Unit 7 Study Guide

Gideon v Wainwright

In Gideon v. Wainwright, defendant Clarence Gideon had not had the money to hire a lawyer. Forced to defend himself, he had been found guilty and sent to prison. In 1964, the Court ruled that Gideon's Sixth Amendment right to an attorney had been violated. As a result, courts now provide public defenders to people who are accused of a crime but who cannot afford a lawyer

How did the expansion of the war result in more protests?

peace activists had staged the biggest antiwar demonstration in U.S. history: the nationwide Vietnam Moratorium Day. A moratorium is a suspension of activity. Organizers asked Americans to take the day off to reflect on the war. More than 2 million people—not only students but also older, middle-class Americans—responded in a day of dramatic and widespread protest. They took part in rallies and marches, attended church services, and engaged in discussions. About 250,000 demonstrators came to the nation's capital. In one of the protest activities, tens of thousands of them marched from the Washington Monument to the White House, where they held a candlelight vigil

Insurgency

rebellion, threatened to overwhelm the South Vietnamese army.

Be able to compare and contrast the arguments of hawks and doves

. Hawks believed in the containment doctrine. They argued that the war was morally correct and could be won by giving the military a free hand to expand the fighting. Doves regarded U.S. actions as immoral and futile. In their view, the war was a civil conflict in which the United States had no right to interfere. They wanted LBJ to seek peace.

What major pieces of civil rights legislation were passed under Johnson's watch?

1. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.Johnson envisioned a society free of racial injustice. One of his first priorities as president was passage of Kennedy's civil rights legislation banning discrimination in public accommodations. 2. In 1965, he signed the Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed voting rights to African Americans. 3. Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited housing discrimination 4. 1965, Congress established the Medicare and Medicaid programs 5. One was the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which provided federal aid to school districts nationwide. Because the government allocated funds to needy students rather than to schools, the act helped finance both public and parochial, or faith-based, education. 6.Immigration Act of 1965 eliminated the old quotas based on national origin.

Mapp v Ohio

Another series of Warren Court rulings reshaped the criminal justice system. The case of Mapp v. Ohio involved a woman, Dollree Mapp, who had been convicted of a crime based on evidence found during an illegal police search of her home. The Court ruled in 1961 that evidence obtained illegally may not be used in court.

Understand the causes and eventual result of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban missile crisis: a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in fall 1962 over the building of Soviet missile-launching sites in Cuba, in response to which the United States established a quarantine to prevent Soviet ships from transporting missiles to Cuba and to demand withdrawal of all Soviet weapons from the island; after a few days, the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw its missiles and President John Kennedy agreed not to invade

Understand the causes and outcomes of the First Indochina War

French troops drove the rebels out of the southern city of Saigon, the French colonial capital. Then the French launched attacks on Viet Minh strongholds in the north. In November 1946, French warships opened fire on the port city of Haiphong, killing some 6,000 Vietnamese civilians. The following month, the Viet Minh attacked French ground forces. These incidents marked the start of the First Indochina War. Outcomes: Under this agreement, the fighting stopped, and Vietnam was split temporarily along the 17th parallel. The Viet Minh moved north of that line, while the French withdrew to the south. Under the accords, national elections to reunify Vietnam were scheduled for 1956.

New York Times Co. v. United States

Government lawyers won a temporary restraining order to stop further publication of the Pentagon Papers. Their appeal for a permanent injunction went to the Supreme Court. On June 30, 1971, in the case New York Times Co. v. United States, the Court ruled 6-3 against the government and in favor of free speech. In their opinion, the government had not proved the need for prior restraint, the prevention of speech or expression before publication.

