1968, A Turning Point.
Samantha Lucas
Tet Offensive.
70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched Tet Offensive, on January 31, 1968. Tet Offensive was many attacks on cities and towns in south Vietnam. This was formed in to stop rebellion of the South Vietnamese people. Also it hoped for the United States to support the Saigon Regime again. The U.S. and South Vietnamese forces where able to stop Communist attacks. North Vietnamese saw great results with Tet Offensive. This began the withdraw of American troops from the region.
Democratic Convention.
This Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1968. The purpose of the Democratic Convention was to select a new candidate to run for the democratic party. The one nominated to campaign was Hubert H. Humphrey because of the things he promised.
Assassination of Robert Kennedy.
On November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, the 35th president of the United States was assassinated. He was assassinated while in a convertible, driving down the street with his wife, and two others. He was shot twice, once in the head and once in the back. The shots killed him instantly. This was a major turning point, JFK had promised for a better future. Unfortunately, he was unable to fulfill this promise because of his Assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. How ever two days later, Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. Immediately after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office.
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
On April 4, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed. King was shot on a second floor balcony in his hotel. The shot did not kill him instantly, however, he was pronounced dead a few hours later at a hospital. This was a huge turning point because, King had be a great Civil Rights leader since the 1950's. He had taken great leaps toward equal rights. He showed everyone, you can get what you want in a nonviolent way.
Election of 1968
One of the closest elections in U.S. history. Richard Nixon against Hubert Humphrey. However, Nixon was able to pull out the upset. Neither one candidates received more than 50 percent of the votes. Nixon's promise was to reach out to the middle class citizens. Also, he promised to "bring us together again." He was going to pull our troops out of Vietnam, and end the war there. He did withdraw troops, but a few years later had to deploy them again.