When you have finished studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Explain the steps taken that involved the United States more deeply in the Vietnam War.
Describe the way Americans fought the Vietnam War and how the conditions of fighting differed from previous conflicts.
Explain the rise and impact of the antiwar movement at home.
Explain why 1968 was such a pivotal year for both the Vietnam War and for domestic politics.
Explain how Nixon widened the war as a way to end it. Describe the accompanying shift in U.S. foreign policy to Vietnamization, the Nixon Doctrine, and détente.
Describe the liberal and conservative elements of Richard Nixon's "New Federalism" and his appeal to the silent majority.
Explain the rise of "identity politics" and its distinctions from traditional American liberal ideology.
Describe Nixon's pragmatic conservatism and the reasons behind both his triumphant re-election and subsequent downfall.
