LBJ and the Vietnam War

Transcription

1 LBJ and the Vietnam War

2 Lyndon B. Johnson- Election of 1964 We have the opportunity to move toward a rich society and powerful society, but a great society Barry Goldwater-Republican candidate Did not want to promote welfare, rather extending freedom Johnson beats Goldwater by a landslide

3 Great Society Knew how to get his way with Congress, many bills were passed during his presidency Civil Rights Act of 1964 Banned discrimination in public accommodations Signed in memory of JFK Civil Rights Act of 1965 Voting Rights Act of 1965 Wanted a colorblind society

4 War on Poverty Economic Opportunity Act Created dozens of federal antipoverty programs Job Corps: taught disadvantaged youth job skills Project Head Start Programs for low income preschool children Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Medicare- Health insurance for people 65 and older Medicaid- Health insurance for low-income families

5 Helped Education! Provided aid to school districts nationwide Spearheaded the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Sesame Street

6 Immigration Act of 1965 Immigration Act of 1965 Did away with requirements on national origin Focused on people s skills and ties to family Clean Air Act Set emission standards for factories to reduce air pollution Was the Great Society too much or just enough??

7 Warren Court Chief Justice Earl Warren led the Supreme Court Many court decisions made under Justice Warren Led to the creation of the Miranda Rights These are the rights that are given to the accused when they are being arrested

8 Hippies Many young people sought freedom of expression Jeans, colored tie-dyed shirts, sandals Stopped shaving, wore long hair, no makeup Peace, love, and good vibes Love > money Experimented with new sounds in music and art

9 Woodstock 1969 in upstate New York About 400,000 people convened at the festival Helped popularize a new generation of rock performers 3 days of peace and music

10 Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Baby boomers were teens and young adults now. New Left: Thought society was deeply flawed Goal was to allow people to take an active part in government Wanted to replace power rooted in privilege and possession with power rooted in love and creativity The Free Speech Movement: Some colleges banned the group to speak on their campus This movement shutdown campuses

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12 Vietnam War Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon Ho Chi Minh- Vietnam communist turned President of North Vietnam, who wanted to stir up trouble, and opposed foreign occupation Members under him were called Viet Minh Vietnam had been under French control originally First Indochina War-1946 Between France and Vietnam Lasted for 8 years

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16 Can you guess what the next slide is about??

17 Do we increase involvement? Dien Bien Phu-1954 If the French fell it could lead to a domino effect Viet Minh overtake the French, and start pulling out of Northern Vietnam Geneva Accords July 1954, French and the Viet Minh signed a peace treaty Vietnam would temporarily split along the 17th parallel The U.S. gets involved and puts Ngo Dinh Diem in charge His opponents would be called the Viet Cong

18 Gulf of Tonkin Johnson I don t think it s worth fighting, but I don t think we can get out For years, North Vietnam had been sending supplies over to the Viet Cong through the Ho Chi Minh Trail Ho Chi Minh Trail Network of footpaths, bridges, and tunnels Johnson wants to attack radar stations off the coast of North Vietnam North Vietnam Army strikes back and fires torpedoes a US destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin

19 Gulf of Tonkin continued. Two days after the initial attack, American sailors thought their destroyer was hit again, so they fired back...no attack actually took place LBJ ordered air strikes against naval bases in North Vietnam Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Allowed the President to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent future aggression Expanded our role in conflict

20 Hawks vs. Doves Hawks: Favored expanding U.S. military involvement in Vietnam Against the policy of appeasement Stressed American credibility Dove: Advocated a peaceful solution through negotiation and compromise Escalating the war would not guarantee victory Involvement was not in the nation s interest

21 Sending troops March 8th, 1965, the first U.S. combat troops landed in Vietnam Did not officially declare war...acted off the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

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