Paper Summary:

The paper focuses on the Tet-offensive, a three-staged attack by the Communist forces on many towns and bases that were under American or French control. The paper reveals that it was the first time the Communist forces were able to muster such a large attack without any knowledge by the Allies. The paper also considers the influence of televised news and the coming of age of a new generation of Americans. The paper shows how the Tet-offensive was the most damaging blow to American support of the war at home, and so can be seen as a turning point for the Vietnam War.

From the Paper:

"In 1950 when President Harry Truman sent the first initial monetary support to help France's efforts in Vietnam, no one could have guessed the level of American involvement that would follow in the next twenty years. During this time as the numbers of dead and wounded Americans grew, so did the percentage of people that were in opposition to the Vietnam War. This is significant as it represents the first time in American history that the public was not in support of the war, and openly criticized their government's actions."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anderson, Terry. 1999, " 1968: The End and the Beginning in the United States and Western Europe" South Central Review, Vol 17.1, 1-15
• Culbert, Jason. 1998, "Televisions Visual Impact on Decision Making in the USA, 1968: The Tet-offensive and Chicago's Democratic National Convention." Journal of Contemporary History, Vol 33, (3), 419-449.
• Dallek, Robert. 1998. "Flawed Giant, Lyndon Johnson and his Times 1961-1973". Oxford University Press.
• Hanson, Victor Davis, 2001. "The Meaning of Tet" American Heritage, Vol 52, (3) pg.44. Canadian Reference Center.
• Joseph W. Swaykos, 1996 "Operational Art in the Tet Offensive, A North Vietnamese Perspective", Virtual Vietnam Archive.

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