Lesson 4: Year of Disasters—1968

Lesson Focus

In 1968, American confidence plummeted. The nation faced a credibility gap, falling global prestige, and a series of shocking events that left it feeling divided and confused, marking the year as one of national crisis.

People to Know

Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon

Learning Objectives

• Identify four major disastrous events that shocked the nation and defined 1968 as a year of profound crisis.
• Explain how the Tet Offensive became a political turning point in the Vietnam War, eroding public support for the conflict.

Despite official reports of progress, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese army launched the massive Tet offensive on January 30, 1968.
They attacked cities across South Vietnam, including the U.S. embassy in Saigon.
Though a military failure for the communists, the televised violence shattered the credibility gap. Americans saw the war was far from over, causing public opinion to turn decisively against President Johnson's leadership and marking the war's political turning point.

Following the Tet offensive, President Johnson’s approval ratings plummeted as antiwar sentiment surged.
Democratic senators Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy challenged him for the presidency, exposing a deep split within his own party.
On March 31, 1968, Johnson announced a halt to most bombing of North Vietnam and stunned the nation by declaring he would not seek reelection, admitting he had lost the battle for public opinion.

The nation's extreme political turmoil led to shocking acts of violence.
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, ironically sparking deadly riots in 125 cities. Just two months later, on June 5, leading presidential candidate Robert Kennedy was also assassinated.
These murders extinguished many Americans' hopes for peaceful reform and deepened the national sense of crisis and despair, making the country feel like it was falling apart.

Frustration over the war and social issues ignited widespread unrest.
In April 1968, student protesters seized buildings at Columbia University. This anger culminated in August at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where police violently clashed with thousands of antiwar demonstrators in the streets.
These televised confrontations reinforced a public perception of chaos and a breakdown of law and order, further polarizing the nation and influencing the presidential election.

The Democratic party entered the election of 1968 fractured by the Vietnam War and the chaos at its convention, weakening its nominee, Hubert Humphrey.
Republican Richard M. Nixon capitalized on this by promising to restore “law and order” and unify the nation, while George Wallace appealed to voters angry about social change.
Nixon won a narrow victory, signaling a national desire for stability and a conservative turn after a decade of turmoil.