
1. Withdrawal and Consequences
1.1. Nixon is elected in 69 begins withdrawal
1.2. War results in death and destruction
1.3. 112$ cost
1.4. containment fails
1.5. Pentagon Papers show LBJ's misleading of the public
1.6. Democrats saw Republicans as anti-war and voted them instead
2. Johnson's Unpopularity
2.1. Approval rates go from 85% in 64 to 24% in 68
2.1.1. decides not to run for re election
2.2. War's costs take away from Great Society Programme
3. reasons for involvement
3.1. LBJ support policy of containment
3.2. Domino Theory
3.3. US credibility at stake
3.4. initially wanted a limited war
4. '64 presidential election
4.1. Vs Barry Goldwater
4.2. Candidate for peace; he says he will not send "American boys nine to ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to do for themselves" but that's exactly what he does
4.3. Limited war isn't working; vietcong are too strong and ARVN can't stop them, lbj either involves US a lot or withdraws
4.3.1. Decides to Stay
5. Main/Important events
5.1. Gulf Of Tonkin
5.1.1. 64- N. Vietnamese boats fire USS Maddox while patrolling gulf of Tonkin. They reported being fired again and returned fire
5.1.1.1. The event was likely staged. Used by lbj to pass Tonkin resolution (he gave a misleadint account) take "all necessary measures including military force"
5.2. Operation Rolling Thunder
5.2.1. Massive air assaults on North Vietnam - 1 billion $
5.2.1.1. Further involvements costs up to 30 billion $ a year
5.3. My Lai Massacre
5.3.1. villages suspected of helping vietcong destroyed - US troops take out frustration on civilians
5.3.1.1. 347 people killed
5.3.1.1.1. alienated US soldiers from vietnamese peasants
5.4. Tet Offensive
5.4.1. Vietnamese New year attack 68 on Saigon by vietcong
5.4.1.1. Though it was a huge blow to Vietcong it showed lbj's lie that the war was a success
5.4.1.1.1. event increased americans' opposition to the war and opened a credibility gap -- how much of what the government says is true?
6. Failures
6.1. napalm, defoliants -- agent orange to get rid of jungle; angered the vietnamese
6.2. Soldiers only drafted for a year, made it difficult to create team spirit and the gained experience could not be used. Sisyphus aah
6.3. use of artillery and search and destroy could not counter guerrilla
7. War Opposition
7.1. Walter Cronkite: "What the Hell Is Going On?" speech -- lbj admitted that if he lost Cronkite he had "lost middle america"
7.2. 4 Million Students Protests: "Hell no, we won't go"
7.2.1. "Hey Lbj, how many kids did you kill today?"
7.3. Important figures like Martin Luther King Jr and Muhammad Ali were against the war
7.3.1. Ali; "I ain't got no quarrel with the Vietcong, no Vietcong ever called me [...]"
7.4. First "TV War"; normal people could see the atrocities in Vietnam first hand
7.5. People being drafted were mostly working class whites, blacks and latin americans
7.5.1. rich whites could dodge drafting by leaving the country or enrolling in university
7.5.1.1. Racial tensions in USA