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Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is signed
This document authorized LBJ to use military force without the need for congressional approval in Vietnam. This was following the reported attacks on two ships near the coast of Vietnam. These reports were later proved false. This event was what shot already high tensions even higher, paving the war for the Vietnam War. Britannica -
War Begins
This is when the U.S. started bombing Vietnam. They also sent 200,000 men to fight in the war. This was the start of a war that would greatly devastate the American people, and ruin LBJ's image. Britiannica -
Tet Offensive
This was a major loss to the U.S., and discouraged the already morale-drained America. This was a deployment of 85,000 troops against the Americans, in which all ground was lost for the U.S. This was the beginning of the end for America, in what was a failure of a war. Britiannica -
LBJ announces he won't run again
This event shows how much the Vietnam War had tainted his picture. It overshadowed his Civil Rights efforts and his overall good ideals. He didn't run again because he knew that he had made a mistake by drafting young men into war, and he felt genuinely horrible. History.com -
America Withdraws
The war finally over, millions of lives lost, and a complete loss in Vietnam. This marked the official end of the conflict in Vietnam, finally bringing the bloody and paranoid war to a close. Newspapers.com