The U.S.'s role in Vietnam seemed to be a more difficult problem. When Nixon took office in January 1969, the lives of 540,000 young Americans who had been sent to Indochina under the policies of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations were now in his hands.... Nixon's bombing of Hanoi in 1969 angered many Americans who felt that the president was not ending the long conflict as he had promised. President Nixon approved the bombing of Cambodia even against the objections of many of his White House advisors while continually promising an "honorable end to the war." The invasion of Cambodia resulted in the largest anti-war protests the U.S. had ever seen, and three members of Kissinger's staff also resigned in protest. Nixon would refer to college student protestors as "bums," and he argued that the "silent majority" of America would want him to take an aggressive stand in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the protests reached a fevered pitch, and by May 1970 several students were killed at Kent State University and at Jackson State University. One angry father, whose daughter had been killed, would respond, "my child was not a bum." Nixon would argue that, like the protestors, he wanted to stop the war, end the draft, and stop the killing, but he believed that "his decisions would serve that purpose." Over the next three days, protestors flooded Washington, D.C., and after a tense press conference, President Nixon went to the Lincoln Memorial at dawn where a group of protesters had gathered. A young student told Nixon that he didn't understand that protesters were willing to die to stop the war, and Nixon responded that he hoped to create a world where people would not have to die for what they believed in. Source: Hay, Jeff. Richard M. Nixon: Presidents and their Decisions Series. California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2001. 6a) How did the American people react to the decision President Nixon made to bomb Cambodia?

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The U.S.'s role in Vietnam seemed to be a more difficult problem. When Nixon took office in January 1969, the
lives of 540,000 young Americans who had been sent to Indochina under the policies of the Kennedy and
Johnson administrations were now in his hands... Nixon's bombing of Hanoi in 1969 angered many Americans
who felt that the president was not ending the long conflict as he had promised. President Nixon approved the
bombing of Cambodia even against the objections of many of his White House advisors while continually
promising an "honorable end to the war." The invasion of Cambodia resulted in the largest anti-war protests the
U.S. had ever seen, and three members of Kissinger's staff also resigned in protest. Nixon would refer to college
student protestors as "bums," and he argued that the "silent majority" of America would want him to take an
aggressive stand in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the protests reached a fevered pitch, and by May 1970 several
students were killed at Kent State University and at Jackson State University. One angry father, whose daughter
had been killed, would respond, "my child was not a bum." Nixon would argue that, like the protestors, he
wanted to stop the war, end the draft, and stop the killing, but he believed that "his decisions would serve that
purpose." Over the next three days, protestors flooded Washington, D.C., and after a tense press conference,
President Nixon went to the Lincoln Memorial at dawn where a group of protesters had gathered. A young
student told Nixon that he didn't understand that protesters were willing to die to stop the war, and Nixon
responded that he hoped to create a world where people would not have to die for what they believed in.
Source: Hay, Jeff. Richard M. Nixon: Presidents and their Decisions Series. California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2001.
6a) How did the American people react to the decision President Nixon made to bomb Cambodia?
Transcribed Image Text:The U.S.'s role in Vietnam seemed to be a more difficult problem. When Nixon took office in January 1969, the lives of 540,000 young Americans who had been sent to Indochina under the policies of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations were now in his hands... Nixon's bombing of Hanoi in 1969 angered many Americans who felt that the president was not ending the long conflict as he had promised. President Nixon approved the bombing of Cambodia even against the objections of many of his White House advisors while continually promising an "honorable end to the war." The invasion of Cambodia resulted in the largest anti-war protests the U.S. had ever seen, and three members of Kissinger's staff also resigned in protest. Nixon would refer to college student protestors as "bums," and he argued that the "silent majority" of America would want him to take an aggressive stand in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the protests reached a fevered pitch, and by May 1970 several students were killed at Kent State University and at Jackson State University. One angry father, whose daughter had been killed, would respond, "my child was not a bum." Nixon would argue that, like the protestors, he wanted to stop the war, end the draft, and stop the killing, but he believed that "his decisions would serve that purpose." Over the next three days, protestors flooded Washington, D.C., and after a tense press conference, President Nixon went to the Lincoln Memorial at dawn where a group of protesters had gathered. A young student told Nixon that he didn't understand that protesters were willing to die to stop the war, and Nixon responded that he hoped to create a world where people would not have to die for what they believed in. Source: Hay, Jeff. Richard M. Nixon: Presidents and their Decisions Series. California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2001. 6a) How did the American people react to the decision President Nixon made to bomb Cambodia?
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