The Tet Offensive Worksheet

The Tet Offensive forever changed the Vietnam War as it greatly increased the American public's call for an end to the war. Using your understanding of the Tet Offensive, and the report from respected journalist Walter Cronkite, why do you think protests increased so greatly even though, "The referees of history may make it a draw"?

I think the protests increased greatly even though "The referees of history may make it a draw" because most civilians did not care about who would win the war, but instead that there was a war at all. A lot of people believed the end of the war to be sooner than it actually was and the war effected many people negatively even if they didn't participate in it.

Which of the following was NOT an impact of the Tet Offensive?

It encouraged a swift ending to the war

What did I mean when I said... "On the political front, past performance gives no confidence that the Vietnamese government can cope with its problems, now compounded by the attack on the cities"?

You meant that North Vietnam wasn't able to deal with war very well in the past and now had to deal with invading South Vietnam successfully.

What did I mean when I said... "We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds"?

You meant that at the moment there were no good situations in the Vietnam War.

What did I mean when I said... "To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism"?

You meant that the US is not close to being a victor or loser in the war, but instead has resulted in a stalemate between the US and North Vietnam.

What did I mean when I said... "it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could."?

You meant that the way to honorably end the Vietnam War would be to negotiate to defend democracy instead of fighting to defend democracy.

What did I mean when I said... "The Vietcong did not win by a knockout, but neither did we. The referees of history may make it a draw"?

You meant that there were no winners in the Vietnam War, so it ended in a tie.

What did I mean when I said... "To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion"?

You meant that while a not satisfying conclusion for the US, the war did not have any real winners and instead ended in a tie.

Even though US forces ended the assault, what can explain why Americans were so upset?

they believed that war's end was near

Despite their differences, what can be inferred about the similarities between the North and South Vietnamese?

they both follow the same calendar

Which word most nearly means the word resounding in the third paragraph?

tremendous