Loss of trust in war and Anti war movement

Question 1

what was the great society?

Answer 1

LBJ’s effort to fight poverty being influenced by the New Deal. LBJ outlawed discrimination, brought free healthcare to the elderly, funded the arts and radio and greater investment in infrastructure.

Question 2

what happened to the great society?

Answer 2

it reshaped American society but the war on poverty failed as LBJ had to choose between the war and domestic funding. great society was underfunded and was ultimately killed by Reagan.

Question 3

what was the Guns V Butter debate?

Answer 3

there wasn’t enough money to fully fund the war and the great society and so there had to be a choice between the war and poverty. with the war being prioritised.

Question 4

how did Johnson help pay for the war in relation to tax?

Answer 4

Johnson said he wouldn’t raise tax but in 1967 he implemented a 10% surtax to help pay for the war.

Question 5

how much was the war costing by 1968?

Answer 5

it was costing $20 billion at the time

Question 6

how did the failure of the great society help republicans?

Answer 6

it allowed the republicans to better argue that low taxes and limited welfare state was solution to problem and called their plans overambitious and expensive

Question 7

what was the effect of the Vietnam war on trust in govt?

Answer 7

people lost trust in the government during and after the events of the war as numerous lies and cover ups were exposed. the trust never fully regained.

Question 8

what was the belief in the president before and after the war?

Answer 8

before the war there was a belief that the president wouldn’t lie to his people, but after the war that belief was gone. followed by a distrust in politicians.

Question 9

what series of major events made people lose trust in the govt?

Answer 9

release of the pentagon papers which exposed govt lies and cover ups. and then the watergate scandal in which Nixon engaged in criminal activity.

Question 10

what is Vietnam syndrome?

Answer 10

the affect the war had on FP making the US more cautious to engage and intervene in conflict out if fear of another Vietnam situation

Question 11

what are some examples of Vietnam syndrome?

Answer 11

jimmy Carter appeared weak during the Iran hostage crisis out of fear of escalation into further conflict
Reagan faced same issue in Lebanon where Americans had been killed but was hesitant to send troops, instead using CIA and diplomacy
Clinton unwilling to intervene in Somalia and rwanda genocides.

Question 12

what was the stereotype of a Vietnam war protester?

Answer 12

a hippie, younger, student

Question 13

who was Eugene McCarthy?

Answer 13

he ran in democratic primary against LBJ and he was an anti war advocate, he didn’t work particularly hard on his campaign but many students joined him after the tet offensive.

Question 14

how did the students help McCarthys campaign?

Answer 14

they were told to wear suits and be clean shaven, well presented and went on the campaign trail,

Question 15

How successful was Eugene McCarthy?

Answer 15

He won in New Hampshire but ultimately failed as many didn’t know what he stood for after downplaying his opposition to the war.

Question 16

what was the students reasons for protesting?

Answer 16

based on moral outrage, American imperialism, war crimes, the university funding used on defence industry.
there was also self interest as they didn’t want to fight in a war they didn’t agree to.

Question 17

what were some students opposition to protest?

Answer 17

there were army corps on campus. ROTC at its peak had over 100,000 members.

Question 18

what were womens motivation for protest?

Answer 18

motherhood motivated fear as it was their children being sent to war. and anti war activity also overlapped with feminist activism such as the treatment of Vietnamese women by American troops.

Question 19

what were the womens movements created by the anti war movement?

Answer 19

Another mother for peace and women strike for peace , and many other groups formed as many of the anti war groups were still sexist towards position of women.

Question 20

what was the Asian American motivation for protest?

Answer 20

saw the war as an anti asian conflict, training of soldiers used derogatory terms for asians and dehumanised them.

Question 21

what were the early forms of protest?

Answer 21

teach ins were common at universities and were often academic led with govt officials brought in to argue the pro war side. they were a peaceful method of protest and education.

Question 22

what were some of the more extreme forms of protest?

