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War of Attrition
American troops were defeating the enemy by wearing them down because Johnson knew that directly attacking North Vietnam would bring in China. A easy and decisive war grew remote and made Americans question the war. -
National Teach-in
A group of more than 100,000 antiwar demonstrators would meet up to discuss the issues surrounding the war and agreeing upon reasons to oppose it. -
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Twenty Sixth Amendment
A lot of college students were getting drafted but refusing to go, officials stared prosecuted some of the citizens who refused to serve. And put a lottery system in place so only people with low numbers were part of the draft. Draftees argued the fact that if they could be drafted then they should be allowed to vote and that led to the Twenty Sixth Amendment being published. -
MLK Jr. speaks up
African Americans made up about 10% of the war personel and were about 20% of deaths which angered the African American leaders one of them being Mart Luther King Jr. This led to military officials helping the African American death rate lower to 12% by the end of the war. -
Two Sides
The nation divided into two sides. The doves who wanted to leave and the hawks who wanted to stay and fight.. -
Tet Offensive
A surprise attack towards Americans from the Vietcong and North Vietnamese was launched on the Vietnamese New Year. The attack caused americans to be doubtful that they were being told the truth about the war. -
Johnson Leaves The Race
McCarthy was attracting people because of his opposition of the war. Realizing that he wouldn't beat McCarthy of Kennedy Johnson decided to appear on television with his announcement to not proceed with his nomination of his party for another year. -
Assassinations
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis by James Earl Ray -
Assassinations
The assassination of Robert Kennedy on June 5th who was likely to win the democratic nomination was killed by an Arab nationalist. -
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Democratic National Convention
Young activists had surrounded the center to protest the war. A fight at a park had broken out between some of the protesters and the police and was aired on national television. Some people believed the police were in the wrong and some believed the protesters were in the wrong. -
Nixon Wins
Nixon won the presidency, public opinion polls helped give him a wide lead over his opponents. Nixon’s campaign promise to unify the nation and restore law and order. He wanted to represent the citizens who wanted to maintain law and order but hadn't been seen. He promised a secret plan and that he would bring peace with honor to Vietnam.