Tonkin Gulf Resolution
1964 - LBJ asks Congress for authorization to take "all necessary measures" in order to protect American forces and stop aggression In response to North Vietnamese torpedo boat attacks
Credibility Gap
Network coverage of the war damages LBJ's popularity Scenes of death and devastation undermined moral justification for the war Coverage in print media becomes more skeptical of LBJ over time
Agent Orange
Chemical used in South Vietnam to eradicate enemy hiding spots
Counterculture
Various alternatives to mainstream values and behaviors that became popular in the 1960s
War on Poverty
1963-66 - Set of programs introduced by LBJ designed to break the cycle of poverty and assist America's most vulnerable citizens
Medicare
Created in 1965, basic medical insurance for the elderly, financed by federal government
Tet Offensive
Massive propaganda defeat for the US Showed that the war was not nearly over as American officials had claimed
Hubert Humphrey
Vice president to LBJ Democratic nomination for president in Election of 1968 Lost to Nixon
Democratic National Convention of 1968
Dissension in the Democratic party Massive antiwar protest outside
Richard Daley
Mayor of Chicago, incites "police riot" outside Democratic National Convention of 1968
George Wallace
Governor of Alabama Ran as an independent for Election of 1968 Leader of Southern white Democrats who were clinging to segreation
Black Power
Emerges after 1965 Centered around self-determination and self-sufficiency for African-Americans as the means for economic and political gains
Silent Majority
Nixon appeals to the majority of Americans who worked, paid taxes, and did not demonstrate, picket, or protest
The Southern Strategy
Southerners split from Democratic party after LBJ/Civil Rights Act of 1964, Republicans (Nixon) appeal to them during Election of 1968 by promising to appoint federal judges who would undercut liberal interpretations of civil rights and be tough on crime
The China Card
Nixon plays China and USSR against each other "Ping-pong diplomacy"
My Lai Massacre
1968 - Killing of 22 Vietnamese civilians during search-and-destroy mission Commander of the platoon William L. Calley Jr. is court-martialed but gets off easy
SALT 1
Nixon 1972 - treaty signed by US and Soviet Union to slow nuclear arms race
Environmental Protection Agency
Nixon 1970 - Federal agency created to oversee environmental monitoring and cleanup programs
Pentagon Papers
Classified Defense Department documents on the history of US involvement in Vietnam, leaked to the press in 1972
Watergate
Complex scandal involving attempts to cover up illegal actions taken by administration officials and leading to the resignation of Nixon in 1974