink from 30 minutes to 2 minutes
            b. U.S. unaware that tactical nuclear missiles were also in Cuba.
                -- Designed to destroy invading armies.
            c. Soviets also had nuclear cruise missiles to destroy U.S. Navy near Cuba.
        3. October 22, JFK ordered a naval "quarantine" of Cuba and demanded immediate
           removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.
            a. Kennedy also stated any attack by Cuba on US or any other Latin American
               country would result in a full retaliatory response on the Soviet Union.
                -- Organization of American States had given Kennedy their full support.
            b. Kennedy rejected "surgical" bombing strikes against missile launching sites
                fearing it might mean war; no guarantees that all missiles would be hit.
            c. Also rejected a U.S. invasion of Cuba (many in cabinet & military favored this)
                i. Unbeknownst to Kennedy, Soviet tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba could have
                    destroyed invading American army.
                ii. Had US invaded, WWIII would most likely have begun.
            d. Kennedy made the announcement on national television; Americans shocked
            e. All US forces put on full alert.
        4. For a week, world watched as the Soviet ship carrying missiles steamed toward Cuba.
            a. Any U.S. attack would trigger war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.
            b. October 24, 16 Soviet ships stopped before they reached the blockade
        5. October 26, Krushchev agreed to remove missiles if U.S. removed its missiles from
           Turkey and vowed not to attack Cuba.
            a. This agreement publicly favored Kennedy as the U.S. quietly pulled its Turkish missiles
                out 6 months later.
            b. Agreement can be seen as a victory for Khrushchev: he saved Cuba and got U.S.
                missiles removed from Turkey.
    H. New spirit of cooperation
        1. Kennedy and Khrushchev realized they had come dangerously close to nuclear
            war and had to work to prevent that likely from ever again occurring.
        2. Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (July, 1963)
            a. Banned the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons: land, sea, and outer space.
                -- Khrushchev refused on-site inspections.
            b. Did not reduce stockpiles
            c. Signed by all major powers except France and China.
            d. JFK considered the treaty his greatest achievement
        3. Hot-line installed with 24-hour access between Moscow and Washington.

V. Assassination of JFK
    A. November 22, 1963, Kennedy assassinated in Dallas while on a southern tour to drum up
        support for his policies; pronounced dead at 1 p.m.
    B. Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin arrested in a Dallas movie theater shortly after
        he allegedly killed a Dallas police officer.
        -- Oswald killed a few days later by Jack Ruby, who was affiliated with the Mafia.
    C. Warren Commission, ordered by Johnson, report stated that Oswald was the lone
        assassin.
        -- "Magic bullet theory" states that one single bullet went through Kennedy’s back, out
            his neck, and inflicted several wounds to Texas governor Connolly.
    D. Later views question the magic bullet, Oswald’s alleged connections with Moscow, and
        mysteries surrounding Kennedy’s autopsy.

JOHNSON’S PRESIDENCY

I. President Lyndon B. Johnson and the Election of 1964
   A. Pledged to continue Kennedy’s policies when he became president in Nov. 1963.
        1. Rammed Kennedy’s stalled Civil Rights and tax cut bills through Congress.
            -- Johnson one of very few southern Democrats in favor of civil rights.
        2. Began his "War on Poverty" by pushing bills through Congress costing billions.
        3. 1964 tax cut of about $10 billion resulted in an economic boom.
    B. Election of 1964
        1. Democrats nominated LBJ on the platform of "The Great Society"
            a. Sweeping set of New Deal-type economic and welfare measures aimed to transform
                America.
            b. Public sentiment aroused by Michael Harrington’s The Other America(1962)
                which showed 20% of US population and over 40% of blacks lived in poverty.
        2. Republicans nominated Barry Goldwater, senator from Arizona
            a. Attacked federal income tax, Social Security System, the TVA, civil
                rights legislation, nuclear test ban treaty, and the Great Society.
            b. Considered by many today as the "father of the modern conservatism"
                -- Reagan’s platform in 1980 very similar to Goldwater’s in 1964.
        3. Campaign
            a. Johnson used Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to show he was a statesman and would
                not expand the war in Vietnam; offered economic reform: "Great Society"
                -- Characterized Goldwater the warmonger who might start a nuclear war.
            b. Goldwater disenchanted many of his fellow Republicans with his extremism.
                i. Suggested US field commanders be given discretionary authority
                    to use tactical nuclear weapons.
                ii. Many Republicans more moderate vis-à-vis social programs
        4. Results: Johnson d. Goldwater 486 - 52; about 43 million to 27 million
            a. Democrats swept both houses of Congress with lopsided majorities.
            b. Democratic president and Democratic Congress now had a mandate for an
                unprecedented passage of legislation in the next four years.