Answer 22

self immolation as some would set themselves on fire such as the monk Quang Duc in Vietnam and Norman Morrison in US

Question 23

what was some example of large scale protest?

Answer 23

1965 saw large scale marches in US and around the world and saw upto 100,000 protestors on National day of protest

Question 24

what were the Fulbright hearings?

Answer 24

they questioned the aims and strategy of the war but not the motives. senator Fulbright called in testimonies of secretary of defence and the hearings were televised/

Question 25

what was the result of the Fulbright hearings?

Answer 25

congress continued to fund the war and nobody of stature opposed the war

Question 26

why was Robert McNamara moved away from the war?

Answer 26

he took a more dovish turn in 1967 and LBJ transferred him away

Question 27

how was protest increasing by 1967?

Answer 27

between 125,000-400,000 protestors in NYC and draft resistance and desertion had increased.

Question 28

how many incidents of desertion were there between 1966-73?

Answer 28

500,000

Question 29

what were the attitudes of soldiers towards the anti war movement?

Answer 29

Many saw it as a kick in the teeth and hated the movement. however some were not entirely supportive of the war

Question 30

what happened at the pentagon march in 1967?

Answer 30

100,000 protesters gathered on the national mall marching to the pentagon placing flowers in the guns of the MPs guarding. as night fell the protest became violent and troops arrested 647 people.

Question 31

what happened at the DNC convention 1968?

Answer 31

protestors gathered to support Eugene McCarthy, but they were met with tear gas and violence. the next day protests erupted with vandalism and violence between police and protest

Question 32

what percentage of people believed the war was a mistake?

Answer 32

in august 1965 24% of people believed it to be a mistake, but by 1968 it was 53%

Question 33

what led to greater protest of the war when Nixon took office?

Answer 33

the bombing of Cambodia

Question 34

what was the impact of the My Lai massacre on protest?

Answer 34

posters of dead children were circulated and after the story broke soldiers were branded as ‘baby killers’ by activists.

Question 35

what was the impact of rock festivals on anti war movement?

Answer 35

rock was used as a genre to spread anti war message. Woodstock festival in 1969 had 500,000 attend with Joe McDonald and Jimi Hendrix performing.

Question 36

how had student protest groups become more violent?

Answer 36

student groups has become split in their methods a group called The Weathermen were willing to go on bombing campaign to end the war

Question 37

what acts did The Weathermen commit?

Answer 37

thye bombed govt buildings and send evacuation warnings to avoid deaths. they would reacts to events in the war. its still debated whether they killed anyone

Question 38

what was govt reaction to extreme violent acts of protest?

Answer 38

the Weathermen were just one group that used bombs and the govt feared further bomb attacks and so sough methods to deter youths from committing such acts

Question 39

what happened at Kent state university?

Answer 39

may 1970 students protested the expansion of war into Cambodia, the governor called national guard to control the protest. As the students walked away members of the National guard fired into the crowd killing 4 students

Question 40

what was the American publics reaction to the Kent state shooting?

Answer 40

majority thought the national guard in the right with 58% thinking it was justified

Question 41

what were the hard hat riots in NYC?

Answer 41

this was in response to decisions to lower the flag to half mast for dead students at Kent state. construction workers attacked the students protesting.

Question 42

what was Nixon’s response to the Hard hat riots?

Answer 42

Nixon and the labour secretary took the side of the construction workers claiming they only used fists and not tools to attacks the protestors.

Question 43

who was George McGovern?

Answer 43

a democratic senator in favour of ending the war he was the first senator to criticise the war effort and wasnt pleased about the violent turn of the anti war movement.

Question 44

what was George McGoverns campaign?

Answer 44

his 1972 campaign aimed to end the war in exchange for POWs, amnesty and cut defence spending by 37%

Question 45

what was the party view of McGovern?

Answer 45

he was viewed as an extremist in his own party, but he wins the democrat nomination, however Nixon wins landslide victory.

Question 46

what did the anti war movement demonstrate about America?

