Domestic Politics and Policies

In this lesson, students will view video segments from Ken Burns & ​Lynn Novick: The Vietnam War detailing the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of the Johnson administration and presidential candidate Richard Nixon related to the peace talks with North Vietnam prior to the election of 1968.

Hubert Humphrey is confident he will win but the Paris Peace Talks are delayed after Richard Nixon makes a promise to President Thieu of South Vietnam. NOTE: This video is part of a lesson plan titled Richard Nixon and the 1968 Presidential Election.

In this lesson, students will view segments from Ken Burns & ​Lynn Novick: The Vietnam War and complete a graphic organizer to help them make conclusions about what they see. They then will use the information from the organizer to role-play a police officer, demonstrator, convention delegate, or someone watching the convention at home. Then, they will write a letter to a friend or family member from the point of view of someone who witnessed the event.

Violent scenes from Chicago are televised around the world. Hubert Humphrey wins the nomination on the first ballot. After the convention, Richard Nixon opens his campaign with a parade through the Chicago Loop and is cheered by thousands. NOTE: This video is part of a lesson plan titled The 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Thousands of demonstrators, barred from getting anywhere near the 1968 Democratic National Convention, moved their protest to Party headquarters on Chicago's Michigan Avenue. The National Guard was called to help the police put down the protest and the sides clashed violently. At the convention, there was more confusion. Some anti-war delegates, once pledged to the murdered Robert Kennedy, threw their support behind George McGovern. NOTE: This video is part of a lesson plan titled The 1968 Democratic National Convention.

President Nixon wants to end publishing of the formerly secret Pentagon Papers but the Supreme Court decides there is a first amendment right to publish them. NOTE: This video is part of a lesson plan titled The Pentagon Papers: National Security versus the People’s Right to Know.

For the first time in American history, veterans came home from a war and said "this war's got to stop." In April 1971, John Kerry, one of the leaders of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The next day, veterans demonstrated against the war, including throwing their medals over a fence in front of the U.S. Capitol. NOTE: This video is part of a lesson plan titled Patriotism, Service, and Protest.