Transcript HO CHI MINH - Laurel County Schools

As John F. Kennedy ushered in the 1960s, it also ushered in a sexual
revolution, a civil rights revolution, a “counterculture” movement, war in
Vietnam, and the start of a feminist revolution
The start of the Kennedy presidency was full of
hope and enthusiasm
John F. Kennedy was the youngest president
ever elected
Put “the best and brightest” into cabinet
positions
Kennedy put his brother Robert Kennedy in as
Attorney General
Robert McNamara, the former head of Ford
Motors, became the Defense Secretary
Kennedy’s program as president was called the “NEW FRONTIER”
Proposed the PEACE CORP that would bring skills to
underdeveloped nations
Most of Kennedy’s programs stalled in Congress
Kennedy also promoted a massive program to
land an American on the moon
In 1969, the first Americans landed on the lunar
landscape!!!!
It was during the Kennedy presidency
that the BERLIN WALL was built
Kennedy replaced the Eisenhower Doctrine of “massive retaliation” with “flexible
response”
Allowed the US to choose a variety of options depending on the
situation
Increased spending on military forces
Created Special Forces such as Green Berets and Navy Seals to
fight guerilla warfare
Kennedy also ordered an increase in the number of “MILITARY
ADVISERS” in South Vietnam
By the time of Kennedy’s death, some 15,000 were in South
Vietnam
Most of Kennedy’s foreign policy problems involved the USSR and the island nation of Cuba
Kennedy ordered the CIA plan for invasion known as the BAY OF PIGS that failed
Kennedy pushed the US to the brink of nuclear war with the CUBAN MISSILE
CRISIS
FIDEL CASTRO was the communist leader of Cuba
The US and USSR created a “HOTLINE” for tensions like this in the future
Kennedy did little for the Civil Rights Revolution during his
presidency
Was afraid of losing Southern votes
Did call Martin Luther King’s wife when he was in prison
Called for Civil Rights legislation, but died before it could happen
The Kennedy Presidency came to an end with his assassination on
November 22, 1963
Killed by LEE HARVEY OSWALD in Dallas, Texas
JACK RUBY killed Oswald days later
LBJ became President
WARREN COMMISSION studied the assassination and ruled Oswald acted
alone
In American history, the relationship between the US and Latin American countries has been
tense at various times
Many of those nations see the United States as the “Colossus of the North” who throws its
power around to get what we want!!!
When JFK became President, he attempted to create better relationships
with Latin America
Created the ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESS whose goal was to help poor Latin
American nations
American assistance had little positive impact though
Kennedy also, though, took a tough stance in regards to FIDEL
CASTRO’S communist Cuban nation
Inherited from Dwight Eisenhower a plan to topple Fidel Castro
with Cuban exiles
Worked up and planned by the CIA
Known as the BAY OF PIGS invasion
US was to help exiles overthrow Castro, but invasion went bad
and Kennedy did not act
Actions like the attempted overthrow of Castro and repeated assassination
attempts pushed Castro even more further towards a friendship with the
Soviet Union
Soviet leader Khurshchev was quick to seize upon the opportunity
Khrushchev and Castro made a deal in October of 1962 to
place nuclear-tipped missiles in Cuba
Cuba just 90 miles away from United States territory
Would destroy the concept of “mutually assured
destruction”
Russians hoped to blackmail JFK into
backing down in Berlin
Would turn into a game of “nuclear
chicken”
John F. Kennedy’s first response to the news of Soviet missiles
was a “naval quarantine” of Cuba
Soviets told they MUST remove all missiles in Cuba
All other missiles headed to Cuba must turn back
Kennedy also announced that any attack on the US from
Cuba would be considered a direct attack from the Soviet
Union and the US would launch missiles toward Moscow
For weeks, events looked as if the world would be sucked
into a nuclear conflict. Neither side was willing to back
down
President Kennedy CANNOT allow missiles in Cuba…ever
Khrushchev can’t publicly back down or he looks weak to
Communist leadership
In 1991, we learned more information that showed the Soviets already had missiles with
nukes and were given permission to launch them if attacked (WOW!!!!)