III. The Great Society
    A. War on Poverty (after election of 1964): Office of Economic Opportunity ("Equal
        Opportunity Act")
        1. Appropriation doubled to nearly $2 billion.
        2. Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1966
            -- Congress allocated $1.1 billion to redevelop isolated mountain areas.
        3. Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
            -- More than $1 billion given to aid elementary and secondary education.
        4. Head Start prepared educationally disadvantaged children for elementary school.
     B. Medicare Act of 1965 passed for the elderly.
         -- Supported by millions of Americans being pushed to poverty by skyrocketing
             medical costs.
    C. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created in 1966
        1. Provided for 240,000 housing units and $2.9 billion for urban renewal.
        2. 1966, Robert C. Weaver, HUD secretary, became first African American cabinet
            member in U.S. history
    D. Immigration Act of 1965
        1. Discontinued national origins system from the 1920s
        2. Immigration now based on first-come first-serve basis.
            -- Immigrants with families already residing in US had precedence.
        3. Immigration on things such as skills and need for political asylum.
            -- Artists, scientists and political refugees given preference.
        4. Act more than doubled number of immigrants coming in each year, mostly
            from Asia and Latin America.
    F. Consumer protection laws passed for full disclosure of cost of credit when borrowing money
        and regulating use of harmful chemicals in food.
    G. Culture
        1. National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities aimed to lift level of U.S. culture
        2. Public Broadcasting System created (PBS)
    H. Water Quality Act (1965)
        -- Federal gov’t could set clean water standards for states to force industry to clean up
            the nation’s lakes and rivers.
    I. Space program continued: U.S. won the space race.

IV. Triumph of civil rights (part of the Great Society)
    A. 24th Amendment (ratified in January 1964): Abolished the poll tax in federal elections.
    B. Civil Rights Bill of 1964
        1. Johnson’s skill with Congress allowed him to get Kennedy’s bill passed.
        2. Provisions
            a. Forbade segregation in hotels, motels, restaurants, lunch counters,
                theaters, and sporting arenas that did business in interstate commerce.
                -- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created to enforce the law.
            b. Relieved individuals of responsibility for bringing discrimination complaints
                to court themselves; federal government now responsible.
            c. Eliminated remaining restrictions on black voting.
            d. Title VII: Discrimination based on race, religion gender and national origin
                was illegal.
        3. Result: Most businesses in the South’s cities and larger towns desegregated immediately.
    C. Voting Rights Act of 1965
        1. Legislation still did not address the 15th Amendment guaranteeing the right to vote.
        2. March from Selma to Washington
            a. Only 383 out of 15,000 African Americans registered to vote in Selma, Alabama
            b. After 2 months of beatings, arrests, and one murder, civil rights leaders in
                Selma announced a climactic protest march from Selma to Montgomery.
            c. First march: state troopers violently ended the march on bridge outside Selma.
            d. March 9, Martin Luther King led a second march
                i. This time he halted on the bridge and marched back to Selma as
                    protesters sang "We Shall Overcome"
                ii. King had agreed to President Johnson’s request to discontinue march
            e. March 15, Johnson promised on TV to send a bill to Congress that would
                extend voting rights to African Americans in the Deep South.
            f. March 21, March proceeded peacefully from Selma to Montgomery with
                the protection of the federalized Alabama National Guard.
        3. Provisions:
            a. Literacy tests unlawful if less than 50% of all voting-age citizens were
                registered. If so, African Americans could be enrolled whether or not they could read.
            b. If local registrars would not enroll African Americans, the president could
                send federal examiners who would.
                -- This gave teeth to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
            c. As a result, 740,00 African Americans registered to vote in three years.
                i. Hundreds of African Americans elected by the late 1960s in the Old South.
                ii. African Americans no longer feared white reprisals during elections.
                iii. Southerners now began courting African American votes and businesses.
                iv. For first time since Reconstruction, African Americans migrated into the South.
    D. Affirmative Action (part of the Great Society)
        1. Johnson signed an executive order in 1965 requiring employers on federal contracts to
            take "affirmative action" to ensure underprivileged minorities and women were hired.
        2. President Nixon later furthered affirmative action.
        3. Countless American corporations that did business with the gov’t, colleges and universities
            that received federal scholarship and research funding became obligated
            to meet guidelines.
        4. Result: Black, Asian, and Hispanic enrollment in universities increased dramatically.
        5. 1970s saw cries of "reverse discrimination as the economy began to suffer and whites
            faced increased competition for jobs or were denied promotions and students were
            denied college admission.
        6. Bakke case, 1978
            a. Supreme Court ruled that Allan Bakke, a white medical student, was unfairly turned
                down to medical school because of an admissions program that favored minorities.
            b. Court declared preference in admissions could not be given to members of any
                group on the basis of ethnic or racial identity alone.
        7. Jesse Jackon became a leading advocate in the 1970s and 1980s for the continuing of
            affirmative action and the furthering of civil rights.
        8. Affirmative action weakened by Supreme Court in late 1980s and 1990s
    D. 1967, Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall as first African American to Supreme Court
    E. Forced busing
        1. 1968, Supreme Court ordered end to de facto segregation of nation’s school.
        2. Court ordered school districts to bus children from all-minority neighborhoods in the
            center cities to achieve integration of schools.
        3. Issue became controversial with middle class suburban whites in early 1970s into1990s
    F. African-American civil rights movement in retrospect
        1. Years between 1954 and 1968 seen as "2nd Reconstruction"
            -- Equality before the law largely achieved.
        2. Other minorities, e.g. women, Native Americans, Hispanics and gays looked to civil
            rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s as a model for their own efforts.

