Vietnam War Playlist
21 items
Vietnam War DBQ
Lesson
Lesson
Use this Lesson with the Did U.S. Media Provide Fair and Accurate Coverage of the Tet Offensive? Point-Counterpoint following the Kent State Narrative to discuss the increase of anti-Vietnam War sentiments in the United States into the 1970s.
Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the War Powers Resolution
Lesson - 5 Activities
Lesson
5 Activities
95 Min
Beginning in 1812 and for the next hundred years, US Presidents asked for and received congressional declarations of war against England, Mexico, Spain, Japan, and European powers. During the Cold War, President Harry Truman sent troops to Korea as part of a UN force without a congressional declaration of war. President John F. Kennedy sent troops to defend South Vietnam. Congress never declared war, but years later passed the Tonkin Resolution authorizing President Lyndon Johnson to use force against North Vietnam. In reaction to US involvement in Vietnam, Congress passed the War Powers Act which limited the President’s authority to commit American troops abroad without Congress’s approval. The law was passed over the veto of President Richard Nixon, who argued the law was an abridgement of the President’s authority as Commander in Chief. The Act raises the questions: How far does the President’s power as Commander in Chief extend? And, how much of that power can be limited by Congress?
95 Min
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
E Lesson
E Lesson
20 Min
The 1969 landmark case of Tinker v. Des Moines affirmed the First Amendment rights of students in school. The Court held that a school district violated students’ free speech rights when it singled out a form of symbolic speech – black armbands worn in protest of the Vietnam War – for prohibition, without proving the armbands would cause substantial disruption in class.
Walter Cronkite Speaks Out against Vietnam, February 27, 1968
Activity
Activity
40 Min
Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
The Vietnam War Experience: An Interview with Veteran William Maxwell Barner III
Activity
Activity
40 Min
Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
There’s Something Happening Here: The Vietnam War and Student Protests | BRIdge from the Past
Video
Video
11 Min
While the 1960s may have opened as an optimistic era, by the end of the decade, Americans were deeply divided over the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. In this video, Mary looks at photographs both at home and abroad, examining the lives of those who fought in the war and those that protested in the streets. What does it mean to be patriotic? To serve? To protest? Can someone do both?
11 Min
Tinker v. Des Moines | Homework Help from the Bill of Rights Institute
Video
Video
3 Min
Why did a subtle act of protest against a foreign war reach the Supreme Court? In 1965, students John and Mary Beth Tinker wore black armbands to school to protest the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, despite the Des Moines school district prohibiting such an act. The Tinkers sued the district for violating their First Amendment rights, and the Supreme Court ruled in their favor in a 7-2 decision. While subsequent Supreme Court rulings narrowed the scope of free expression rights at school, Tinker v. Des Moines remains a landmark case that has defined First Amendment rights for students.
3 Min
Vincent Phillip Muñoz :
The Warren Court & Progressivism |
BRI Scholar Talks
Video
Video
32 Min
BRI Senior Teaching Fellow Tony Williams is joined by Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz,
author and Tocqueville Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame,
to discuss the Warren Court. Muñoz gives detailed accounts of the most significant Supreme Court
cases of the period and explains how they reflected a time of judicial activism and progressivism
for civil liberties against a backdrop of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. How did
Court advance the incorporation doctrine at this time? And how did the Warren Court shape the
principle of federalism in the present day?
32 Min
The Vietnam War: Ia Drang Valley
Essay - 2113 Words
Essay
2113 Words
What lessons did the U.S. learn after the battle of Ia Drang?
Students and the Anti-War Movement
Essay - 2578 Words
Essay
2578 Words
Why were many students opposed to the Vietnam War?
Chapter 14: 1960-1968
Unit - 7 Lessons
Unit
7 Lessons
Invite students to explore how internal and external political and cultural tensions shaped the years 1960–1968.
Richard Nixon and Watergate
Essay - 2949 Words
Essay
2949 Words
What events led to the resignation of President Nixon?
Nixon Tapes: The “Smoking Gun” Tape, 1972
Activity
Activity
40 Min
Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
50 Min
In 1974, Richard M. Nixon became the only President in US history to resign from the presidency. After administration operatives were caught breaking into the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC, Nixon covered up the crime. A Congressional investigation produced a stunning revelation: The Oval Office had a recording system that taped all the President’s conversations. The tapes could prove whether Nixon himself had ordered the cover-up. The Supreme Court rejected Nixon’s claim that executive privilege allowed him to withhold the tapes. With members of his own Republican Party turning against him and the House drawing up impeachment charges that were sure to pass, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9. The events raised serious questions about the definition, use, and abuse of executive authority.
50 Min
Kennedy vs. Nixon: TV and Politics
Lesson
Lesson
Use this lesson with The Nixon-Khrushchev Kitchen Debate Narrative and the Richard Nixon, "Checkers" Speech, September 1952 Primary Source to have students analyze the impact television made on the perception of politicians in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Resignation of Richard Nixon
Lesson - 2 Activities
Lesson
2 Activities
50 Min
Shortly before Richard Nixon was re-elected President in 1972, individuals connected with his re-election campaign were arrested while breaking into Democratic Party Headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington DC. Nixon was re- elected by an overwhelming margin, but questions surrounding his knowledge of the break-in, and his attempt to cover it up would not go away. During these investigations, Nixon’s Vice President, Spiro Agnew, was forced to resign on unrelated corruption charges. According to the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, the President must nominate a new Vice President when that office becomes vacant, and both houses of Congress must approve that Vice President. Because few in Congress believed that Nixon’s presidency would survive, key members of Congress told Nixon to nominate as Vice President a distinguished Republican Member of Congress, Gerald Ford. After Nixon’s resignation, Ford was sworn in as President and made the extremely unpopular decision of issuing Nixon a full pardon “for all offences against the United States.”
50 Min
United States v. Nixon (1974)
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of United States v. Nixon. Dealing with the principle of separation of powers, this lesson focuses on the question of whether or not the Constitution’s separation of powers intended to create an absolute executive privilege.
Reading United States v. Nixon Case Excerpts
Video
Video
17 Min
Can the president of the United States withhold certain pieces of information from legislative and judicial oversight? In this episode of BRI’s Primary Source Close Reads, Joshua Schmid is joined by Dr. Josh Dunn as they break down excerpts from the case of United States v. Nixon relating to the question of executive privilege. How did the Watergate Scandal lead to this Supreme Court case? Is the president’s right to safeguard certain information entirely immune from judicial power?
17 Min
United States v. Nixon | BRI’s Homework Help Series
Video
Video
4 Min
Can the President of the United States withhold certain information from Congress and the courts? During the Watergate Scandal, President Richard Nixon attempted to withhold recording tapes from the White House from investigators. The Supreme Court’s ruling would have huge impacts on the system of checks and balances within the United States' governing system.
4 Min
Responsibility
Unit - 16 Lessons
Unit
16 Lessons
Acting on good judgment about what is right or wrong, deserving the trust of others. To strive to know and do what is best, not what is most popular. To be trustworthy for making decisions in the best long-term interests of the people and tasks of which they are in charge. Individuals must take care of themselves and their families, and be vigilant to preserve their liberty and the liberty of others.