Table of Contents

The Early Years....4

1968......................7

Music & Hippies...9

Nixxon.................11

Ford & Carter......13

Reagan................15

George H.W. Bush..16

Bill Clinton...........17

Barrack Obama....20

Glossary........22

The Early Years

The U.S. got involved in the Vietnam crisis due to north Vietnam being controlled by a communist ruler whom South Vietnam (French) could not effectively stop.

Robert McNamara, serving as U.S. secretary of department of Defense played a huge role in the U.S.' involvement in the Vietnam war.

Not long after (1964), the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution allowed President LBJ to further combat the communist world by giving permission to fight against it in Southeast Asia. In need of more fighters, a draft was issued but married males with children did not have to go, sparking some outrage.

Fighting the Vietnam War differed due to how it was not fueled by wanting to take more territory & the majority of fighting was guerrilla warfare.

1968

This year was a time of immense fighting, disagreement & protesting for a large variety of reasons.

In January, North Korea captured a U.S. survilence ship & killed most of its inhabitants. This resulted in a stand off between the U.S. & Korea. North Vietnam's launch of the Tet Offensive proved the Johnson Administration wrong in their claims that the communists were weak.

Inspired by the push for Civil Rights by African Americans, Latinos begin their own fight in March (Demanding better education). April 4th, prominent Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, TN.

In May, Vietnam & the U.S. hold an ineffective peace talk in Paris. By June, Robert Kennedy is gaining popularity while running for the presidential election but is assassinated in Los Angeles. At the beginning of July, LBJ signs a treaty preventing use of Nuclear Weapons in situations where it is not entirely necessary.

By August, antiwar activism was becoming more intense. In early October, police of Mexico City violently fight against student led protests. Furthermore, protest against poverty & violence faced by African Americans gains international attention. November, Yale University decides to admit female undergraduates for the first time.

In the meantime...

British Invasion kicks off with The Beatles, re-introduces American culture with rock & roll gaining popularity. Also brought about the Rolling Stones.

Furthermore, African American culture gains 'popularity' with the record label: Mowtown. This would bring along the Jackson 5, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross & many more.

Also during this time, the push for peace & love by hippies was kicking off and gaining much attention.

Nixon's Presidency 1969-1974

Nixon became president at a time when the U.S. was extremely divided, largely due to war overseas. Therefore, his most important task was to help soothe the nation. This, he successfully did by ending the war in Vietnam and improving relations with China. Unfortunately, the Watergate Scandal would eventually result in his resignation.

Ford & Carter's Presidency

Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon for the crimes he committed during his presidency following the Watergate Scandal. Though, most economic problems were not solved during his time in office.

Carter struggled with the same economic problems during his presidency as well. Though, he did earn some respect by actively supporting human rights by speaking against apartheid in South Africa. Carter also pardoned those who evaded draft during the Vietnam War.

Reagan's Presidency

Not long after his election, an assassination attempt took place but Regan recovered quickly. He also appoints the first female justice into the Supreme Court. Reagan also pushed to soothe the public, upset due to seemingly never-ending tensions in the middle East. During this time period, the Soviet Union agrees to remove its troops from Afghanastan.