Social, Military and Political effects of the Vietnam War

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Text Guide, PowerPoint Presentation on End of Vietnam War

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Suggested Title: Johnson Presidency - Decline & Fall

Text:

Pres. Johnson's started to feel the mounting backlash of the difficulty in making his promises about Vietnam happen in 1966. His critics pointed to a credibility gap and this was fed over mounting frustrations at home regarding the loss of American Lives and the financial burden the Vietnam War has become. Despite the success of his enacting the Medicare Law in conjunction with his Great Society program, he became the target of counter-cultural demonstrations against the War with students calling LBJ a 'murderer'. Even then, he truly believed in the 'Domino Theory' and for Johnson, it was important to 'contain communism' due to the threat he believed it posed on the security of his people and the world. By virtue of the 'Gulf of Tonkin' resolution which gave him exclusive right to increase military manpower and delegate resources without Senate approval, he increased US military presence in Vietnam. By 1968, there were over 550,000 US soldiers in Vietnam, with death rate registering at 1,000 soldiers a/month. Although he sought to downplay the War in his speeches, after the Tet Offensive of 1968 he could do so no longer. Domestic issues were eclipsed by the grim pictures coming from Vietnam and the highly shocking numbers of American loss. Still he tried to convince the American public that if Vietnam fails, fighting will eventually reach American territory. Wherever he went there were scores of protesters and protest rallies especially since after the Tet Offensive it was strongly believed that the War in Vietnam is unwinnable compounded by the fact that he admitted to have used misleading information to get his 'Gulf of Tonkin' direct deployment powers. His Party, the Democrats, were divided in support or defiance of him until, in a bid to politically survive; he no longer had a choice except accept withdrawal from Vietnam altogether. Even then, he chose not to run for a second term having finally realized that the Vietnam War has divided the Democratic ...