Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Request to Congress from President Lyndon Johnson in response to North Vietnamese torpedo boat attacks in which he sought authorization for “all necessary measures” to protect American forces and stop further aggression.
Quagmire: A term used to refer to the war in Vietnam because it was problematic from the start. It is also appropriate because of the marshy landscape in Vietnam.
Operation Rolling Thunder: A campaign authorized by Lyndon B. Johnson that gradually intensified air attacks against North Vietnam.
General William Westmoreland: The commanding general in Vietnam who executed Johnson’s strategy that of war of attrition.
War of Attrition: The strategy adopted by the Johnson administration in Vietnam based on the idea that continued bombing of the North Vietnamese would eventually wear them out.
Vietcong: South Vietnamese communists who opposed the United States during the Vietnam War.
Agent Orange: An herbicide used to defoliate North Vietnamese forests, it represented the most destructive chemical warfare in history.
Credibility Gap: Johnson was accused of creating this; it referred to doubts about Johnson’s statements about the policies used in the Vietnam War.
Arrogance of Power: Book by Arkansas senator J. William Fulbright that proposed a negotiated withdrawal from Southeast Asia.
Students for a Democratic Society: Organization of college students that demanded an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.
Free Speech Movement: Student movement at the University of California, Berkeley, formed in 1964 to protest limitations on political activities (such as picketing for discrimination) on campus.
Counterculture: Various alternatives to mainstream values and behaviors that became popular in the 1960s including experimentation with psychedelic drugs, communal living, a return to the land, and experimental art.
“Pill”: A form of birth control that led to increased pre-marital sex during the 1960s.
Timothy Leary: Harvard professor that urged people to “turn on, tune in, and drop out” and advocated the use of LSD.
“Woodstock”: A three day rock concert with over 400,000 in attendance. Drug use and crazy behavior was prevalent.
Selective Service System: The draft system; the average age of recruits was 19, and many began to protest the draft as the war dragged on.
War on Poverty: Set of programs introduced by Lyndon Johnson between 1963 and 1966 designed to break the cycle of poverty by providing funds for job training, community development, nutrition, and supplementary education.
VISTA: (Volunteers in Service to America) A domestic version of the Peace Corps that sent volunteers into poor areas to do social service work.
Office of Economic Opportunity: Federal agency that coordinated many programs of the War on Poverty between 1964 and 1975.
Head Start: A program of the OEO that provided educational benefits to children with poor families, improving their educational achievements.
Medicare: Basic medical insurance for the elderly, financed through the federal government; it was created in 1965.
Great Society: Theme of Lyndon Johnson’s administration, focusing on poverty, education, and civil rights.
Kerner Commission: An organization that studied the poverty riots and concluded that the rioters were not the poorest of the poor, but merely disenchanted by the promises of the Great Society.
Tet Offensive: A massive attack by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong that was able to overtake the American embassy in Saigon and resulted in many casualties on both sides (mainly Vietcong), including civilians.
Robert Kennedy: A candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1968 who supported civil rights, and was on course to win until he was assassinated.
1968 Democratic Convention: The initial competition for nomination was between Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy, but after Kennedy’s assassination, Vice President Hubert Humphrey secured the nomination.
“Yippies”: The Youth International Party, a largely imaginary organization of political hippies led by Abbie Hoffman.
Abbie Hoffman: A jokester and counterculture guru that led the “Yippies”
Richard Daley: Mayor of Chicago who refused to issue parade permits to the Yippies, whose police officers staged a “police riot”, assaulting passersby, and who sent agents to raid McCarthy’s campaign headquarters.
NOW: (National Organization for Women) Led campaigns for laws banning sex discrimination in work and education, for maternity leaves for working mothers, and for government funding of day-care centers.
Brown Berets: Formed by David Sanchez and modeled after the Black Panthers to address Mexican-American community issues such as housing and employment and to encourage teenagers to express pride in their heritage.
Cesar Chavez: A Mexican-American labor activist who spearheaded the organization of Chicano agricultural workers into the United Farm Workers. He advocated nonviolent methods for achieving equality.
American Indian Movement: Group of Native-American political activists who used confrontations with the federal government to publicize their case for Indian rights.