On October 28th, 1962 Nikita Khrushchev finally flinched
Back channel negotiations had been going on continuously
Soviets agreed to pull missiles out of Cuba
US agreed to end the quarantine and not invade the island
US also agreed to remove some missiles pointed at the Soviet
Union in Turkey (were going to anyway, but made Khrushchev
look like he got something from the US)
Khrushchev removed from office
Creation of a “HOTLINE” between the two nations
Kennedy tried to create a better relationship
with the Soviets
Soviet Union went even more serious about
building military weapons thus pushing the US
to catch up
Lyndon B. Johnson became president upon the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963
When LBJ became President, he pledged to continue JFK’s policies
Pushed Kennedy’s stalled Civil Rights Bill and tax cut bills through Congress
Began his WAR ON POVERTY by pushing bills through Congress costing billions
Johnson nominated by Democrats to run for the
presidency in 1964 on the platform known as the GREAT
SOCIETY
The Great Society was a set of New Deal type economic
and welfare measures aimed to transform American
society
Much of this inspired by the book THE OTHER AMERICA by MICHAEL
HARRINGTON which showed much of the population (especially blacks) lived in
poverty
Johnson ran against Republican BARRY GOLDWATER who is known as the FATHER
OF MODERN CONSERVATISM
Johnson made Goldwater look like he was a warmonger who might start a nuclear war
Johnson defeated Goldwater soundly
What programs made up the Great Society initiative???
Prepared educationally disadvantaged children for
elementary school
Provided medical care for the elderly not covered
(Housing and Urban Development)—built housing units for
public housing
Money to promote culture in the United States
Public Broadcasting System
Forbid segregation in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and sporting arenas
that did business in interstate commerce
Discrimination based on race, religion, gender, and national origin in the
workplace was illegal
Said literacy tests unlawful, allowed President to send examiners where
election laws may have been violated
Gave preference to minorities to make up for past discrimination
The major part of the Vietnam War took place between 1964
and 1973
The Vietnam War will span across 5 different presidents and
span a total of 25 years
America’s interest in Vietnam started when France lost
control of Vietnam after the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954
Because of American interest in “containing” communism,
US had paid for about 80% of France’s war effort
The leader of the communists in North Vietnam was HO CHI
MINH
At the Geneva Conference in 1954, an
agreement reached that divided Vietnam
into a north and south section along the
17th parallel until a unifying election
could be held in 1956
In the North—Ho Chi Minh in charge
In the South--Diem was in control of
Saigon with help and support of the US
Vietnam was part of America’s foreign policy known as the
“DOMINO THEORY”
Was United States belief that if one country in Indochina fell to
communism, other surrounding countries would fall also like
dominoes!!!!!
Although initially supported by the US, South Vietnamese leader Diem
was unpopular among the people
Eventually, a civil war erupted inside Vietnam led by the Vietcong
Vietcong were communist insurgents in the South supported by Ho Chi Minh
Were also supported by the Soviet Union and China
After Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy escalated
slowly the buildup of US personnel in Vietnam
He increased military advisors from 652 to 16,000
Kennedy’s goal was to strengthen S. Vietnamese
Army with US technology
Also hoped to pressure Diem to make reforms
Eventually, Diem was removed from power in an
overthrow by S. Vietnamese generals
Three weeks later JFK was assassinated
Lyndon B. Johnson will be the president that will greatly increase US involvement in Vietnam
Stated “I’m not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went”
ROBERT MCNAMARA –Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and
Johnson—pushed for US escalation
For the United States, the real beginning of the Vietnam War was the GULF OF TONKIN
RESOLUTION in 1964
600,000
Johnson told Congress that North Vietnamese boats had
attacked
500,000
two US destroyers on international waters and that the attacks
were “unprovoked”
400,000
Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave Johnson
for
300,000
U.S. Troopsmore authority to widen the war effort without waiting
Congress to declare war
Years later, found out what Johnson said was not absolutely
true!
