Chapter 29

OUT OF MANY A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Chapter 29 War Abroad, War at Home 1965 -1974

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Part One:

Introduction

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Chapter Focus Questions Why did President Johnson escalate the war in Vietnam? How did campus protests shape national political debate? What were the goals of Johnson’s Great Society? What divided the Democratic Party in 1968? How did Richard Nixon win the presidential election in 1968? What is meant by the “politics of identity”? © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Part Two:

American Communities: Uptown, Chicago, Illinois

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American Communities: Uptown, Chicago, Illinois In 1964, a small group of college students tried to help residents in a poor Chicago neighborhood. The activists were members of Students for a Democratic Society. Founded by white college students, SDS initially sought reform and grew by 1968 to have 350 chapters and between 60,000 and 100,000 members. Efforts to mobilize the urban poor were unsuccessful, but SDS members helped break down isolation and strengthened community ties. By 1967, SDS energies were being directed into protests against the widening war in Vietnam. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Part Three:

Vietnam: America’s Longest War

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Johnson’s War Although pledging not to send American soldiers into combat, he manipulated Congress into passing a resolution that was tantamount to a declaration of war. When bombing failed to halt North Vietnamese advances, Johnson sent large numbers of troops into Vietnam to prevent a Communist victory. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The massive bombing and ground combat created huge numbers of civilian casualties in Vietnam. The majority killed were women and children.

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Deeper into the Quagmire Search-and-destroy missions combined with chemical warfare wreaked havoc on the people and the land. LBJ was committed to a war of attrition to wear out and destroy Vietnam.

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The Credibility Gap Johnson kept his decisions from the American public and distorted accounts of military actions. News media increasingly questioned the official descriptions of the war. As casualties mounted, more Americans questioned LBJ’s handling of the war. In Congress, Democratic senators led by J. William Fulbright opposed Johnson’s handling of the conflict.

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Part Four:

A Generation in Conflict

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“The Times They Are A-Changin’” People of all ages protested against the war, but young people stood out. Early campus protests at Berkeley centered on students’ rights to free speech. In 1967, San Francisco attracted thousands of young people for the “Summer of Love.” Events like the Woodstock festival gave witness to the ideals of the counterculture. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The nationally acclaimed photographer Peter Simon was something of a hippie himself in the 1960s and took many photographs of the “alternative culture.” Here he captures a group of hippies in the typically rural setting of back-to-the-land communes.

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From Campus Protests to Mass Mobilization College students organized protests that questioned the war effort and universities’ roles in war-related research. Student strikes merged opposition to the war and other community issues. Public opinion polarized. Massive anti and pro-war rallies occurred. Nonviolent and violent protests erupted at draft boards.

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On May 8, 1970, New York construction workers surged into Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, violently disrupting an antiwar rally and attacking the protesters with lead pipes and crowbars. Known as the “hard hat riots,” the well-publicized event was followed later in the month by a march, 100,000 strong, of hard-hat workers unfurling American flags and chanting “All the way U.S.A.” © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Teenage Soldiers The cultural attitudes of protesters were even found among their equally young GI counterparts. Working-class Latinos and African-American young men made up a disproportionate share of the soldiers. Many soldiers grew increasingly bitter over government lies about their alleged victories and the inability of society to accept them once they returned home. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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African American troops in Vietnam, 1970. Serving on the front lines in disproportionate numbers, many black soldiers echoed the growing racial militancy in the United States and increasingly chose to spend their off-duty time apart from white soldiers. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Part Five:

Wars on Poverty

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Wars on Poverty Chart: Comparative Figures on Life Expectancy at Birth by Race and Sex, 195070 Chart: Comparative Figures on Infant Mortality by Race, 1940-70 LBJ called for “an unconditional war on poverty.” Chart: Percent of Population Below Poverty Level, by Race, 1959-69 © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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FIGURE 29.1 Comparative Figures on Life Expectancy at Birth by Race and Sex, 1950–70 Shifting mortality statistics suggested that the increased longevity of females increasingly cut across race lines but did not diminish the difference between white people and black people as a whole.

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FIGURE 29.2 Comparative Figures on Infant Mortality by Race, 1940–70 The causes of infant mortality such as inadequate maternal diets, prenatal care, and medical services were all rooted in poverty, both rural and urban. Despite generally falling rates of infant mortality, nonwhite people continued to suffer the effects more than white people.

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FIGURE 29.3 Percent of Population Below Poverty Level, by Race, 1959–69 Note: The poverty threshold for a nonfarm family of four was $3,743 in 1969 and $2,973 in 1959. SOURCE: Congressional Quarterly, Civil Rights: A Progress Report , 1971, p.46.

