THE YEAR THAT ROCKED THE WORLD

Vietnam War with Walter Cronkite – Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3mfXnFtwQc

Vietnam War with Walter Cronkite – Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPmwkprZMic&feature=relmfu

CBS documentary
1968
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3mfXnFtwQc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPmwkprZMic&feature=relmfu

Who created the artifact?
This CBS documentary was created by Walter Cronkite and Ernest Leiser.

When was the artifact created?
In mid-February 1968, Cronkite and Leiser journeyed to Vietnam to cover the aftermath of the Tet Offensive.

Where was it created?
In Vietnam

Why was the document created?
The purpose of this artifact is to bring to American people the drama and horror of the most divisive war in American history.

Why is the document a primary source?
While traveling to Vietnam, Walter Cronkite personally witnessed and documented the events and conditions in aftermath of the Tet Offensive in early 1968.

How trustworthy is the source?
According to an opinion poll, during the 1960s and 1970s Walter Cronkite was often cited as “the most trusted man in America”.

What other questions might you ask of the source in order to better understand what it reveals about the events of 1968?
What was personal interest of Cronkite in producing this work? How powerful was the role of this documentary on the minds of the American people as well as the politics of the US compared to other TV news channels? Have Walter Cronkite received any negative reaction from administration for exposing hopeless situation in Vietnam? Would it be possible for Lyndon Johnson to win reelection in 1968 if Cronkite had not produced his epic film?

If you were going to be constructing an argument about the relationship between the cultural conflict embodied by the artifact you’re presenting and the 1968 election, what other artifacts would you look for?
CBS documentary with Walter Cronkite resulted in explosion of the anti-war movement. American public lost trust in current administration and this movement strongly affected 1968 presidential elections. Besides Cronkite documentary, I would look for prime source pictures of anti-war protests. Also, I would search for original interviews and speeches such as Cronkite’s interview with General Creighton Abrams and presidential address admitting failure in Vietnam. Also, I would use newspaper articles for that time period.

How might you go about finding them?
During my previous assignment, I learned that in order to find primary source documents I would need to search historic archives and databases.

What other background reading would you need to do?
History calls 1968 “The Year That Rocked The World” because it was filled with important events and processes leading to the presidential elections. So, in order to better understand what was happening, I would read books with memoirs and autobiographies of the people who witnessed the events.

What other questions would you ask?
Social conflicts of 1968 have broken the trust of the American public in politics and government administration. After American public has learned that government is unable and, sometimes, unwilling to address social conflicts during 1968, what were the chances that new administrations can win this trust back and not to continue that agenda and policies of the old administration? Were there any realistic ways for the administration to address and possibly solve the social conflicts of 1968?