Understand how Nixon improved relations with China and The Soviet Union

He believed that establishing friendly diplomatic relations with China might pressure Soviet leaders, who feared Chinese power, to cooperate more with the United States. In April 1971, a sporting event opened the way for détente. The Chinese government had invited a U.S. table tennis team to play in Beijing. The 15 team members were the first Americans to visit Beijing since the communists took power. Chinese leaders treated the American athletes as though they were ambassadors. At a meeting with the team, Chinese Premier Chou En-lai stated that the athletes' arrival in China marked a new chapter in U.S.-China relations. Shortly after the table tennis competition, Nixon announced proposals to begin trade and travel between the two countries. Two months later, Kissinger secretly traveled to China. In July 1971, Nixon announced that he would visit China the next year. The following February, Nixon and his wife, Pat, made an official state visit to China. While there, Nixon pledged to establish formal diplomatic relations between the two countries. He described the trip as bridging "12,000 miles and twenty-two years of noncommunication and hostility." The historic visit marked a turning point in relations between the United States and the world's largest communist nation. The trip led to the communist government, based in Beijing, taking over China's seat in the United Nations. Until that time, the Nationalist government of Taiwan had occupied China's seat. In 1973, the United States and China opened information offices in each other's capitals. By 1979, the two countries engaged in full diplomatic relations.

Engel v Vitale

In 1962, the Court considered the role of prayer in public schools. The case of Engel v. Vitale arose when state officials, including William Vitale, ordered New York schools to have students recite a morning prayer. Parents, led by Steven Engel, sued the state, claiming that the prayer violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. This clause states, "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion." The Supreme Court agreed with the parents. It found that state-sponsored prayer in school, even if voluntary, was unconstitutional because it was "wholly inconsistent with the establishment clause." This controversial decision sparked efforts to amend the Constitution to permit prayers in public schools.

Understand the Gulf of Tonkin incident

In July 1964, Johnson approved covert attacks on radar stations along North Vietnam's coast. The CIA planned the operation, but South Vietnamese in speedboats carried out the raids. U.S. Navy warships used electronic surveillance, or close observation, to locate the radar sites. On August 2, in response to the raids, NVA patrol boats struck back. They fired machine guns and torpedoes at a U.S. destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam. The ship was not damaged. LBJ chose not to retaliate, but he sent a message to Hanoi warning the North Vietnamese government that further "unprovoked" attacks would bring "grave consequences." On the night of August 4, in stormy weather in the Gulf of Tonkin, American sailors thought their destroyer was again under attack. They fired back, although they never saw any enemy boats. In fact, no attack had taken place.

Miranda v Arizona

In a 1966 case, Miranda v. Arizona, the Court ruled that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning. A suspect must be told, wrote Warren, "that he has the right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney." These protections are called Miranda rights, after the defendant

Understanding the controversy surrounding The Great Society

Left-wing opponents complained that its mix of programs was not the best approach to ending poverty. In their view, poverty resulted from social and economic forces beyond the control of the poor. The best way to help low-income people, they argued, was to give them money while trying to change the economy to create more jobs for them Critics on the right alleged that the War on Poverty was creating an underclass of people who were dependent on government welfare. In their view, poverty's main cause was a lack of individual responsibility on the part of the poor. The best approach to ending poverty, they argued, was to find ways to change the behaviors that kept poor people poor. Age-old questions about the proper role of government in a democracy. Liberal supporters applauded the scheme's broad goals and multitude of programs aimed at improving American life. Their main concern was that many of the programs were not funded well enough to achieve those goals. Conservative critics, on the other hand, saw the Great Society as government run amok.

Understand why the draft fell disproportionately on the poor and minorities

Many young men took advantage of college deferment, a law that exempted college students from the draft. However, they could be drafted after graduation, which is partly why many students opposed the war so strenuously. Still, the draft fell disproportionately on poor Americans and minorities who were unable to attend college. This led some critics to label Vietnam a "rich man's war and a poor man's fight." Citing the large proportion of African Americans in Vietnam, Martin Luther King Jr. called it "a white man's war, a black man's fight."