V. Rise of Black Power and racial violence
    A. Not all African Americans agreed with Martin Luther King’s non-violent methods.
        1. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 King’s ideas seemed
            obsolete to many young blacks.
        2. Many questioned whether it was a good idea for blacks to try to integrate with whites.
    B. Black Separatism
        1. Called for the separation of the races in America by returning to Africa or occupying an
            exclusive area of land in the U.S. supplied by the federal gov’t.
            a. Opposite of integration.
            b. Inspired by ideas of Marcus Garvey (leader during "Harlem Renaissance")
            c. Nation of Islam (black Muslim movement) most notable and well-organized
        2. Malcolm X
            a. Most vocal and brilliant orator of Nation of Islam
            b. Preached religious justification for black separatism and furthering of
                African American rights through "any means necessary."
                i. Advocated use of weapons for self-defense believing nonviolence encouraged
                    white violence
                ii. Many in the white community were alarmed
            c. His views softened after his pilgrimmage to Mecca; he left Nation of Islam
            d. February 21, 1965, assassinated by three members of the Nation of Islam.
            e. Never supported King’s nonviolent methods: "The white people should thank Dr. King
                for holding black people in check."
    C. SNCC and Stokely Carmichael
        1. Influenced by Malcolm X
        2. 1966, CORE and SNCC called for civil rights movements to be staffed, controlled and
            financed by blacks, thus rejecting interracial cooperation.
            -- Black nationalism replaced integration as the goal.
        3. Black Power -- attempt to seize political power in an Alabama election.
        4. Carmichael later a member of Black Panthers, based in Oakland, and
            founded by urban revolutionaries Huey Newton and Bobby Seale.
            a. Revolutionary social movement to organize African American men
                in northern and western cities to fight for liberation.
            b. H. Rap Brown another leader of the movement.
    D. Racial violence
        1. Poverty, unemployment, & racial discrimination common in major inner-cities.
            -- Empty promise of racial equality in the North ignited rage in many African American
                communities
        2. "Long Hot Summers": throughout summers of 1965, 1966 & 1967, racial disorders hit.
            a. Watts Riots -- Los Angeles, August 11-16, 1965
                -- 34 people dead, 1,072 injured, 4,000 arrested, 1,000 buildings destroyed,
                    property loss nearly $40 million.
            b. 1967, 7,000 arrested in Detroit
                i. White businesses targeted but many black businesses inadvertently burned.
                ii. Snipers prevented fire-fighters from doing their work.
            c. During first 9 months of 1967, more than 150 cities reported incidents of
                racial disorders
        3. Kerner Commission appointed by LBJ to investigate the riots. Conclusion:
            a. Frustrated hopes of African Americans led to violence.
            b. Approval and encouragement of violence both by white terrorists and by black
                protest groups led to violence
            c. Blacks had a sense of being powerless in a society dominated by whites.
            d. Recommended:
                i. Elimination of all racial barriers in jobs, education, and housing
                ii. Greater public response to problems of racial minorities
                iii. Increased communication across racial lines.
    E. Assassination of Martin Luther King -- April 4, 1968
        1. 39-year-old minister shot while standing on a balcony with friends in Memphis.
            -- King was working to increase wages for Memphis trash collectors.
        2. King had lost many supporters when he opposed the Vietnam War.
        3. Was attempting to rebuild his support -- speech on April 3rd:
"We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But id doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountain top. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight... that we as a people will get to the promised land."

VI. Rise of the "New Left"and Counterculture
    A. Impact of baby boom generation
        1. 1950 -- 1 million went to college; 1960 -- 4 million
        2. Raised largely in economic security; 75% of college students came from families
            with income above the national average.
        3. Student protest movement only a minority of student population -- 10-15%
    B. New Left
        1. By mid-1960s majority of Americans were under age 30.
        2. Universities became perceived as bureaucracies indifferent to student needs.
        3. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), headed by Tom Hayden called for
            "participatory democracy" in universities.
        4. Free Speech Movement
            a. Students at U.C. Berkeley started sit-ins in 1964 to protest prohibition of political
                canvassing on campus.
            b. Came to emphasize the criticism of the bureaucracy of American society.
                -- Police broke up a sit-in in December and protests spread to other campuses
    C. SDS would become more militant during the Vietnam War.
    D. Many of America’s youth became critical of U.S. policy and turned to alternative lifestyles
        1. Music: Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger
        2. Beatles became influenced by Americans counterculture
        3. Woodstock, 1969: three days of sex, drugs and rock and roll
            -- Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin

VII. The Warren Court
    A. Chief Justice Earl Warren appointed to the Supreme Court by Eisenhower in 1953.
        1. His Court considered one of the two creative periods in US history
            -- John Marshall is considered to be the first of the great creative periods.
        2. Warren’s court stressed personal rights (esp. 1st Amendment), placing them in a preferred
            constitutional position.
    B. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) most important of his court’s decisions.
    C. Reapportionment decisions -- "one-person, one-vote"
        1. Result has been an electoral reform shifting voting power from rural districts to
            urban and suburban areas.
        2. Required states redraw their voting districts for the U.S. Congress according to population
            so that each district had roughly the same number of people.
    D. Rights of the accused
        1. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): Established that people accused of a crime have the right
            to a lawyer, even if they cannot afford one.
        2. Escobedo v. Illinois (1964): Ruled that one has the right to a lawyer from the time of
            arrest or when one becomes the subject of a criminal investigation.
        3. Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Required that accused people be informed of their right to a
            lawyer and their right not to testify against themselves.
    E. School Prayer: 1962, banned school prayer and religious exercises in public schools.

