Vietnam and the 1970’s – Flashcards
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What did the Vietminh declare as its main goal?
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Win Vietnam's independence from foreign rule
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What did Ho Chi Minh declare after Japan was forced out?
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Vietnam was an independent nation
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How did Hi Chi Minh respond to the return of the French?
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Vowed that there troops would fight from the North to liberate the South
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Who did the U.S support?
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French
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What aid did the U.S provide?
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Spent nearly 1 million aiding Frances war efforts
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Why did the U.S get involved in the struggle?
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Stop Communism from spreading
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What did Eisenhower compare to a row of dominoes?
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Compared the countries of the brink of becoming communist because when one nation becomes communist others follow
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Vietminh over runs Dien Bien Phu...What does this victory cause the French to do?
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Surrender
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How did the Geneva Accords change Vietnam
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Temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel
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Who cancelled the Vietnamese elections?
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Ngo Dinh Diem, a strong anti communist leader cancelled elections against Ho Chi Minh with the support of the United States. They supported cancellation of the election because of the popularity that Ho Chi Minh gained for himself and his communist party.
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What authority did the Tonkin Gulf Resolution grant to the U.S president?
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Gave Johnson broad military powers in Vietnam
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What did operation Rolling Thunder do in North Vietnam?
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First sustained bombing of North Vietnam
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How did most Americans react to President Johnson's decision to commit troops to the war in Vietnam?
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Saw him as following and establishing the popular policy of confronting Communism, U.S favored containing Communism
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What difficulties did U.S troops encounter in Vietnam?
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Vietnam used hot and run ambush tactics, so they knew how to move around the jungle and hide
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What actions by U.S troops hindered the effort to win support of Vietnamese villages?
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Dropped napalm to expose Vietcong hideouts, sprayed agent orange which wounded civilians and left villages in ruins, conducted search and destroy missions, uprooting civilians
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What factors led to a decline in the morale of many U.S soldiers?
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Guerilia warfare, brutal jungle conditions, failure to make substantial headway against the enemy
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How did the Vietnam war affect Johnson's Great Society?
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War grew more costly with more troops(economy began to suffer), inflation tripled, asked for a tax increase
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What role did television play in increasing Americans doubts about the war effort?
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Combat footage appeared nightly on the news, showed stark pictures that seemed to contradict the administrations optimistic scenarios
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What were some of the ways young American man avoided military service in Vietnam?
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Found doctors to give medical deferments, looked for lenient draft boards, enrolled in college to recieve a deferment, joined National Guard or Coast Guard
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In what sense was the Vietnam War a "working class" war?
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Enrolling in college to get a deferment required having money so 80% of U.S troops came from lower economic levels
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What organizations and groups of Americans tended to oppose the war?
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New left(youth involvement), students for a democratic society, free speech movement, college students
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What were some reasons "doves" opposed the war?
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War was draining, immoral, We should not police the world, not our business
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In what ways did they show their opposition to the war?
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Held anti war demonstrations, publicly burned draft cards, marched on Washington, fled to Canada and Sweden to dodge draft
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By 1967, how did most Americans feel about the U.S involvement in the Vietnam war?
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Hawks v Doves Many hated it while some others embraced it
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Why did "hawks" criticize the Johnson administration's policies in Vietnam?
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The "Hawks"(who supported the war) felt that Johnson should escalate the war more quickly
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Hawk
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Favored stronger military duty
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College deferment
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allowed students to put off military duty
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Tom Hayden
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Founded Students for a Democratic Society
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Dove
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Advocated U.S withdrawal from Vietnam
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Mario Savio
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Led Free Speech Movement
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African Americans
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Served in disproportionate numbers in Vietnam
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Robert McNamara
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Left Johnson administration to head World Bank
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Nixon adopts a policy of Vietnamiazation
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To end U.S involvement in Vietnam/to replace U.S troops to establish "peace with honor"
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My Lai massacre shocks America
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100 innocent Vietnamese murders by U.S soldiers, this event turns Americans further away from the war
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Nixon orders invasion of Cambodia
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To remove Vietnamese and Vietcong supply centers from Cambodia
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First student strike in U.S history occurs
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To protest the invasion of Cambodia
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Congress repeals the Tonkin Gulf Resoulution
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To protest Nixon's bombing and invasion of Cambodia without first notifying congress-act is an attempt to gain greater control over U.S. policy in Vietnam
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The "Christmas bombings" take place
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To force a negotiated peace settlement
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South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam
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North Vietnam's full scale invasion of South Vietnam and the capture of Saigon leads to South's surrender. No U.S troops were there to prevent the North's victory.
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Vietnam veterans recieve a cold homecoming
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At the time, Americans were very torn and bitter about the war and did not honor our returning soldiers as they should have
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Cambodia erupts in civil war
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After U.S invasion of Cambodia Khmer Rouge a communist group takes over Cambodia and purges all intellectuals
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Congress passes the War Powers Act
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To curb the presidents war making power. Presidents must notify congress within 45 hours f committing troops to a foreign nation
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The draft is abolished
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The draft had become very unpopular
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Many Americans lose their faith in their government
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Pentagon papers show gov. had no plan of exiting Vietnam. President lying about the war. Mylai massacre leads Americans to view military as baby killers. Campus turmoil
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In what ways did Nixon's New Federalism both enhance and hurt federal social programs?
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ENHANCE: increased social security, medicare, and medicad payments. Made food stamps more accessible HURT: tried to eliminate job corps program. Vetoed a bill to provide job training for the unemployed. Vetoed a bill to provide additional funding to housing and urban development and withheld 15 billion in federal funding for health housing and education.