Medicaid and Medicare

Medicare: a federal health insurance program that pays for hospital and nursing home services for U.S. citizens 65 years or older Medicaid:a health insurance program that is jointly financed by federal and state governments and that covers low-income people as well as older Americans who have used up their Medicare benefits

Understand the expansion of the war into Cambodia (why?)

Nixon also decided to give those ground forces another mission. In April 1970, he ordered U.S. troops to invade Cambodia. The military goal of the invading U.S. force was to destroy enemy "safe havens" from which North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong forces could launch assaults into South Vietnam. The political goal, said Nixon, was to "show the enemy that we were still serious about our commitment in Vietnam." The invasion was a partial success. The GIs destroyed enemy bases and relieved pressure on ARVN forces fighting in the south. But the invasion did not help the peace process. The communists boycotted the Paris talks until U.S. troops left Cambodia three months later. In February 1971, Nixon launched a similar invasion of Laos, another neighboring country, after years of bombing had failed to dislodge the communists. By now, the steady withdrawal of GIs had left fewer than 175,000 U.S. combat soldiers in Vietnam. ARVN troops carried out the ground fighting in Laos, with U.S. air support. However, a large, well-equipped NVA force easily defeated the ARVN, forcing them to retreat. So far, Vietnamization had failed to prove its worth on the battlefield

Understand the changes made by LBJ after the Tet offensive

On March 31, 1968, Johnson stood before national television cameras to make a momentous announcement. The United States, he said, would try to "deescalate the conflict" by cutting back on the bombing of North Vietnam and by seeking a negotiated settlement of the war. An even bigger announcement followed. LBJ told Americans, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president."

Understand the "carrot and stick" plan used by Nixon to bring "peace w/ honor"

Peace talks had begun in Paris in May 1968, but little progress had been made. In 1969, Nixon sent Kissinger to Paris to reopen talks with North Vietnamese diplomats. Kissinger proposed ending the bombing of the North—the "carrot"—in exchange for an agreement by both sides to withdraw their troops from South Vietnam. But he insisted that South Vietnam remain independent. The North Vietnamese rejected this offer as a "farce," saying they were prepared to remain in Paris "until the chairs rot."

What was The Great Society?

President Lyndon Johnson's domestic reform program from 1965 to 1969, which focused on social welfare improvements, with the War on Poverty at its centerpiece, and almost all of which Congress passed

Understand the War on Poverty

President Lyndon Johnson's domestic reform program from 1965 to 1969, which focused on social welfare improvements, with the War on Poverty at its centerpiece, and almost all of which Congress passed.President Lyndon Johnson's extensive antipoverty program from 1964 to 1969, the centerpiece of which was the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

Why did a war of attrition fail?

Search-and-destroy missions, however, made U.S. combat soldiers clear targets for enemy attack. Insurgents frequently ambushed platoons as they marched through the jungle. Snipers, or sharpshooters, sometimes picked off U.S. soldiers from concealed locations. Soldiers also fell prey to land mines—explosive devices, buried just below ground, that blew up when stepped on. Men on patrol also had to watch for booby traps, such as tripwires connected to explosives and sharpened stakes coated with poison.

How did TV affect Americans' perceptions of the war?

Television continued to play an important role in how Americans perceived the war. Night after night, news of the war was broadcast into their living rooms. At first, those news reports struck a positive note. They described U.S. successes and told upbeat stories about the courage and skill of American soldiers. As the war continued, however, television reports began to show more scenes of violence, suffering, and destruction—the human toll of the war.

Understand the Bay of Pigs (what was the goal? what was the result? Why?)

The CIA officials who briefed Kennedy on the invasion plan assured the new president that the invasion would inspire Cubans to rise up and rebel against Castro. an invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was authorized by John F. Kennedy for the purpose of overthrowing Castro's regime, organized by the CIA, executed by Cuban exiles, and defeated by Castro's forces

What were the results of the Paris Peace Accords?

The Paris Peace Accords, officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973 to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. ... It ended direct U.S. military combat, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam.

