Section 2: Vietnam Divides the Nation

  • Period: to

    Black military personnel

    In this timespan, Black Americans constituted 10% of American military personnel, yet were 20% of combat related deaths.
  • First teach-in

    Faculty and students at the University of Michigan joined together in March of 1965 to discuss reasons for their opposition to the war and their feelings about US involvement.
  • Period: to

    Refusing the draft

    Officials persecuted at least 3,000 people who refused to comply when drafted.
  • "educational" hearings

    the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began holding educational hearings on Vietnam in response to antiwar sentiment.
  • MLK condemns Vietnam

    Dr. King publicly condemned the war in Vietnam, citing the disproportionate amount of poor Black people who were drafted into service.
  • Tet Offensive

    The North Vietnamese army and the Vietcong launched an attack on major cities on a nationwide holiday, catching American troops by surprise.
  • Johnson steps down

    Johnson appeared on live television to announce that he would not be running for a second term.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated

    Dr. King was shot at his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee on the morning of April 4th.
  • Robert Kennedy is assassinated

    Robert Kennedy was shot on June 5th, almost exactly two months after the assassination of Dr. King.
  • 26th amendment is ratified

    In response to complaints about being able to serve in the military but unable to vote, the 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18.