The Assassination of JFK, LBJ Administration & U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
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Transcript of The Assassination of JFK, LBJ Administration & U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
The Assassination of JFK, LBJ Administration & U.S. Involvement in
Vietnam
Semester 2Week 11
JFK Shot11/23/1963, Kennedy & his wife traveled to TX with VP Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) for a series of political appearances
As the presidential motorcade rode slowly through the crowded streets of Dallas, gunfire rang out
Someone had shot the president twice, once in the throat & once in the head
Horrified gov’t officials sped JFK to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead moments later
Let the Conspiracies BeginLee Harvey Oswald, the
man accused of killing JFK, appeared to be a confused & embittered Marxist who had spent time in the USSR
He himself was shot to death while in police custody 2 days after the assassination
The bizarre situation led some to speculate that the 2nd gunman, local nightclub owner Jack Ruby, killed Oswald to protect others involved in the crime
Warren Commission1964, a national commission headed by Chief Justice Warren concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin
The report of Warren Commission left some questions unanswered, and theories about a conspiracy to kill the president have persisted, though none has gained wide acceptance
LBJ takes over Immediately after JFK was
pronounced dead, officials whisked LBJ to the airport
At 2:38 PM on 11/22, he stood in the cabin of Air Force One, LBJ took the oath of office
LBJ knew that he had to assure a stunned public that he could hold the nation together
A day after the assassination, LBJ appeared before Congress & urged the nation to move on, “The ideas and ideas which [Kennedy] so nobly represented must and will be translated into effective action,” he stated. “John Kennedy’s death commands what his life conveyed- that America must move forward.”
Election of 1964LBJ’s Republican opponent in the 1964
presidential election was Sen. Barry Goldwater (AZ) known for his outspoken conservatism
Few Americans were ready to embrace Goldwater’s message, which was too aggressive for a nation nervous about nuclear war
On Election Day, LBJ won in a landslide, winning all but 5 S'rn states & AZ
After his election, LBJ began working with Major goals of civil rights movements were
achieved with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which barred discrimination of many kinds, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which ensured African American’s right to vote
Great SocietyGreat Society was LBJ’s vision of the more perfect &
equitable society the U.S. could & should becomeLBJ’s goals were consistent w/ the times for several
reasonsThe civil rights movement had brought the grievance
of Afr. Amer. to the forefront, reminding many that greater equality of opportunity had yet to be realized
Economics also supported LBJ’s goal The economy was strong, and many believed it would remain so
indefinitelyFrom 1965-1968, more than 60 programs were
passed, among the most significant programs were Medicare and Medicaid
Medicare had especially strong support since it was directed at the entire elderly population in 1965, around half of those over the age of 65 had no health
insurance
Education in the Great SocietyGreat Society programs also strongly supported
educationThe Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 granted millions of dollars to public and private schools for textbooks, library materials, and special education programs
Efforts to improve education also extended to preschoolers, where Project Head Start
It was directed at disadvantage children who had “never looked at a picture book or scribbled with a crayon”
Another program, Upward Bound, was designed to provide college preparation for low-income teenagers
Legacy of the Great Society
The Great Society programs touched nearly every aspect of American life & improved thousands if not millions of lives
In the years since LBJ left office, however, debate had continued over whether or not the Great Society was truly a success
The impact of the Great Society was limited. In his rush to get as much done as he could, LBJ did not calculate
exactly how his programs might work. As a result, some of them didn’t work as well as people hoped
the programs grew so quickly they were often unmanageable and difficult to evaluate.
A lack of funds also hurt the effectiveness of Great Society programs. The programs themselves were expensive enough. When Johnson attempted to fund both his grand domestic agenda and the increasingly costly war in Vietnam, the Great society eventually suffered
PREPARE FOR QUIZTAKE OUT A SHEET OF PAPER
NUMBER 1-5
QUIZ1. In what city was JFK assassinated?2. Who was accused of assassinating
JFK?3. What claimed that the JFK
assassination was done by a single shooter?
4. Who took over as president after JFK was assassinated?
5. From 1965-1968, how many programs were passed from the Great Society?
Vietnamese HistoryWhen the Japanese seized power
in Vietnam during WWII, it was one more example of foreigners ruling the Vietnamese people
China had controlled the region off and on for hundreds of years
From the late 1800s until WWII, France ruled Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia (a region known as French Indochina)
One of the leaders of the nationalist movement was Nguyen Tat Thanh (AKA Ho Chi Minh)
Ho Chi MinhFound the Indochinese Communist
Party & worked to overthrow French rule
Ho Chi Minh’s activities made him a wanted man; fled Indochina & spent several years in exile in the USSR & China
1941, he returned to Vietnam; By then Japan had seized control of the country
Ho Chi Minh organized a nationalist group called the Vietminh united both Communists & non-
Communists in the struggle to expel the Japanese forces
the U.S. began sending military aid to the Vietminh
Vietnam After WWII8/1945, w/ the Allies’ victory over Japan
the Japanese surrendered control of Indochina
Ho Chi Minh & his forces quickly announced Vietnam independence
France had no intention of seeing Vietnam become independent
Seeking to regain their colonial empire in SE Asia, French troops returned to Vietnam in 1946 & drove the Vietminh forces into hiding in the countryside
1949, France set up a new gov’t in Vietnam
United States Opposes Colonialism In Vietnam the independence movement had become
entangled with the Communist movementU.S. officials did not think France should control Vietnam,
but they did not want Vietnam to be Communist either2 events convinced the Truman administration to help
France: the fall of China to communism the outbreak of the Korean War
Korea convinced American officials that the USSR had begun a major push to impose communism on East Asia
Shortly after the Korean War began, Truman authorized a massive program of military aid to French forces fighting in Vietnam.
IKE defended U.S. policy in Vietnam by stressing what became known as the domino theory (the belief that if Vietnam fell to communism, so too would the other nations of SE Asia)
French Can’t Control the VietminhThe French struggled against the Vietminh, who
consistently frustrated the French with hit-and-run & ambush tactics
These are the tactics of guerrillas, irregular troops who usually blend into the civilian population and are often difficult for regular armies to fight
1954, the French commander ordered his forces to occupy Dien Bien Phu
A huge Vietminh force surrounded Dien Bien Phu and began bombarding the town.
5/7/1954, the French forces at Dien Bien Phu fell to the Vietminh
The defeat convinced the French to make peace & w/draw from Indochina
Geneva ConferenceNegotiations to end the
conflict were held in Geneva, Switzerland
The Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel
Ho Chi Minh & the Vietminh controlled North Vietnam
a pro-W’rn regime controlled the South
1956 elections were to be held to reunite the country under a single gov’t
U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
After the Geneva Accords partitioned Vietnam, the French finally left
The U.S. almost immediately stepped in & became the principal protector of the new gov’t in the South, led by a nationalist leader named Ngo Dinh Diem
1956, Diem refused to hold countrywide elections, as called for by the Geneva Accords
He knew that the Communist-controlled north would not allow genuinely free elections, and that Ho Chi Minh would almost certainly have won as a result
IKE supported Diem & increased U.S. military & economic aid to South Vietnam
1954, U.S. Joint Chief-of-Staff said Indochina had no strategic advantage to the United States. It was also believed that if the United States got absorbed into a land war in Indochina, the Soviets would make advancements in Europe
PREPARE FOR QUIZTAKE OUT A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER
NUMBER 1-5
QUIZ1. What countries make up French
Indochina? (France is not one of the countries)
2. Who organized a nationalist group called the Vietminh?
3. What 2 events convinced the Truman administration to help France?
4. The Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam along the?
5. Who was the leader in South Vietnam?