VIII. Women’s Rights
    A. Eleanor Roosevelt’s Commission on the Status of Women highlighted inequalities women
        faced, endorsed improvements in education, equal employment, child care, and
        governmental opportunities for women.
    B. Betty Friedan
        1. Feminine Mystique (1963) considered a classic of women’s protest literature.
            -- Criticized plight of women with domestic duties (cult of domesticity) who also had
                to work full-time employment at jobs that paid women less than men.
        2. With other feminists founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966.
            a. Called for equal employment opportunities and equal pay.
            b. Argued for changes in divorce laws to make settlements more fair to women
            c. Sought legalization of abortion (most controversial issue)
            d. 1967, began advocating and Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution
                extending the same guarantees contained in the 14th Amendment
                for racial and religious minorities. (Alice Paul had started this idea in 1923)
                i. Passed in Congress in 1972 but failed by early 1980sto get required 38 states
                    necessary for ratification.
                ii. Failed to pass as movement limited to middle class women and pro- life
                    groups argued against it.
                    -- Feared ERA would deny them rights to financial support in case of divorce,
                        or would end special treatment women had received in the way of "protective"
                        courtesies in a male-dominated society.
                    -- Opposition spearheaded by Phyllis Schlafly
    C. Gains
        1. 1972, federal gov’t required colleges receiving federal funds to establish
            "affirmative action" programs for women to ensure equal opportunity.
        2. Roe v. Wade -- Legalized abortion in 1973.
            -- Hitherto states had the right to determine legality of abortion.
        3. Several corporations forced to provide back wages to female employees who had
            not received equal pay for equal work.
            -- Also had to abolish hiring and promotion practices that discriminated against women
                (Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964)
        4. Woman experienced more inclusion in the military
        5. Title IX guaranteed equal access for girls to programs boys benefited from (e.g. sports)
        6. Sally Ride -- first female astronaut
        7. Geraldine Ferraro -- became first woman in 1984 to be on a presidential ticket.

IX. Other minorities fight for rights
    A. Chicanos (Mexican-Americans)
        1. Caesar Chavez led the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC)
            and succeeded in gaining improved work conditions for mostly Chicano agricultural
            workers.
        2. La Raza Unida -- locally-based political parties sought to increase the Mexican-American
            vote in urban areas.
        3. Since 1970s a number of Mexican-Americans elected to promient political positions.
    B. Native Americans
        1. American Indian Movement (AIM) founded in 1968
        2. AIM seized Indian Bureau in Washington in 1972.
            -- Protested desperate conditions in reservations (e.g. unemployment and illiteracy).
        3. 1973, militant Indians led by leaders of AIM and the Oglala Sioux occupied
            Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
            a. Held it for two months and gained national publicity.
                i. Several Indians dead and 300 arrested.
                ii. Leaders acquitted
            b. Eventually led to Indian gain of lost fishing rights and receiving of millions
                of dollars in payments for lands taken earlier in U.S. history.
    C. Gay rights movement emerged later using civil rights laws to win discrimination cases.

X. Johnson’s legacy
    A. No president had shown more compassion for the poor, the ill educated, and minorities.
        1. Achievements of first three years compared with the successes of the New Deal.
        2. Poverty rate declined measurably in the next decade.
            a. Medicare dramatically reduced poverty among America’s elderly.
            b. Anti-poverty programs, such as Head Start, significantly improved the educational
                performance of underprivileged youth.
            c. Infant mortality rates fell in minority communities as general health conditions improved.
    B. No president since Lincoln had worked harder or done more for civil rights.
    C. "Great Society" programs heavily criticized by conservatives in subsequent years.
        1. Most programs extremely costly and eventually required increased taxes to fund them.
        2. Dubbed Great Society as "social engineering" that could not be solved simply by
            allocating billions of dollars.
    D. The Vietnam War siphoned off much of the energy of the Great Society
        1. Inflation racked the Great Society programs.
        2. War on Poverty eventually went down in defeat.
        3. Johnson’s handling of the war caused the turbulence that characterized the
            1960s and led to America’s skepticism over its government.