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The Great Society Johnson established the Office of Economic Opportunity to lead the war on poverty. The Job Corps failed, but agencies focusing on education were more successful. Community Action Programs threatened to become a new political force that challenged those in power. The Legal Service Program and Head Start made differences in the lives of the poor. The Great Society was opposed to income redistribution. Most social spending went to the non-poor through Medicare. A 1970 study concluded the war on poverty had barely scratched the surface. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Crisis in the Cities Cities became segregated centers of poverty and pollution with large minority populations.

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Urban Uprisings Urban black frustrations resulted in over 100 riots in northern cities between 1964 and 1968. Map: Urban Uprisings, 1965-1968 A presidential commission blamed the rioting on white racism, poverty, and police brutality, and recommended massive social reforms.

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MAP 29.1 Urban Uprisings, 1965–1968 After World War II, urban uprisings precipitated by racial conflict increased in African American communities. In Watts in 1965 and in Detroit and Newark in 1967, rioters struck out at symbols of white control of their communities, such as white-owned businesses and residential properties. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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1968 1968 proved much more turbulent than previous years. Many questioned why things had become so violent.

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The Tet Offensive Map: The Southeast Asian War On January 30, 1968 the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive, shattering the credibility of American officials who had been predicting a quick victory. Despite the military victory, media reports triggered antiwar protests. LBJ declared a bombing halt and announced he would not seek reelection. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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MAP 29.2 The Southeast Asian War The IndoChinese subcontinent, home to long-standing regional conflict, became the center of a prolonged war with the United States.

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King, the War and the Assassination By 1968, Martin Luther King had broken with LBJ on Vietnam and had announced a massive Poor People’s Campaign. He was assassinated in Memphis. Rioting broke out in over 100 cities.

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The Democrats in Disarray Polarization split the Democratic Party. Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy both sought the anti-war vote. Kennedy appeared unbeatable, but was assassinated. Hubert Humphrey won the nomination from a bitterly divided party. The Democratic convention was the scene of a major confrontation between protesters and police. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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In 1968, Richard J. Daley had been elected mayor of Chicago four times and held power as a traditional city boss. In December of that year, the National Commission on Violence released a report that concluded that Chicago police, acting under Mayor Daley’s orders, had been “unrestrained and indiscriminate” in their attacks on demonstrators at the National Democratic Convention held the previous August. In response, Mayor Daley brazenly announced a 22 percent salary increase for members of the city’s police and fire personnel.

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“The Whole World is Watching!” The Democratic convention was the scene of a major confrontation between protesters and police.

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The Republican Victory Map: The Election of 1968 In 1968, Richard Nixon’s campaign revealed the increasing conservative leanings of white voters. Nixon narrowly defeated Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace.

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MAP 29.3 The Election of 1968 Although the Republican Nixon-Agnew team won the popular vote by only a small margin, the Democrats lost in most of the northern states that had voted Democratic since the days of FDR. Segregationist Governor George Wallace of Alabama polled more than 9 million votes.

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Part Six:

The Politics of Identity

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Black Power Generational divisions marked the civil rights movement as younger African Americans turned to Black Power. Groups like the Black Panthers reflected the growing militancy and the calls for community autonomy. Racial pride grew during the late 1960s, affecting numerous segments of the African-American community. A renewed interest in African heritage and customs arose. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The war in Vietnam contributed to the growing racial militancy in the United States. African Americans served on the front lines in Vietnam in disproportionate numbers, and many came to view the conflict as a “white man’s war.”

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Sisterhood is Powerful During the early 1960s, many women began to demand equal rights. By the late sixties, the influence of civil rights and the New Left appeared as women identified their movement as one of liberation. In thousands of communities, women formed small consciousness-raising groups to examine the power dynamics in their own lives. A diverse and comprehensive women’s rights agenda emerged, though the movement remained a bastion of white middle-class women. Chart: Women in the Workforce, 1940-80 © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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This is the Statute of Liberty as it appeared after nearly 100 women from various women’s liberation groups demonstrated on the island, August 10, 1970. The demonstration was to show support for the proposed equal rights amendment which was currently before the Congress. Shortly after noon, park rangers made the women remove the banner from the base of the statute.

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FIGURE 29.4 Women in the Workforce, 1940-80 SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of the Census. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Gay Liberation The gay community had gained visibility during WWII and several openly gay organizations had emerged. The Stonewall Riot in New York City in 1968 galvanized a Gay Liberation Front. Gradually, changes in public opinion led to more accepting attitudes and a large minority of homosexuals “came out” of the closet.

