Essential Question: Why did the U.S. become involved in the war in Vietnam? How did the war affect the home front?
I. Lyndon Johnson�s Great Society
A. LBJ�s domestic goals
1. Array of federal programs designed to build a society that was wealthy
�in mind and spirit�
2. Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 seemed to
complete the ongoing effort to end racial discrimination in political life
II. Escalation in Vietnam
A. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
1. LBJ�s first strategy for dealing with Vietnam was to use air strikes
against the North
2. Drafted a congressional resolution authorizing strikes soon after
assuming office, but needed rationale for submitting resolution
3. Events in Gulf of Tonkin in Aug. 1964 provided rationale
a. Apparent attacks on US naval vessels by N. Vietnamese
torpedo boats
b. LBJ painted events as unprovoked aggression against US forces
4. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized LBJ to take �all necessary
measures to repel armed attack�
a. LBJ treated as tantamount to congressional declaration of war
b. Cited as legal authorization for subsequent military action
B. The war widens
1. As instability in Vietnam mounted, LBJ decided he had no choice but to
extend US involvement
a. Wanted to protect Great Society
b. Needed to back up American promises to South Vietnam
c. Domino Theory
2. Operation Rolling Thunder 1965 initiated sustained bombing of North
3. US ground troops also introduced
4. War grew more intense throughout 1965
a. Napalm, which charred both foliage and people, was used
b. Search and destroy missions against communist forces
5. US involvement steadily increased over the next three years
6. Devastation of North Vietnam by American bombing won sympathy
from around the world and spurred anti-American sentiment and
demonstrations in other countries
7. Administration also hounded by protesters at home
C. The media and the war
1. Despite LBJ�s efforts to sell the war, opposition continued to mount
2. Because the war was not declared, the government had a hard time
preventing information from being transmitted to the American people
3. Television brought the war into people�s living rooms
4. Antiwar protesters challenged the structure of American politics/culture
III. The War at Home
A. The Vietnam War produced controversy (�Hawks� v. �Doves�)
1. Vocal opposition to the war first centered on college campuses
2. As the war dragged on, the feeling between the hawks and doves
became increasingly bitter