VIETNAM WAR

I. VIETNAM WAR
    -- Vietnam War spread across 5 presidencies and spanned 25 years. Direct U.S involvement
        from 1963-1973
    A. France lost control of Vietnam after the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954
        1. U.S. by 1954 had financed about 80% of France’s war effort.
        2. Ho Chi Minh leader of Communists: Vietminh
        3. Geneva Conference, 1954 -- Agreement reached to divide country into
            north and south along the 17th parallel until a 1956 unifying election.
            a. Ho Chin Minh accepted based on assurance that Vietnam-wide elections
                would occur within two years.
            b. Eisenhower refused to sign Geneva agreement
                -- Domino Theory -- if one country falls to communism, other
                    surrounding countries will fall, one right after the other, like dominoes
                    (included Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, maybe India)
            c. In the south, pro-western gov't under Ngo Dinh Diem took control in Saigon.
    B. Vietnam’s Civil War
        1. The Ngo Dinh Diem Regime
            a. U.S. backed Ngo Dinh Diem
                i. Nationalist and fierce anti-communist
                ii. Aloof and aristocratic Catholic autocrat ruling over a nation of poor Buddhist
                    peasants.
            b. Ngo canceled 1956 elections and seriously divided the country.
                i. US supported him -- didn’t want Ho Chi Minh winning election.
                ii. South Vietnam in disarray from war and colonial rule
            c. Eisenhower promised economic and military aid to Ngo’s regime in return for social
                reforms.
                i. Reforms extremely slow
                ii. 4 of 5 dollars went to the military
            d. Dulles created the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in order to
                prop up Diem's regime; Britain & France incuded
                i. Supposed to be a "NATO" in Southeast Asia.
                    -- Only Philippine Republic, Thailand, and Pakistan signed in Sept. 1954
                ii. US pledged to prevent communist expansion in Asia (Vietnam & China)
                    -- Sent in military advisors to train S. Vietnamese forces
        2. In response, the Vietcong’s (VC) political arm, the NLF (National Liberation
            Front) ,was formed in South Vietnam and tied to Ho Chi Minh in the north.
            a. Consisted of Vietminh and other groups opposed to Ngo.
            b. Supported by China and the Soviet Union
            c. Promised economic reform, reunification with the north, and genuine independence.
                -- Goal: Topple pro-American gov’t from power
            d. NLF assassinated 2,000 gov’t officials during 1960.
            e. Civil War resulted
    C. Kennedy and Vietnam
        1. Kennedy had to choose between abandoning Ngo or deepening US involvement.
            -- Increased US military advisors from 652 to 16,000
                i. Goal was to strengthen S. Vietnam Army with US technology.
                ii. Also hoped to pressure Ngo into making necessary reforms.
        2. Fall of Ngo Dinh Diem
            a. Buddhist monk set himself on fire to protest Ngo’s regime (self-immolation)
                -- Photos of this changed world opinion overnight.
            b. Nov.1, 1963, a coup by S. Vietnamese generals overthrows and kills Ngo.
                i. Tacitly supported by US as Ngo’s corruption seen as a liability.
                ii. Three weeks later JFK is assassinated.
        3. The question of whether or not Kennedy would have pulled out of Vietnam still remains
            unanswered today.
    D. Johnson’s War -- Political aspect
        -- "I’m not going to be the president who saw SE Asia go the way China went."
        1. Keeps most of Kennedy’s cabinet:
            a. Dean Rusk - Sec. of State: Major proponent of the domino theory
            b. Robert McNamara -- Sec. of Defense: claims responsibility for war in 1995
            c. McGeorge Bundy - NSC.
        2. Johnson rejects any settlement in Vietnam not guaranteeing a non-communist gov’t.
        3. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
            a. Early Aug. 1964, Johnson announced N. Vietnamese torpedo boats had
                attacked two US destroyers on international waters Aug. 2 and 4 patrolling off the
                coast of N. Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin.
                -- "Attacks were unprovoked"
            b. Congress almost unanimously passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
                -- Gave Johnson more authority to widen the war effort w/o waitingfor Congress
                    to declare war.
            c. Years later, it became known that US ships were helping S. Vietnamese
                commandos raid N. Vietnamese islands and that attacks were not "unprovoked"
            d. In response, Johnson ordered a "limited" retaliatory air raid against North
                Vietnamese air bases, stating he sought "no wider war"
            e. LBJ used this episode effectively during 1964 presidential campaign.
            f. Major point: LBJ’s major error was using the G of T Resolution to justify
                his widening of the war without seeking congressional and popular approval.
               i. He sought to protect his Great Society programs by keeping the war’s
                    decision-making secretive.
               ii. His lack of trust in the Joint Chiefs of Staff after the Cuban Missile Crisis meant top
                    military officials were not part of the war's policy process.
            g. No evidence exists that LBJ intentionally sought to escalate the war.
        4. Decision to escalate
            a. As situation unraveled, initial objective of S. Vietnamese stabilization no longer viable.
                i. The further U.S. got in, the harder it was to get out
                ii. Military demanded more bombing & escalation
                -- Key cabinet officials advised escalation; Ike also
                iii. Domino theory continually cited despite China turning inward during
                    its Cultural Revolution and Soviet desire to promote negotiations.
            b. Under advisement, Johnson considered escalation w/o assurances that it would
                succeed. This was the fatal flaw in U.S. policy.
        5. Operation Rolling Thunder
            a. 6 months after G of T incident (Feb. 1965), US base at Pleiku was attacked and
                8 Americans died, over 100 injured.
            b. LBJ made fateful decision to escalate the war on March 2, 1965
            c. LBJ ordered the 1st bombing of N. Vietnam which went nonstop for 3 years.
                i. Bombing aimed at bases, roads, and railways in North Vietnam.
                ii. Also targeted the "Ho Chi Minh Trial," a tangled network of dirt roads and
                    muddy trails along which soldiers and supplies flowed from N. Vietnam
                    through Cambodia and Laos into South Vietnam.
                iii. Raids failed to cut off N. Vietnamese aid to the NLF.
                iv. S. Vietnam still suffered heavy losses from the Vietcong.
        6. Increase of US troops
            a. March 1965, two battalions begin arriving at Da Nang (1 mo. after Pleiku)
            b. 1965 -- 184,000; 1966 -- 385,000; 1967 -- 485,000; 1968 -- 538,000
                -- Increases in US troops matched by increased numbers of North Vietnamese
                    soldiers fighting with the Vietcong and increased aid from USSR and China.
            c. Annual bill more than $30 billion.
        7. US forces initially but falsely optimistic about a short successful war effort
            a Tenacity and devotion of the N. Vietnamese was greatly underestimated.
            b. Ho Chin Minh had warned the French "you can kill ten of my men to one of
                yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.

