Turning point of the Cold War and JKF Assassination

John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered one of the most important American speeches after being sworn in as president on January 20, 1961. His inauguration speech was so influential that it seized the nation’s attention, and quotes from it are still clearly remembered by people today. It is considered one of the best speeches ever written and ever delivered. It presents a strong appeal to pathos, ethos, and logos and accomplishes what any speaker strives for – it speaks straight to the heart of the audience and inspires people.

“...ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This

Since the initiation of the Tet Offensive, the 48th Battalion of the National Front of the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF –

The Vietnam War is the longest war fought in America’s history (1954-1973). The Vietnam War occurred because North Vietnam followed Communist ideas and the United States followed democratic ideas. The North wanted to interfere with the South into becoming Communist but the U.S did their best to reduce or eliminate the North interference in South Vietnam. The Vietnam War was the first ever war to be shown on television. Although the U.S won the battle, the T.V exposed the horrors and struggles of the war. It seemed like the U.S was just killing random people for no reason. It made a lot of people question whether the U.S was the good or bad side. During the war, there was a theory “Domino Effect/Theory, that basically meant that once one fell under communism than the others would fall too. This war was extremely difficult because they were fighting in a forest. There were trees and bushes and everything would block the sight of the soldiers. So there was Guerilla Warfare which meant unconventional fighting, surprise attacks and ambush. Helicopters were extensively used. It was a fast in and an easy out. After the Tet Offensive, people started to distrust the government and increased the number of protests. There were war-hawks and doves. They were two completely different groups. One was anti-war and the other was pro-war. The war made a drastic impact in American Culture. Especially with the American people. The Vietnam War created division. (History.com)

The Tet offensive was when the Viet Kong decided to attack on the week of Tet. Tet was similar to our new years and in the previous years neither side of the war had ever fought on that day. Suddenly Tet came and we (the United States) was being attacked. This played a huge role in society. Eventually this lead to Cronkite announcing that this war was not winnable, it also lead to LBJ announcing that he would not run again for president. Both of these were a wake up call to the United States basically letting them know that we are way further in on the war then we had expected. This also stated that we could not win the war, making more and more riots happen at home. No one wanted the United States at war anymore for they thought that they were there for no reason and we weren't going to win so why not come home? Tet Offensive also impacts the following topics.

The increasing number of troops and military efforts involved with Vietnam and the seemingly optimistic reports reported by the government were the primary factors that caused the Tet Offensive and Counteroffensive. The American government had become increasingly involved with the Vietnam war. From 1965 to 1967, over 400,000 soldiers were sent to help the South Vietnamese forces. This massive increase in the amount of soldiers was frustrating to the American people. Johnson’s approval rating fell to a mere 40%, half of what it had been in 1965.  (“Vietnam War (1959-1975)” ; Axelrod 1). When the American soldiers returned home from Vietnam, it was often heard that they were spit on, and

The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States

John F. Kennedy was one of the most influential presidents ever; The decisions he made during the Cold War evaded the chance of a nuclear holocaust during his presidency. His had to make many life changing choices during his presidency. Many of them could have extreme impacts on the public 's opinion of him, the American economy would be affected. And the war with the Soviets was extremely costly to create new technology to protect ourselves. John F. Kennedy influence on the American people was profound, and his decisive actions changed history during the Cold War.

“ Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. “ These are the famous words said by JFK in his inaugural address. These words have power, they give you a feeling of humbleness. This is pathos, It gives you almost a saddening feeling. It makes you feel like you expect a lot, but also makes you want to give.

Preceding Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination was North Vietnam’s Tet Offensive against the United States which “signified the beginning of the end of U.S involvement in the Vietnam War” (CNN). Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, “was a holiday during which the North and South had previously observed an informal truce” (CNN). However, on January 31st, 1968, a “coordinated attack by Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese targeted 36 major cities and towns in South Vietnam” (CNN). Despite the heavy casualties, “North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet Offensive, as the attacks marked a turning point in the Vietnam War and the beginning of the slow, painful American withdrawal from the region” (“Tet Offensive”). This attack was a crucial turning point in the war because the ambush resulted in Americans withdrawing their support of the war. Before the offensive, the U.S.

While researching the Tet Offensive, there is a lot of information about Non-Vietnamese communist and Americans perspectives, and how they were preparing for an attack. However, there are limited resources out there that talk about the Vietnamese communist and what led them to the Tet offensive. In the reading the reading "Decision-making Leading to the Tet Offensive (1968)—The Vietnamese Communist Perspective" Ang Cheng Guan gives readers more insight on the communist perspective and what their plans were for the Tet Offensive. Guan shares what General Nguyen Chi Thanh explains "General Nguyen Chi Thanh explained that the strategy involved amassing both military and political strength to carry out a series of surprise attacks in places where

The TET offensive was the retaliation of the North. The north surprised attacked many of the cities and therefore making it so that we had to activate our reserves. It was a political and psychological victory for them (Karnow), because it dramatically contradicted claims by the United States government that the war was all but over. This offensive may have been insignificant because it was a failure but it did send an intense message. Due to the ongoing offensives, controversy over the war raged on.

Then, on January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese Army, supported by the Vietcong, launched the Tet Offensive, a series of surprise attacks on cities and towns throughout South Vietnam. Militarily, American forces repelled the attacks and retook the cities initially occupied by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. However, television portrayed the attack as an appalling defeat for the United States. In addition, the Tet Offensive made the brutality of the war very visible to Americans as the viewing public watched graphic footage of a prisoner being shot through the head by a South Vietnamese general.

John F. Kennedy striked a lot of the people’s attention with the Cuban Missile Crisis and leadership during the Bay of Pigs. He showed how he was a great leader to his country during the crisis to the citizens of America when the Cuban Missile Crisis was accuring. President

THE TET OFFENSIVE 11. By the end of 1967, Hanoi’s communist leadership was growing impatient as well, and sought to strike a decisive blow aimed at forcing the better-supplied United States to give up hopes of success. With over a year of tactical and strategic planning, on January 31, 1968, some 70,000 DRV forces under General Vo Nguyen GIAP launched the Tet Offensive, a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than Hundred (100) cities and towns in South Vietnam. According to Willbanks in his article “Tet 1968: The Turning Point,” argues that prior to this campaign, during the second half of 1967, the communists launched a number of attacks to draw US and allied attention away from the population centers, which would be the ultimate objectives for 1968 offensive (www.fpri.org).