200,000
Johnson ordered a limited air attack, but did not want a “wider
100,000
war”
Major problem for LBJ’s distrust of military staff so top military
officials often were not part of the war policy process 0
1961 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968
Starting in 1965, the United States greatly increased the amount
of troops in Vietnam
In the air part of the war, the US dropped more bombs on Vietnam than the Allies
droppped during all of WWI
Vietcong were able to hid in tunnels that were part of the Ho Chi Minh
Trail
To flush out the enemy Napalm was used to burn out heavy
jungle areas
AGENT ORANGE used as a defoliant to kill jungle vegetation
Later US soldiers exposed developed cancers
The beginning of t he end of US involvement in Vietnam was the TET OFFENSIVE in 1968
North Vietnam began a massive coordinated attack
Tet Offensive not military successful for N. Vietnam, but psychologically destroyed
American hopes of winning
Many of the critics against Vietnam policy included the New Left—HANOI JANE
Led massive student protests on university campuses—KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
Large antiwar movement also begins
Lots of anger over draft policy b/c it drafted more lower class
Thousands of draft dodgers fled to Canada and others burned their draft cards—BILL
CLINTON
The press was an important factor in support or nonsupport for the Vietnam War
People could see the bodies of American soldiers brought home
WALTER CRONKITE, the most famous media person, turned against the war effort
Johnson said… “If I’ve lost Walter, then it’s over”
The 1960s were a period when long-held values and norms of behavior seemed to break down,
particularly among the young
Many of these were the driving force behind the Civil Rights and antiwar movements
Many others separated themselves from mainstream society by dressing different or a
different lifestyle
Attitudes toward sexuality also changed
Women began to protest the role of housewives and mother that society expected of
them
One of the earliest cultural movements was the NEW LEFT
Lead organization was the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) headed by Tom Hayden
Pushed for a “Free Speech Movement” on college campuses
Criticized the bureaucracy of American society
SDS became more violent during the Vietnam War
One of the more memorable cultural movements of the 1960s was called the
COUNTERCULTURE
Slogan was “SEX, DRUGS, AND ROCK N’ ROLL”
Like the New Left, they felt alienated by the bureaucracy, materialism, and the
Vietnam War
These individuals turned away from traditional society in favor of an alternative
society
In many ways, they were the heirs of the Beatniks
Many of the members of the “counterculture” were known as
‘HIPPIES”
Experimented with eastern religions, drugs, and sex
Many were involved in urban communities like the HaightAshbury District in San Francisco
Sometimes referred to as ‘flower children”
One of the most famous byproducts of the
counterculture was their music
Famous artists of the movement included Bob
Dylan, Joan Baez, and Pete Seger
Even the famous Beatles of England became
influenced by America’s counterculture
Famous music event of the period was WOODSTOCK in August 1969
Featured Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana
Known for unrestrained drug use and sex
By 1970s, counterculture movement was shrinking b/c of its excesses or its members becoming
more mainstream
The SEXUAL REVOLUTION, while part of the counterculture movement, began also in
the early 1960s
Two main things that promoted the movement were the birth control pill and
antibiotics
Encouraged freer sexual practices
Promiscuity increased among younger Americans
Challenged traditional values of pre-marital sex as wrong
Another major movement was the WOMEN’S RIGHT MOVEMENT o f the 1960s
Women involved in the movement were
often referred to as FEMINISTS
Sought things like the legalization of
abortion and equal employment
opportunities and equal pay
Eventually will seek the ERA (Equal Rights
Amendment)
The major work that helped form much of
the thinking of 1960s women was the book
FEMININE MYSTIQUE by BETTY FRIEDAN
Friedan and other feminists formed the
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN
(NOW) in 1966
Greatest opponent of NOW and feminists
movement was PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY
ROE V. WADE—legalized abortion in 1973
TITLE IX—guaranteed equal access for girls
to programs boys benefited from (high
school sports)
SALLY RIDE—first female astronaut
SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR—first female
Supreme Court Justice (appointed by
Ronald Reagan)
GERALDINE FERRARO—first woman in
1984 to be on a presidential ticket
(Democratic VP with Carter)
Other movements of the 1960’s included
Mexican American rights led by Cesar
Chavez