Out of Vietnam: thirty years ago this week, the U.S. ended its most unpopular war. But Vietnam has cast a long shadow. (times past).

On January 23, 1973, someone handed a note to rock singer Neil Young during his concert at New York's Madison Square Garden. Young read it, looked up, and told the crowd: "The war is over." His audience of more than 18,000 went wild: Americans were finally getting out of Vietnam. The screaming and hugging went on for 10 minutes.

It was a joyful celebration--one of the few to occur that day. Americans were relieved that the Vietnam War was ending, but most saw no reason to dance in the streets. Indeed, 58,000 Americans had been killed since U.S. combat forces entered Vietnam in 1965; another 3 00,000 had been wounded. The war had cost $200 billion.

Not only that. Vietnam had deeply rocked American society, pitting young against old, civilian against military, citizen against government. Reacting to the war's end, Vietnam veteran Walter Reddick told The New York Times, "It really started a revolution among people here."

"PEACE WITH HONOR"

President Richard Nixon, elected in 1968, had been groping for "peace with honor" in Vietnam. As part of America's Cold War policy of containing the spread of Communism, Nixon's predecessor, Lyndon Johnson, had sent in U.S. forces to stop Communist North Vietnam from taking over South Vietnam. In his effort to end the war, Nixon escalated it. He tried unsuccessfully to bomb North Vietnam into submission. He also expanded the war into neighboring Cambodia, where the North had supply lines.

PASSIONS INFLAMED

Nixon's expansion of the war helped fuel a growing anti-war movement that filled the TV news with scenes of riots and clashes with authorities. At a May 4, 1970, protest at Ohio's Kent State University, four students were killed when National Guardsmen opened fire.

The grim images of students weeping over the dead at Kent State inflamed other campuses. About 2 million students nationwide--a quarter of U.S. college students--joined anti-war protests. They held student strikes, burned draft cards, and even bombed ROTC buildings. Their disruptions caused 75 colleges to close down early that semester.

The anti-war movement fueled other rebellions all over the U.S. Young people angrily questioned everything from dress codes to censorship of school newspapers. As New York Times columnist James Reston wrote:

   "There has been a sharp decline in respect for authority in the
   United States as a result of the war ... not only for the civil
   authority of government but also for the moral authority of the
   schools, the universities, the press, the church, and even the
   family."

The war's advocates found it tough to build support. Almost every night, Americans saw uncensored footage from Vietnam on the network news, which broadcast weekly body counts of U.S. casualties. As scholar Marshall McLuhan put it, "Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America."

Cease-fire talks had sputtered along since 1968, mostly in secret. In the fall of 1972, Nixon's Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, declared that "peace is at hand." But the deal broke down and Nixon ordered the massive" Christmas bombing" of North Vietnam, killing more than a thousand civilians. The two sides went back to the bargaining table.

Finally, the cease-fire was worked out in Paris by Kissinger and North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho. It allowed the U.S. to pull out, retrieve 591 prisoners of war, and continue aiding South Vietnam. The last U.S. ground troops left Vietnam in March 1973. North and South Vietnam agreed to freeze their territorial positions. But few believed that would happen.

NIXON'S PRIVATE WAR

Meanwhile Nixon himself became a war casualty. As the conflict dragged on, he had become obsessed with the demonstrators and with stopping leaks to the press. This prompted Nixon's Republican aides to form a secret group to spy on the President's opponents.

During the 1972 presidential campaign, some of Nixon's spies got caught breaking into the Democratic Party headquarters at Washington's Watergate apartment and office complex. Nixon's attempts to cover up his aides' role soon came to light. On August 9, 1974, he escaped impeachment only by resigning, becoming the first U.S. President to quit.

By then the country was determined to have "no more Vietnams." Congress set new limits on presidential war powers. In April 1975, when North Vietnamese forces began to overrun South Vietnam, Congress refused to approve more military aid. President Gerald Ford, who replaced Nixon, affirmed: "The Vietnam War is finished as far as the United States is concerned."