“Trail of Broken Treaties”: 1972 event staged by the American Indian Movement that culminated in a week-long occupation of the Bureau of Indian affairs in Washington, D.C.
Pine Ridge Reservation: Location of the Trail of Broken treaties and the sight of the Wounded Knee massacre where AIM members staged a 10 week siege, demanding the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs be removed.
AAPA: (Asian American Political Alliance) Founded in 1968 at the University of Berkeley, it was one of the first pan-Asian groups and took a firm stance against the war in Vietnam.
Election of 1968: Richard Nixon (R) was victorious over Hubert Humphrey (D) and George Wallace (Independent) in a very close election.
Southern Strategy: The Republican strategy of winning over Southern voters who had been alienated from the Democratic party by Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 by appealing to the silent majority.
“Silent Majority”: Nixon’s idea of the Americans who paid taxes, worked, but did not demonstrate, picket, or protest whom he hoped to capture the votes of.
Henry Kissinger: A diplomat who insisted that the United States should not appear weak and aggressively pursued the Vietnam War.
“Vietnamization”: The gradual process of the withdrawal of United States from Vietnam and the taking over of war efforts by the South Vietnamese.
Kent State: The National Guard panicked and shot into a crowd of unarmed students, killing for and wounding nine.
My Lai Massacre: Killing of 22 Vietnamese civilians by U.S. forces during a 1968 search-and-destroy mission.
“China Card”: Nixon’s method of strategically allying with China in order to oppose the Soviet Union
SALT 1: (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) Treaty signed in 1972 by the United States and the Soviet Union to slow the nuclear arms race.
Environmental Protection Agency: Federal agency created in 1970 to oversee environmental monitoring and cleanup programs.
“The Plumbers”: A covert White House Special Investigations Unit established July 24, 1971 during the presidency of Richard Nixon. Its task was to stop the leaking of classified information to the news media.
Pentagon Papers: Classified Defense Department documents on the history of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam, prepared in 1968 and leaked to the press in 1971.
Watergate: A complex scandal involving attempts to cover up illegal actions taken by administration officials and leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Gerald R. Ford: A moderate Republican who succeeded the presidency in 1973 as a representative from Michigan after Nixon resigned
Quagmire: A term used to refer to the war in Vietnam because it was problematic from the start. It is also appropriate because of the marshy landscape in Vietnam.
Operation Rolling Thunder: A campaign authorized by Lyndon B. Johnson that gradually intensified air attacks against North Vietnam.
General William Westmoreland: The commanding general in Vietnam who executed Johnson’s strategy that of war of attrition.
War of Attrition: The strategy adopted by the Johnson administration in Vietnam based on the idea that continued bombing of the North Vietnamese would eventually wear them out.
Vietcong: South Vietnamese communists who opposed the United States during the Vietnam War.
Agent Orange: An herbicide used to defoliate North Vietnamese forests, it represented the most destructive chemical warfare in history.
Credibility Gap: Johnson was accused of creating this; it referred to doubts about Johnson’s statements about the policies used in the Vietnam War.
Arrogance of Power: Book by Arkansas senator J. William Fulbright that proposed a negotiated withdrawal from Southeast Asia.
Students for a Democratic Society: Organization of college students that demanded an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.
Free Speech Movement: Student movement at the University of California, Berkeley, formed in 1964 to protest limitations on political activities (such as picketing for discrimination) on campus.
Counterculture: Various alternatives to mainstream values and behaviors that became popular in the 1960s including experimentation with psychedelic drugs, communal living, a return to the land, and experimental art.
“Pill”: A form of birth control that led to increased pre-marital sex during the 1960s.
Timothy Leary: Harvard professor that urged people to “turn on, tune in, and drop out” and advocated the use of LSD.
“Woodstock”: A three day rock concert with over 400,000 in attendance. Drug use and crazy behavior was prevalent.
Selective Service System: The draft system; the average age of recruits was 19, and many began to protest the draft as the war dragged on.
War on Poverty: Set of programs introduced by Lyndon Johnson between 1963 and 1966 designed to break the cycle of poverty by providing funds for job training, community development, nutrition, and supplementary education.
VISTA: (Volunteers in Service to America) A domestic version of the Peace Corps that sent volunteers into poor areas to do social service work.