How/Why did Johnson "Americanize" the Vietnam War?

The United States, too, relied on ever-increasing numbers of ground troops to sweep through jungles and rice paddies and root out the enemy. By the end of 1965, U.S. combat soldiers numbered more than 184,000. That figure more than doubled in 1966, to 385,000. By late 1967, nearly half a million Americans were serving in Vietnam, and more were streaming into the country.

Understand the human cost of The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War left the United States in a state of shock. More than 58,000 soldiers died in the war and another 300,000 were wounded, many of them losing limbs. To some Americans, the soldiers' sacrifices seemed pointless. The United States, after all, had lost the war—a war that could have been avoided. To others, failure to win the war suggested that the nation lacked the will to be a world leader. For several years after the war, Americans tried to forget about Vietnam. The memories were too painful. Yet those memories also led to changes. The country reduced, for a while, its involvement in global conflicts. Also, because of the credibility gap fostered by government officials, Americans no longer automatically trusted what their leaders told them.

Why did the strategy of pacification fail?

The pacification campaign had many problems, though. First, the ARVN lacked the leadership, skills, and dedication to effectively provide security for villages being pacified. Some ARVN units fought with distinction, but many lacked training or the will to fight. Second, the U.S. forces in Vietnam were too busy fighting the Viet Cong to pay much attention to "the other war" for villagers' "hearts and minds." The lack of security, in turn, made it difficult for rural development teams to carry out their mission of building roads, schools, and other basic infrastructure. In some areas, they might make progress on a project only to see it disappear when a U.S. bomb destroyed their village. In other areas, development workers were targeted by the Viet Cong.

The War Powers Resolution

This law placed strict limits on a president's power to use the armed forces in hostilities without congressional authorization. By then, support in Congress for the war had greatly declined. Congress checked the power of the president

Why didn't US leader pursue a total war?

Total war calls for the complete mobilization of a nation's resources to achieve victory. This approach would have meant invading North Vietnam and forcing the communists to surrender. It would likely have led to an enormous American death toll. Also, China and the Soviet Union, which were providing military aid to North Vietnam, might be provoked to intervene directly, potentially resulting in a nuclear confrontation

Understand the protests against the Vietnam War

Younger students also took action. Three students in Des Moines, Iowa, aged 13 to 16, wore black armbands to school to protest the war. When the school suspended them for breaking school rules, they sued the school district and later took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1969, the Court ruled in Tinker v. Des Moines that students have a right to engage in symbolic speech—actions that express an opinion in a nonverbal manner. Protesters also turned to civil disobedience. Some publicly burned their draft cards, while others took the more serious step of refusing induction into the armed forces. One such "draft dodger," world-champion boxer Muhammad Ali, echoed the sentiments of many when he said, "I ain't got no quarrel with no Viet Cong." Other young men between the ages of 18 and 21 complained that they could be sent off to fight even though they had no right to vote against the war

What steps did JFK take to ease Cold War tensions (hotline, test ban treaty)

a communication line between the United States and the Soviet Union that is kept open at all times so they can contact each other instantly during a crisis Test Ban Treaty: an agreement signed by the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain in 1963 to ban nuclear testing in the atmosphere but allow underground testing

SALT

a five-year agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to limit the number of nuclear missiles in their arsenals; the treaty limited the Soviet Union to 1,618 missiles and the United States to 1,054, including both ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs)

Economic Opportunity Act

a law passed by Congress in 1964 to create dozens of federal antipoverty programs, including the Job Corps and VISTA, and the Office of Economic Opportunity to oversee them

Understand Tet offensive (what was it, what was its goal, was it a success, how did it impact the view of Americans?)

