How Did The Tet Offensive Affect The 1960s

The 1960s was a time of great turbulence in the United States. This intense time of social and political turbulence is capture in songs like The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” released in 1968. The songs intense rock riffs create a sense of confusion and disorder that mimics this turbulent time. The Civil Rights movement peaked in the 1960s, poverty was increasing in cities The Vietnam War was raging, and college protests erupted across the country. America was changed socially, politically, and economically by the 1960s marking the beginning of modern America. these tensions that were exposed in the 1960s changed America and many still have a lingering affect in today’s society. The Brown decision of 1954 marked the official start of the Civil

Prior to the Tet Offensive the American public believed that the Vietnam War would be coming to an end; however, the public was wrong. The Tet Offensive solidified that the Vietnam War was going to be a long war and that the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong were determined to win. This led to the collapse of public support. By this time the Counter Culture movement in America was in full swing and many of the members were college students. Prior to the Tet Offensive the Counter Culture movement focused its time and strength on anti-establishment, freedom of speech, and race protest; however, after the Tet Offensive the Counter Culture movement shifted its efforts towards the anti-war movement. College Students began to protest the morality of the draft that was in place and the massive loss of American life. The most famous protest was the Kent State Protest (1970) were four students were shot and killed by National Guardsmen. These liberal college students would create the base of the anti-war movement; however, by the end of the Vietnam war (1973) the Counter Culture movement had faded away but its far left ideology had been absorbed by the mainstream media, further polarizing the United States political