Answer 46

that there was deep and strong division among the general population surrounding the war, which resulted in violent confrontation.

Question 47

what are the debates around the effectiveness of the anti war movement?

Answer 47

one member of the weathermen reflected that the movement couldn’t prevent violence against the war.
but the historian Thomas Powers believes that the anti war movement was successful in declining morale for the war.

Question 48

what kind of people were likely to be anti war protestors?

Answer 48

more likely to be students from middle-upper class backgrounds

Question 49

how many members did the Students for a democratic society have?

Answer 49

around 100,000 members

Question 50

what were some of the motives for anti war protest among students?

Answer 50

partly out off the desire for young men to not want to go to war, but the protests were also good social events with music and drugs

Question 51

who opposed the anti war movement among students?

Answer 51

The Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) which were the those who were reserved for the army in college and training to be officers. they often threw objects at protestors

Question 52

what kind of opposition did the ROTC pose?

Answer 52

at Kent state they threw eggs at protestors and in 1965 they threw apples and oranges at students.

Question 53

where was the largest teach in?

Answer 53

the largest teach in at Berkley California had over 20,000 people attend

Question 54

how did people avoid the draft, how many did this way?

Answer 54

30,000 may have left the country for Canada, Sweden, Europe, Mexico. others joined the national guard or exploited loopholes

Question 55

what were the extreme methods taken by student groups in anti war?

Answer 55

some firebombed ROTC quarters on campus across the country, picketed their functions and heckled cadets

Question 56

what action of Nixon reignited the students protests?

Answer 56

the announcement of the invasion of Cambodia

Question 57

what percentage of Americans disapproved of students on strike?

Answer 57

82% of Americans

Question 58

what was the initial support of LBJs policy?

Answer 58

2/3 of the public initially supported vietnam policy and 80% approved the bombing campaign of rolling thunder.

Question 59

what did the public think about the protests?

Answer 59

60% of the public agreed with Nixon that the protests were harmful

Question 60

which 2 times did the anti war movement directly affect the president?

Answer 60

1. The pentagon march 1967, made Johnson decide to sell the war to the public
2. 1969 When large numbers of the middle class attended marches when Nixon needed their support, which made him abort plans to attack north Vietnam

Question 61

what effect did the anti war movement have on the war effort?

Answer 61

the movement didn’t end the war alone but did influence people in asking questions about the war such as the legitimacy of it and why America wasn’t winning

Question 62

when was the kent state shooting? what happened?

Answer 62

1970, students protesting had the national guard called in to suppress the protest. as the protestors were walking away some of the national guard fired upon the students killing 4.

Question 63

what does James Max Fendrich argue the anti war movement was a catalyst for?

Answer 63

1. bringing down LBJ and Nixon
2. attacked the core polices and funding of military and Cold War
3. questioned legitimacy of govt and policy
4. polarised American public and members of congress
5. generated support for war powers act

Question 64

where was the first teach in and how many attended?

Answer 64

1965, university of Michigan, up to 25,000 people attended.

Question 65

what did government officials believe people protested for?

Answer 65

believed students were protesting for the thrills or to get out of military service, and those academics were intellectually inferior.

Question 66

what were some of the extreme positions protesters took?

Answer 66

some bombed ROTC quarters, others carried VC flags as they identified with them. this alienated potential supporters.

Question 67

what was the response to the kent state shooting?

Answer 67

by the end of the month 30 ROTC buildings had been destroyed, and universities across the country closed on strike

Question 68

how did the anti war movement contribute to LBJs resignation?

Answer 68

the movement supported McCarthys bid for resident which weakened Johnsons position and shaped perceptions of the war. members of his cabinet over time became doves and ended in his speech to not run again.

Question 69

how did the anti war movement affect the Nixon presidency?

Answer 69

it forced troop withdrawals and limited the military action against the north. the movement also contributed to lowering morale and discipline within vietnam and drove Nixon to extremes to suppresses and control the narrative which resulted in his criminal activity being exposed.