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What was Nixon's Southern strategy?
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Tried to attract Southern conservative Democrats by appealing to their unhappiness with Federal desegregation policies and a liberal supreme sourt
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Did Nixon help or hinder the civil rights movement?
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Nixon ordered a delay of desegregation plans for districts SC&MS. Nixon ordered bu the supreme court to continue desegregation with "deliberate speed" Nixon also opposed the extension of the voting rights act of 1965, attempted to stop the integration of schools through busing
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What steps did Nixon take against stagflation?
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OPEC controlled oil prices and sales. Increased international competition in trade. Floods of new workers. Heavy dependence of foreign oil.
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What affect did realpolitik have on the Cold War tensions between the U.S and the Soviet Union?
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Foreign policy is based on consolidation of power. U.S should confront and deal with the powerful nations. Nixon and Kissinger had a flexible approach in dealing with Communism. Pushed for "detente or a relaxing of cold war tensions.
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What actions did Richard Nixon take to put the philosophy of realpolitik into action?"
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Play "China card". Diplomatic, economic, scientific, cultural exchanges. Nixon visit to China. Nixon also visited Moscow to meet Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Signed strategic arms limitation traety
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How were the thieves connected to Nixon?
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the Plumbers leader was an official of the committee to reelect the president, John Mitchell, the CRP's director had resigned as attorney general to run to Nixon's campaign
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Who was the judge? What was the sentence in the case?
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Judge John Sirca; to encourage the defendants who recieved sentences to identify others who were also involved
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How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
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Mitchell had been Nixon's attorney General, Dean had been White House councl
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How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
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Haldeman was Nixon's chief of state Ehrlichman was Nixon's Chief domestic advisor
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What did Dean tell the Senate about Nixon?
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Nixon was deeply involved in the cover up
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What did Butterfield tell the senate about Nixon?
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Nixon had taped nearly all of his presdiential conversations
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Who was fired or forced to resign in the massacre?
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Attorney General Richardson resigned, the deputy attorney general was fired, special prosecutor Cox was fired, VP Spiro Agnew also resigns in a separate scandal
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The Vietnam dilemma
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-Feb 1965 Operation Rolling Thunder -1965 Full scale involvement in Vietnam -Ineffective air strikes -Ground troops sent in
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Hmong and the secret war in Laos
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-Helped America fight the secret war in Laos -Block the Ho Chi Minh trail -Persecuted and killed when U.S pulled out
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Stalemate
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-A war of attrition -By 1967 America was eventually split over their support of the war -1968 500 U.S deaths per week
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Napalm/Agent Orange in Vietnam
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-Fire bombs -Made Americans question what was going on in the war -Defoiliant (agent orange) very harsh chemicals that would cause heath problems such as birth defects
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Anti War protests
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-"Living room war" -Army characteristics -Hawks (for) VS. Doves (against) -Campus protests -Draft evasion
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Draft Dodgers
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-Men ages 18-26 eligable for draft -college deferments -80% of soldiers come from lower economic levels, minorities over represented At least 10,000 flee to avoid draft
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Nixon and the end of Vietnam
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Peace with Honor -Vietnamization -Direct negotiations with Le Duc Tho -Bomb to force compromise Bombing of Cambodia/Laos-the secret war (1969) Widening the war-incursion into Cambodia Kent State Pentagon Papers (1971) Paris Accords (1973) -Northern troops would remain in the South -America would respond with "full force" to any violation of peace
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Henry Kissinger
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National security advisor
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Fall of Saigon
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March 1975 -North invades the South -President Ford refuses involvement South Vietnamese attempt to flee country America abandons it's Embassy
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Impact of Vietnam
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-2 Million Vietnamese dead -58,209 Americans dead -$150 billion -26th amendment (Vote at 18) -Draft abolished -War powers act (1973) *President must inform congress within 48 hours of sending troops into hostile areas without declaring war *Troops can remain no longer than 90 days without congressional approval -Khmer Rouge in Cambodia: Pol Pot killed 2 million Cambodians -Widespread disillusion and distrust in government
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Nixon Foreign Policy Realpotlitik
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Power and Pragmatism -Nixon Doctrine
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Nixon Foreign Policy Detente
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An easing of tensions with Communist powers -1972 visit to China -SALT 1 with USSR: freeze ICBM's at current level
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Domestic Policy
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Limit the federal government, reduce it's power, reverse Johnson's Liberal policies
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New Federalism
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Give the states more power over social problems through revenue sharing
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Southern Strategy
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-Delay desegregation of schools -Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenburg board of education
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Burger Court
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Four Conservative judges
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Economy
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oil
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OPEC
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Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
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Israeli and the Arab world
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-Yom Kippur war (Oct 6- 26, 1973) -Arab oil embargo -Henry Kissinger and shuttle dimplomacy
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The economy (Nixon)
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Stagflation and foreign competition
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Causes of Stagflation
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-Oil embargo -Johnson's budget deficit *Vietnam *Great Society -Foreign Competition
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The economy of Stagflation
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Misery Index: The sum of inflation and unemployment. An attempt to measure economic well being
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The group of antiwar protesters who many believe had come the Democratic National Convention to provoke violence and chaos were called
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Yippies
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Nixon won support during the presidential race by vowing to restore ________ to the country
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Law and Order
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In April 1968, the students at _________ held a massive protest over the school's community policies
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Kent State
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Robert Kennedy was assassinated by Palestinian immigrant who said he was angered by Kennedy's support of
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Israel
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After the Tet offensive, the renowned journalist, ________ declared that the Vietnam war seemed destined "to end in a stalemate"
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Walter Cronkite