II. Fighting the Vietnam War
    -- General William C. Westmoreland, American military commander in Vietnam.
    A. Air War
        1. Air strikes were preferred because it cost less US lives.
        2. By 1967, US had dropped more bombs on Vietnam than the Allies dropped during
            all of WWII.
        3. Vietcong dug 30,000 miles of tunnels to ship supplies and escape bombing.
    B. Ground War
        1. Search and destroy missions to combat guerrilla tactics was common
            a. Westmoreland constantly urged significant escalation of U.S. ground troops.
            b. Just finding the enemy was difficult
            c. "The guerrilla wins if he does not lose, the conventional army loses if it
                does not win"; by definition, US was losing.
            d. Dense, humid, hot hostile jungle terrain
            e. Westmoreland’s attrition strategy relied heavily on firepower e.g. napalm (incendiary)
                and Agent Orange (a defoliant).
        2. Vietcong knew the terrain and had much better peasant support.
        3. "Pacification" programs -- Villages were uprooted by US and people moved to cities.
        4. Average age of US soldier in Vietnam was 19 (26 in WWII);
    C. Tet Offensive in 1968 – beginning of the end to U.S. involvement in Vietnam
        1. Westmoreland & other officials had been claiming the war’s end was "coming into view"
        2. Tet New Year, Jan 30. 1968, massive coordinated strike by North Vietnam
            a. 67,000 Vietcong attacked 100 cities, bases, and embassy
            b. Offensive lasted approx. one month.
            c. Thousands of casualties on both sides.
        3. Tet Offensive not militarily successful for Vietnam but psychologically destroyed
            American hopes.

III. Critics of US policy
    A. New Left
        1. Massive student protests began focusing on the Vietnam war.
            a. Many occurred at university campuses.
            b. SDS became more militant, used violence & turned to Lenin for its ideology.
        2. New Left lost political influence after it abandoned its original commitment to
            democracy and non-violence.
    B. Antiwar movement
        1. Starts with 1965 bombing escalation; antiwar sentiment explodes.
        2. Religious, anti-nuke, women, civil rights groups all joined in the anti-war effort.
        3. Draft the biggest cause for protest
            a. Small campus "teach-ins" in 1965 escalated to enormous public protests.
            b. NY and San Francisco saw hundreds of thousands of marchers yelling
                "Hell no, we won’t go," and "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?"
        4. Draft numbers increased from 5K per month in 1965 to 50K per month in 1967.
            a. Poor were twice as likely to be drafted as middle class (until lottery in 1970)
            b. Thousands of draft registrants fled to Canada; others burned their draft cards
        5. Millions of Americans felt pinch of war-induced inflation. (1966 - costs $2 billion/yr)
    C. Press
        1. Technology allowed Vietnam to brought into American’s living rooms with very
            little censoring of the press.
        2. Walter Cronkite -- "What the hell is going on. I thought we were winning the war. It
            seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience in Vietnam is to end
            in a stalemate. The only rational way out is to negotiate."
            -- Johnson: "If I’ve lost Walter, then it’s over, I’ve lost Mr. Average Citizen"
        3. Editorials in Newsweek, Time, and Wall Street called for negotiated settlement.
        4. Military assessments and data was questioned.
            -- Body counts did not account for guerrilla war; McNamara defended them since
                U.S. was fighting a war of attrition.
        5. Public support for the war eventually plunged from 40% to 26%.
    D. Senator Fulbright of Arkansas headed the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
        1. Staged a series of widely viewed televised hearings in 1966 and 1967 during
            which prominent commentators aired their largely antiwar views.
        2. Public came to feel it had been lied to about the causes and "winnability" of the war.
            -- Increase in antiwar "doves"
    E. Hawks and Doves argued over US role.
        1. Hawks defended president’s policy and drew on Truman’s containment policy.
            -- John Birch Society (formed in 1958)
                i. Radical Right organization est. to combat what was perceived to be
                    communist infiltration into American life.
                ii. Advocated the impeachment of Earl Warren, perhaps the most
                    liberal Chief Justice in U.S. history.
        2. Doves argued war was a civil war in which U.S. should not get involved.
            a. Argued South Vietnam’s gov’t not democratic, opposed large-scale aerial
                bombings, use of chemical weapons, and the killing of civilians.
            b. Rejected the domino theory pointing out increased losses of American lives
                and the economic cost of the war.
        3. Most Americans neither but disturbed by the war and protests.
        4. Tet changed public opinion dramatically
           -- Hawks -- 62% to 22% from Jan 1968 to March 1968; Doves from 22% to 42%
    F. Democratic party challengers for 1968 nomination
        1. Johnson’s popularity dropped from 48% to 36%
            -- McNamara’s departure rocked Johnson’s confidence of his political support.
        2. Eugene McCarthy, liberal from Minnesota, ran an antiwar campaign in New
            Hampshire and nearly got 1/2 the vote on March 12; inspired Robert Kennedy to run.
        3. March, Robert Kennedy launched antiwar based campaign.
        4. March 31, 1968 -- Johnson announced he would not seek another term
            a. "I have decided that I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of
                my party for another term as your President."
            b. Tet, McCarthy, and RFK contributed to LBJ’s decision.
            c. Vietnam had claimed a presidency