Office of Economic Opportunity: Federal agency that coordinated many programs of the War on Poverty between 1964 and 1975.
Head Start: A program of the OEO that provided educational benefits to children with poor families, improving their educational achievements.
Medicare: Basic medical insurance for the elderly, financed through the federal government; it was created in 1965.
Great Society: Theme of Lyndon Johnson’s administration, focusing on poverty, education, and civil rights.
Kerner Commission: An organization that studied the poverty riots and concluded that the rioters were not the poorest of the poor, but merely disenchanted by the promises of the Great Society.
Tet Offensive: A massive attack by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong that was able to overtake the American embassy in Saigon and resulted in many casualties on both sides (mainly Vietcong), including civilians.
Robert Kennedy: A candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1968 who supported civil rights, and was on course to win until he was assassinated.
1968 Democratic Convention: The initial competition for nomination was between Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy, but after Kennedy’s assassination, Vice President Hubert Humphrey secured the nomination.
“Yippies”: The Youth International Party, a largely imaginary organization of political hippies led by Abbie Hoffman.
Abbie Hoffman: A jokester and counterculture guru that led the “Yippies”
Richard Daley: Mayor of Chicago who refused to issue parade permits to the Yippies, whose police officers staged a “police riot”, assaulting passersby, and who sent agents to raid McCarthy’s campaign headquarters.
NOW: (National Organization for Women) Led campaigns for laws banning sex discrimination in work and education, for maternity leaves for working mothers, and for government funding of day-care centers.
Brown Berets: Formed by David Sanchez and modeled after the Black Panthers to address Mexican-American community issues such as housing and employment and to encourage teenagers to express pride in their heritage.
Cesar Chavez: A Mexican-American labor activist who spearheaded the organization of Chicano agricultural workers into the United Farm Workers. He advocated nonviolent methods for achieving equality.
American Indian Movement: Group of Native-American political activists who used confrontations with the federal government to publicize their case for Indian rights.
“Trail of Broken Treaties”: 1972 event staged by the American Indian Movement that culminated in a week-long occupation of the Bureau of Indian affairs in Washington, D.C.
Pine Ridge Reservation: Location of the Trail of Broken treaties and the sight of the Wounded Knee massacre where AIM members staged a 10 week siege, demanding the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs be removed.
AAPA: (Asian American Political Alliance) Founded in 1968 at the University of Berkeley, it was one of the first pan-Asian groups and took a firm stance against the war in Vietnam.
Election of 1968: Richard Nixon (R) was victorious over Hubert Humphrey (D) and George Wallace (Independent) in a very close election.
Southern Strategy: The Republican strategy of winning over Southern voters who had been alienated from the Democratic party by Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 by appealing to the silent majority.
“Silent Majority”: Nixon’s idea of the Americans who paid taxes, worked, but did not demonstrate, picket, or protest whom he hoped to capture the votes of.
Henry Kissinger: A diplomat who insisted that the United States should not appear weak and aggressively pursued the Vietnam War.
“Vietnamization”: The gradual process of the withdrawal of United States from Vietnam and the taking over of war efforts by the South Vietnamese.
Kent State: The National Guard panicked and shot into a crowd of unarmed students, killing for and wounding nine.
My Lai Massacre: Killing of 22 Vietnamese civilians by U.S. forces during a 1968 search-and-destroy mission.
“China Card”: Nixon’s method of strategically allying with China in order to oppose the Soviet Union
SALT 1: (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) Treaty signed in 1972 by the United States and the Soviet Union to slow the nuclear arms race.
Environmental Protection Agency: Federal agency created in 1970 to oversee environmental monitoring and cleanup programs.
“The Plumbers”: A covert White House Special Investigations Unit established July 24, 1971 during the presidency of Richard Nixon. Its task was to stop the leaking of classified information to the news media.
Pentagon Papers: Classified Defense Department documents on the history of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam, prepared in 1968 and leaked to the press in 1971.
Watergate: A complex scandal involving attempts to cover up illegal actions taken by administration officials and leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Gerald R. Ford: A moderate Republican who succeeded the presidency in 1973 as a representative from Michigan after Nixon resigned