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Eisenhower Rejects Troop Commitment
President Eisenhower refuses to commit American troops to the Franco-Vietnamese War. In a press conference he states, "I cannot conceive of a greater tragedy for America than to get heavily involved now in an all-out war in any of those regions."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TewPLFUpE-4 -
French Surrender
The French surrender to the Viet Minh. The Geneva Conference on the status of Indochina begins.
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Kennedy Elected President
Democrat John F. Kennedy defeats Republican candidate Richard M. Nixon to become the 35th President of the United States. JFK contributed a lot to America's policies, as he negotiated the Nuclear-Test Ban, and initiated the Alliance of Progress.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEC1C4p0k3E -
Credibility Gap
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara tells the press that the Kennedy administration intends to withdraw most American forces from South Vietnam by the end of 1965. The gap widens between information released by the U.S. government and the actual situation in Vietnam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzaYb3oBfWQ -
Kennedy Assassinated
While riding in a motorcade through Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy is shot and killed. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumes the presidency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dAsLgoqx_Y -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gives President Lyndon Johnson the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend South Vietnam against Viet Cong forces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crALHjTiXbk -
Anti-War Teach-in
The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) hold the first anti-war teach-in at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Students, faculty, and local citizens participate in debates, lectures, and film presentations meant to challenge assumptions about the Vietnam War.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3slnPIh_oU -
Counterculture
A counterculture developed in the United States in late 1960s. This movement lasted from approximately 1964 to 1972, and it coincided with America's involvement in Vietnam. A counterculture is the rejection of conventional social norms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJABGpyoJ20 -
Tet Offensive
Beginning on the Vietnamese Tet holiday, Viet Cong forces shock U.S. troops with a wave of attacks supported by North Vietnamese troops. Heavy fighting will continue for months. Ultimately, the Tet Offensive will be a catastrophe for the NLF and the Viet Cong, which lose 37,000 fighters. But it is also a serious blow for the United States, which loses 2,500 men. Public support for the war in the U.S. plummets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVCSnhn8His -
Stonewall Riots
In the early hours of June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in Greenwich Village in New York City. The raid sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police roughly hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, leading to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside the bar on Christopher Street, in neighboring streets and in nearby Christopher Park.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nFxpQG7nBQ -
Vietnamization
The number of U.S. troops in Vietnam peaks at 543,000. President Richard Nixon announces his plan for "Vietnamization" of the war—that is, training and transitioning South Vietnamese troops to assume the roles that have been fulfilled by American troops—and promises to withdraw 25,000 American soldiers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_OwEAdt3Fo -
Watergate Scandal
The Watergate scandal happened when United States President Richard Nixon, a Republican, was tied to a crime in which former FBI and CIA agents broke into the offices of the Democratic Party and George McGovern (the Presidential candidate). Nixon's helpers listened to phone lines and secret papers were stolen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHnmriyXYeg
