Vietnam and a decade of turmoil
The 1960s brought ambitious reforms, a divisive war in Vietnam, and deep social conflict.
Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis
John F. Kennedy, elected in 1960, faced the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba (1961) and, in October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Soviets placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. After 13 tense days, the Soviets removed the missiles in exchange for a US pledge not to invade Cuba and the secret removal of US missiles from Turkey. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963.
The Great Society
President Lyndon B. Johnson launched the Great Society and a 'War on Poverty': Medicare and Medicaid (1965) provided health insurance for older and low-income Americans; federal aid to education expanded; Head Start helped young children. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ended national-origin quotas, transforming immigration patterns.
Origins of the Vietnam War
After France's defeat in 1954, Vietnam was divided between communist North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh, and US-backed South Vietnam. Following the domino theory, the fear that if one country fell to communism its neighbours would follow, the US sent aid and advisers. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) gave Johnson broad authority to use force.
Escalation
By 1968, over 500,000 US troops were in Vietnam. The war was fought largely as guerrilla warfare in jungles and villages, with heavy bombing. The Tet Offensive (January 1968), a surprise communist attack on South Vietnamese cities, was a military setback for the North but shattered American confidence that the war was being won.
The anti-war movement
Opposition grew on campuses and beyond, fuelled by the draft, rising casualties, and televised images of the war. In 1968, Johnson announced he would not seek re-election. At Kent State University in 1970, National Guard troops killed four students during an anti-war protest.
1968: a year of crisis
1968 saw the Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. (April) and Robert F. Kennedy (June), riots in many cities, and chaotic protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Republican Richard Nixon won the presidency promising 'law and order'.
Ending the war
Nixon pursued 'Vietnamization', gradually withdrawing US troops while expanding bombing, including into Cambodia and Laos. The Paris Peace Accords (1973) ended direct US involvement. In 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, uniting the country under communist rule. About 58,000 Americans and an estimated two to three million Vietnamese died. The War Powers Act (1973) sought to limit presidential war-making.
Worked example
A 19-year-old in 1969 might face a draft lottery number that determined whether he would be called up. College deferments, which favoured wealthier young men, meant that working-class and minority men were overrepresented among those sent to Vietnam, fuelling anger about the fairness of the draft. The US ended the draft in 1973, creating an all-volunteer force.
Key takeaways
Kennedy faced the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) before his 1963 assassination. Johnson's Great Society created Medicare, Medicaid, and Head Start, and the 1965 immigration law ended quotas. The domino theory and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution drew the US into Vietnam; the Tet Offensive (1968) undermined confidence. Anti-war protest grew. 1968 brought assassinations and turmoil. Vietnamization and the 1973 Paris Accords ended US involvement; Saigon fell in 1975.
Flashcard
Failed 1961 invasion of Cuba
Check your understanding
Why was the Tet Offensive of 1968 so significant even though it was a military setback for North Vietnam?