a major offensive in 1968 by Viet Cong and NVA soldiers that resulted in growing opposition among Americans to the war. North Vietnamese commandos blew a hole in the wall surrounding the U.S. embassy, but U.S. military police fought them off. The North Vietnamese succeeded in holding the city of Hue for nearly a month, but that was their only real military success. In battle after battle, South Vietnamese and U.S. forces pushed back the attackers. As many as 45,000 enemy soldiers, mostly Viet Cong, were killed. In the countryside, no uprising occurred. In fact, the brutality of the communist assault boosted rural support for the South Vietnamese government. Although it was a military disaster for the communists, the Tet Offensive shocked the American people and became a psychological defeat for the United States. On their TV screens, Americans saw enemy soldiers inside the walls of the U.S. embassy. They saw U.S. bases under attack. They heard journalists' startled reports about the enemy's ability to penetrate American strongholds. No amount of positive analysis from the administration could persuade reporters or the public that this was a U.S. victory. Instead, many Americans saw these statements as another example of a widening credibility gap.

My Lai Massacre

a massacre of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in 1968; reports of the killings shocked Americans and increased opposition to the war

PTSD

a mental illness suffered by about half a million Vietnam veterans, with symptoms including anxiety, irritability, nightmares, and depression

War of attrition strategy

a military campaign designed to wear down the enemy's strength

Environmentalism

a movement that works to protect the environment from harmful human activities

Realpolitik

a political policy based on practical rather than idealistic concerns

Understand the Watergate scandal and how it lead to the resignation of Nixon

a political scandal from 1972 to 1975 in which President Richard Nixon and members of his staff organized a burglary of the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in the Watergate building and then attempted to cover up their illegal activities, leading to prison terms for many involved and Nixon's impeachment

The Pentagon Papers

a top-secret Pentagon study of the U.S. role in Vietnam that was leaked to the press in 1971, revealing that previous administrations had deceived Congress and the public about the war

Stagflation

an economic condition in which prices and the rate of unemployment increase at the same time

The energy crisis of the 1973

an energy shortage in fall 1973 that resulted from oil-exporting nations of the Middle East halting their shipping of oil to the United States to protest U.S. support of Israel in its conflict with its Arab neighbors

What is Agent Orange and why did US forces use it?

an herbicide used by the U.S. military in Vietnam to kill foliage in an effort to deny cover to the enemy

Viet Cong

communist insurgents in South Vietnam , slang for "Vietnamese communists

Who was Fidel Castro and why was he viewed as a threat by the United States?

communist revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro, had ousted Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.Once in power, Castro established strong ties with the Soviet Union. The USSR sent advisers, weapons, and financial aid to Cuba. With this Soviet help, Castro transformed Cuba into a communist country with a planned economy.

How did the geography of Vietnam make war a difficulty?

deep thick jungles. tunnels under ground that the soldiers used to store things, hide and escape from surprise attacks.

Geneva Accords

the 1954 agreement between France and the Viet Minh to split Vietnam along the 17th parallel and to schedule national elections in 1956 to reunify Vietnam

How/why did the United States attempt to win the support of the people of South Vietnam?

the United States mounted a separate campaign to win over the Vietnamese people and undermine support for the Viet Cong. Rural development projects ranged from supplying villages with food and other goods to building schools and bridges. This program also spread propaganda designed to persuade the Vietnamese to support the government of South Vietnam. In this way, the United States hoped to "win the hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people

Vietminh

the Vietnamese movement led by Ho Chi Minh against foreign occupation, first against the Japanese during World War II and then against the French occupation

NVA

the army of communist North Vietnam, which supported the Viet Cong in South Vietnam with troops and supplies

Domino Theory

the belief that if Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of Southeast Asia would fall like "a row of dominoes"

26th Amendment

the constitutional change ratified in 1971 lowering the voting age to 18

Kent State shootings

the killing of four protesters at Kent State University in 1970 by National Guard troops; reports of the shootings led to increased antiwar protests

Détente'

the relaxation of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union and between the United States and China that began under President Richard Nixon

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

the resolution passed by Congress in 1964 giving President Lyndon Johnson broad powers to expand the U.S. role in Vietnam