Protesting the Vietnam War

Essential Questions1. Who fought against whom in the Vietnam War?2. Why did the US become involved in Vietnam, and why

did it increase its involvement into the 1970s?3. What events led the general public to turn away from

supporting the war?4. What was LBJ’s attitude toward US involvement in

NAM?5. What was Nixon’s secret plan to end the war?6. How did the war change under Nixon’s administration?7. Was the Vietnam War overwhelmingly popular among

American citizens? Why or why not?10-15 minute discussion

Basic Knowledge of the Vietnam War

The Walter Cronkite Effect

• Turned many Americans away from supporting the war when he made a report on CBS news declaring that the war was not possible to win. Cronkite took a trip of Vietnam prior to this report.

LBJ’s Reactionto Cronkite Newscast

• "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America."

Essential Questions

• What did Nixon believe would be the consequences of immediate U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam?

• What specific events did Nixon cite to support his arguments against “precipitate troop withdrawal”?

• What is meant by “Silent Majority”? • What did John Kerry believe about the alleged threat

that North Vietnam posed to the United States? • What did John Kerry believe were the results of

Nixon’s policies as spelled out in the 1969 “Silent Majority” speech?

• What did Nixon mean by “Vietnamization,” and what did Kerry think of this policy?