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Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident Congress authorizes President Johnson to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." The US wages total war against North Vietnam. -
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United States Involvement in the Vietnam War
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Operation Rolling Thunder
Bombing raids on North Vietnam commence referred to as 'Operation Rolling Thunder'. The air raids continue for three years. -
Beginning of Protests
4,000 demonstrated against the U.S. war in London outside the U.S. Embassy, a number of people were arrested -
Support gained from Martin Luther King Jr.
As the American protests against the US policy in Vietnam continue and Martin Luther King openly expressed support for the antiwar movement on moral grounds. -
End of Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder comes to an end. Government officials began protesting the war. President Johnson’s advisors began to oppose the war, causing LBJ to withdrawal from the presidential race on March 31. Peaceful forms of protests were becoming challenging. -
Second March on Washington
Less cohesive antiwar movements had begun. Most Americans pragmatically opposed escalating the U.S. role in Vietnam, believing the economic cost too high; in November of 1969 a second march on Washington drew an estimated 500,000 participants. -
Kent State Shootings
The Kent State shootings occurred on May 4, 1970 at Kent State University in the U.S. city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others. There was a significant national response to the shootings: hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools closed throughout the United States due to a student strike of four m -
Bombing at Capitol Building
The Capitol building in Washington is damaged by a bomb planted in protest of the invasion of Laos. -
University Protest Outbreak
In response to renewed escalation of bombing, students at many colleges and universities around the country broke into campus buildings and threatened strikes. The next weekend, protests were held in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. -
American Troops Pulled From Vietnam
Due to public protests, President Nixon was under such great pressure he was forced to pull the last American troops out of Vietnam in August of 1973. -
Watergate Scandal
President Nixon resigned due to the Water Gate Scandal. New President, Gerald Ford, wanted to increase military aide to the faltering Saigon regime. Congress refused his requests to what it saw as pouring more money and lives away. The struggle of the American minds was over, for there would be no more Americans in Vietnam. -
End of War
Vietnam War officially ends.
