Domestic causes for the US defeat in Vietnam: Civil Rights campaigners, musicians, photojournalists and students
The longer that the war dragged on, the more the American public questioned US involvement in it. President Johnson employed a “policy of minimum candor” in its dealings with the media (meaning?). Over time, this policy damaged the public trust in official pronouncements. As the media’s coverage of the war and that of the Pentagon diverged, a so-called ‘credibility gap’ developed. In this activity, students look at the role played by civil rights campaigners (e.g. Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King Jr), musicians, photojournalists and students in bringing pressure to bear on the government to end the war.