IV. Election of 1968
    A. Nominees
        1. Robert F. Kennedy assassinated after winning CA primary over Eugene McCarthy.
            a. Assassin a Palestinian named Sirhan Sirhan
            b. Assured Vice President Hubert Humphrey of the Democratic nomination.
                -- Riot occurred in Democratic convention in Chicago between police and
                    anti-war activists; Nation and the world watched as riot was televised
        2. Republicans nominated Richard M. Nixon
            a. Spiro Agnew v.p. running mate, aimed to appeal to Southern voters.
                i. Agnew tough on African Americans and dissidents in his state of Maryland.
                ii. Part of Nixon’s "Southern strategy"
            b. Nixon committed to continuing war until enemy settled for "honorable peace."
                -- Similar to Humphrey’s position
        3. Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama: American Independent Party.
            a. Appealed to fears generated by protesters and big government.
            b. Had attempted to block segregation in Little Rock in 1963 when he stood
                in the doorway to prevent two blacks from entering the U of Alabama.
            c. Advocated putting blacks back into their place while bombing North
                Vietnam "back to the Stone Age."
    B. Result
        1. Nixon d. Humphrey by 1% of popular vote but by 301 to 191 in electoral votes.
        2. Congress remained Democratic
        3. Democrats won 95% of the black vote.
        4. Nixon a minority president with no clear mandate to do anything.
            -- Owed his victory to the divisions caused by the war and protest against the
                unfair draft, crime, and rioting.

V. Nixon and Vietnam
    A. 1969, Nixon publicly claimed he had a secret plan for ending the war.
            -- He didn’t; it went on for 4 more years at the cost of thousands of American lives.
    B. "Nixon Doctrine"
        1. "Vietnamization"
            a. Nixon called for a withdrawal of US troops in South Vietnam over a period of time.
            b. South Vietnam would receive US money, weapons, training, and advice so that they
                could gradually take over the burden of fighting the Vietcong.
                -- By 1973, number of US soldiers reduced from 500K to 25K.
            c. Henceforth, Asians and others would have to fight their own wars without the support
                of significant numbers of U.S. ground troops.
        2. Expansion of the war by stepped-up bombing and ground attacks
    C. Continuing protests
        1. Doves wanted an immediate withdrawal that was complete, unconditional, and
            irreversible.
        2. October 1969, 2 million people across the U.S. protested Nixon’s policies.
        3. November 3, Nixon televised his appeal to the great "silent majority," who presumably
            supported the war.
            -- Appeal became divisive as Nixon and Agnew verbally attacked the protesters and
                those who did not support the government’s policies including the media.
        4. Mylai Massacre, 1968 (revealed to public in 1969)
            a. Lt. William Calley massacred 350 civilians in the village of Mylai
            b. Calley court martialed, convicted of murder, & sentenced to life in prison.
            c. Calley claimed to follow direct order; sentence lowered to 10 years
            d. Public outraged and hundreds of thousands protested
    D. Negotiations in Paris
        1. Talks had begun in 1968 between US supported Thieu gov’t and the North Vietnam
            supported Vietcong.
            a. US position: all N. Vietnam forces  should withdraw from S. Vietnam and Thieu gov’t
                should remain.
            b. N. Vietnam: US troops withdraw; coalition gov’t including Vietcong should replace
                Thieu
        2. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger began secret negotiations with North Vietnam
            -- Negotiations were kept secret from public, press, even Nixon’s own cabinet.
    E. Bombing of Cambodia -- The Secret War
        1. Nixon ordered secret bombing of Cambodia, Laos, & N. Vietnam in March, 1969.
            a. Purpose was to cut off communist supply lines but ultimately failed.
            b. Wasn’t made public until 1973.
        2. April 1970, Nixon announced on TV he was sending troops into Cambodia to clear
            out communists who ignored Cambodian neutrality and disrupt Ho Chi Minh Trail
            -- invasion would be limited to 60 days.
    F. Protests over Cambodia
        1. New wave of protests sparked by US activities in neutral Cambodia.
        2. Kent State incident (May 3, 1970)
            a. Students at Ohio’s Kent State protested; burnt down ROTC building.
            b. National Guard fired into crowd killing 4 (innocent bystanders) &wounding 11.
        3. Jackson State incident, May 1970 (all black school in Mississippi)
            a. One week after Kent State, rioting in downtown Jackson prompted National
                Guard to be called out.
            b. 2 dead, 12 wounded; both dead were innocent bystanders.
        4. Several hundred colleges closed down by student strikes; moderates joined radicals.
        5. Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
        6. Protests wane after Cambodian climax
    G. "Pentagon Papers" -- 1971
        1. Former defense analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked government documents in regard to
            war effort during the Johnson years to the New York Times.
        2. Classified documents revealed that the government had misled the Congress and the
            American people regarding its intentions in Vietnam during the mid-1960s.
            a. Primary reason for fighting was not to eliminate communism but to "avoid a
                humiliating defeat."
            b. Gulf of Tonkin truth revealed.
        3. White House tried to block publication
            -- Supreme court overruled Nixon..
        4. Government’s credibility received another heavy blow.