But the conflict cast a lengthy shadow. Families of missing soldiers accused the Vietnamese of continuing to hold American prisoners, though none have ever been found. Some vets who did come home were jeered for fighting an unpopular war. The 1982 unveiling of a Vietnam Veterans Memorial helped show some long overdue appreciation. Yet many veterans, like poet David Connolly, still face unwanted reminders of the war. In recurring nightmares, Connolly sees the bloody deaths of two comrades:

    "You see, these two/they've been taking turns/dying on me,/again
    and again and again/for all these long years/and still people tell
    me/`Forget Nam'"

OUT OF VIETNAM > HISTORY Opposition to the Vietnam War Evolved Into a Social and Moral Upheaval of the Nation

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* Do you agree that street protests are a legitimate expression of dissatisfaction with government policy?

* Some protesters destroyed government property. How would you respond to someone who argued that such actions were a legitimate part of anti-war protests?

* How would you answer someone who said the protests gave aid and comfort to the enemy?

* Can you think of any current political development that might trigger protests similar to those of the Vietnam era?

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students understand the foundation of the social, moral, and political upheaval that accompanied the protests against American involvement in the Vietnam War.

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

BACKGROUND: Remind students that behind the war in Vietnam was the philosophy that justified it to many Americans. That philosophy taught that Communism and Communists had to be contained if the U.S. was to be safe.

CRITICAL THINKING: New York Times columnist James Reston reports that opposition to the war evolved into opposition to and disrespect for civil government, the schools, universities, and even the family. Ask students why they believe opposition to the war could so transform society that traditional, long-held beliefs were corroded. (One theory is that the growing sense that the loss of so many lives did not seem to be achieving anything caused many Americans to lose faith in the way the country worked.)

Note that Vietnam was the first TV war. How would uncensored news from the battlefield influence people's view of the war? Do students understand what scholar Marshall McLuhan meant when he said "Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America"?

INTERVIEWS: Ask students to interview older relatives or neighbors about the war. Some suggested questions: Was the war worth it? Why do they believe some anti-war protesters jeered at returning soldiers? What precautions should the U.S. take before it engages in war? Should the news media be allowed full access to wartime operations? What is the most important lesson of the war?

WEB WATCH: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Page lists U.S. deaths in the war by service, rank, race, and home state. See http://thewall-usa.com/stats/index.html.

Upfront QUIZ 4 MULTIPLE CHOICE > HISTORY > PAGES 20-21 DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter next to the correct answer.

1. Which of the following U.S. Presidents was elected to office in 1968 with a promise to end the Vietnam War with "peace with honor"?

a Lyndon B. Johnson.

b John F. Kennedy.

c Richard M. Nixon.

d Gerald R. Ford.

2. The original goal of fighting the war in Vietnam was to

a help restore Vietnam's independence.

b contain Communism.

c rebuild U.S. bases destroyed during World War II.

d improve relations with France, Vietnam's former ruler.

3. Anti-war protests grew with the U.S. expansion of the war into

a Cambodia.

b Thailand.

c China.

d Burma.

4. In 1970, an estimated 2 million college students nationwide took up protesting the war following the

a formal declaration of war against North Vietnam.

b rise in the number of U.S. soldiers killed in the war.

c announcement that the budget for the war had risen.

d killing of student protesters by National Guardsmen.

5. Negotiations that led to the end of U.S. participation in the war were conducted by

a President Gerald R. Ford.

b Vice President Nelson Rockefeller.

c President Jimmy Carter.

d Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

6. In 1974, his involvement in covering up a burglary at Democratic offices led to the resignation of President

a Lyndon B. Johnson.

b Richard M. Nixon.

c Ronald Reagan.

d Gerald R. Ford.

ANSWER KEY

1. (c) Richard M. Nixon.

2. (b) contain Communism.

3. (.) Cambodia.

4. (d) killing of student protesters by National Guardsmen.

5. (d) Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

6. (b) Richard M. Nixon.