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The Chicano Rebellion Mexican Americans articulated a sense of Chicano pride and nationalism, initiating a series of protests. Throughout the Southwest, Mexican Americans organized to push for land and social reforms as well as political power. Cesar Chavez successfully organized Chicano agricultural workers into the United Farm Workers. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Labor activist Cesar Chavez spearheaded the organization of Chicano agricultural workers into the United Farm Workers (UFW), the first successful union of migrant workers. In 1965, a strike of grape pickers in the fields around Delano, California, and a nationwide boycott of table grapes brought Chavez and the UFW into the media spotlight. Like Martin Luther King Jr., he advocated nonviolent methods for achieving justice and equality.

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Red Power Map: Major Indian Reservations, 1976 Indian activists, led by the American Indian Movement, organized protests such as taking over Wounded Knee. An Indian Renaissance led to many new books about Indian life.

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MAP 29.3 Major Indian Reservations, 1976 Although sizable areas, designated Indian reservations represented only a small portion of territory occupied in earlier times. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The Asian American Movement Like Black Power and Latino activists, Asian Americans embraced a nationalism that emphasized ethnic pride and cultural survival.

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Part Seven:

The Nixon Presidency

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Domestic Policy Despite his conservatism, Nixon: supported a guaranteed income to replace welfare imposed a wage and price freeze to hold down inflation

He appealed to conservatives in his opposition to school busing and Supreme Court appointments. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Nixon’s War Nixon promised to bring “peace with honor” to Vietnam. Nixon and National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, believed that a military defeat would destroy U.S. global leadership. Nixon spoke of a phased withdrawal of American troops, but widened the war by invading Cambodia. Massive protests led to four deaths at Kent State and two at Jackson State. Nixon accepted a peace settlement that led to the fall of South Vietnam. Chart: U.S. Military Forces in Vietnam and Casualties, 196181 Chart: Public Opinion on the War in Vietnam © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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FIGURE 29.5 U.S. Military Forces in Vietnam and Casualties, 1961–81 The U.S. government estimated battle deaths between 1969 and 1973 for South Vietnamese troops at 107,504 and North Vietnamese and Vietcong at more than a half-million. Although the United States suffered fewer deaths, the cost was enormous. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Defense, Selected Manpower Statistics, annual and unpublished data; beginning 1981,National Archives and Records Service, “Combat Area Casualty File ” (3-330-80-3).

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FIGURE 29.4 Public Opinion on the War in Vietnam By 1969 Americans were sharply divided in their assessments of the progress of the war and peace negotiations. The American Institute of Public Opinion, founded in 1935 by George Gallup, charted a growing dissatisfaction with the war in Vietnam. SOURCE: The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion,1935 –74 (New York: Random House,1974), p. 2189.

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On Monday, May 4, 1970, after a weekend of antiwar demonstrations against the invasion of Cambodia, Ohio National Guardsmen fired sixty-seven bullets into a crowd of students, killing four and wounding nine others on the campus of Kent State University. As news of the killings spread, students at hundreds of colleges and universities turned out in mass demonstrations to protest widening the war in Southeast Asia and the increasing violence on campus. Approximately 5 million students joined the national student strike, boycotting classes for the remainder of the week. As news of the Kent State “massacre” spread to Vietnam, some U.S. troops refused orders to invade Cambodia; others wore black armbands to demonstrate their solidarity with students at home. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Seeing History Kim Phuc, Fleeing a Napalm Attack near Trang Bang.

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Playing the “China Card” Nixon opened relations with the Communist government in China. Relations with the Soviet Union improved as he negotiated a grain deal and signed an arms control agreement. Nixon’s last diplomatic effort was to send Kissinger to the Middle East where he negotiated a temporary lull in the ongoing war.

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Foreign Policy as Conspiracy Nixon’s foreign policy included a wide range of secret interventions that propped up or destabilized regimes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

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Dirty Tricks and the 1972 Election Domestically, Nixon formed an inner circle to keep information from the public and to plug leaks. In 1972, Democrats nominated George McGovern, representing the liberal wing of the party. The Nixon reelection committee ran a dirty-tricks campaign to confuse the Democrats, including a breakin at the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex.

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Watergate: Nixon’s Downfall The White House tried to cover up its Watergate involvement, but two reporters followed the evidence back to the Oval Office. Nixon fired the special prosecutor who sought secret tapes Nixon had made of White House conversations. After a congressional investigation, Nixon finally resigned to avoid impeachment. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Richard Nixon bid a final farewell to his White House staff as he left Washington, DC, on August 9, 1974. The first president to resign from office, Nixon had become so entangled in the Watergate scandal that his impeachment appeared certain. He was succeeded by Vice President Gerald Ford. After taking the oath of office later that day, President Ford remarked that the wounds of Watergate were “more painful and more poisonous than those of foreign wars.” © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Part Eight:

Conclusion

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