VI. Ending the War
    A. South Vietnamese proved unable to defeat communists despite billions in training money
    B. American forces were withdrawn from Cambodia in early 1972 but with increased bombing.
    C. Spring 1972, North Vietnamese equipped with foreign tanks burst through the DMZ
        separating the two Vietnams.
        1. March 1972, Nixon ordered massive bombing of North Vietnam and mining of its ports.
        2. Nixon’s diplomacy with China and USSR paid dividends as neither retaliated.
        3. North Vietnamese offensive ground to a halt.
    D. October 1972, Paris Peace Talks reopened.
        1. North Vietnam dropped demand that a coalition gov’t replace Thieu.
        2. US would allow North Vietnamese troops to remain in South Vietnam.
        3. Draft agreement included a cease-fire, return of American POW’s, and US
            withdrawal from Vietnam.
        4. With election of 1972 approaching, Nixon wanted a settlement.
            -- November -- Kissinger announced "peace is at hand"
        5. Settlement fell apart as Thieu wouldn’t sign the treaty.
    E. Christmas Bombings: Hanoi and Haiphong
        1. Dec. 18, Nixon orders intense bombing of North Vietnam’s major cities of
            Hanoi and Haiphong -- most massive bombing of the war
    F. Paris Accords (1973)
        1. North Vietnam returned to bargaining table and agreed to same deal reached in October
            of 1972.
            a. North Vietnam retained control over large areas of the South.
            b. Agreed to release US POWs within 60 days.
            c. US would withdraw its forces after prisoners were released.
        2. Thieu agreed because Nixon promised him US would back him if there was trouble.
        3. Nixon: "Peace with honor"
        4. Critics: "Could have come to this agreement 4 years earlier."
        5. March 29, 1973, the last American combat troops left South Vietnam
    G. Fall of Saigon to communists occurs in April 1975
        1. South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam.
        2. Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
    H. Costs of the War
        1. 58,000 dead Americans, 300,000 wounded; MIA’s -2,583
        2. Over 2 million Vietnamese dead; MIAs - 300,000
        3. $150 billion spent on the war rather than on social programs.
        4. A large percentage of Americans came to distrust their government (even more so
            after Watergate Scandal)
    I. 1973, Nixon abolished the draft and established an all-volunteer army.
    J. 26th Amendment (ratified in 1971)
        -- Voting age lowered from 21 to 18 years of age.
    K. July 11, 1995, President Clinton formally recognized Vietnam

Bibliography:
Bailey, Thomas A., Kennedy, David M.: The American Pageant, 10th edition, Lexington,
    Massachusetts: D.C. Heath, 1994
College Board, Advanced Placement Course Description: History -- United States, European
    History, College Entrance Examination Board, 1996
Foner, Eric & Garraty, John A. editors: The Reader’s Companion to American History, Boston:
    Houghton MifflinCompany, 1991
Kennedy, Paul, Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict
    from 1500 to 2000, New York: Random House, 1987
McMaster, H. R., Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs
    of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam,  New York: Harper Collins 1997
McNamara, Robert S., In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, New York:
    Random House, 1995
Nash, Gary : American Odyssey, Lake Forest, Illinois: Glencoe, 1992
Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M., The Cycles in American History, New York: Hougton Mifflin, 1986
Schultz, Constance G., The American History Videodisc Master Guide, Annapolis, Maryland:
    Instruction Resources Corporation, 1995
Weisberger, Bernard A., Cold War, Cold Peace, New York: American Heritage, 1985
Zinn, Howard, A People’s History of the United States, New York: Harper and Row, 1980