Final answer:
The Vietnam War was influenced by policies of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. Kennedy began the U.S. involvement; Johnson escalated it, affecting his Great Society; and Nixon carried out Vietnamization while facing increasing protests, eventually withdrawing U.S. forces and negotiating a peace treaty that left Nixon with a complex legacy.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the Vietnam War, Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon each had different policies that greatly impacted the course of the war. Kennedy essentially laid the groundwork for American involvement by sending military advisors to assist South Vietnam. After the assassination of Kennedy, President Johnson increased U.S. military involvement, which culminated in the escalation of war through the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
Moreover, Johnson’s Great Society was affected by his escalation of the Vietnam War, which Martin Luther King suggested detracted from domestic social reforms. President Nixon inherited the war and introduced a strategy of Vietnamization. His goal was to gradually transfer combat responsibilities to South Vietnamese forces while reducing American troop levels. However, Nixon's actions, such as the bombing of Cambodia, increased domestic opposition and led to tragic incidents like the Kent State shootings. As a result of growing dissent, along with revelations like the Pentagon Papers, Nixon eventually negotiated a peace treaty, effectively ending direct U.S. involvement in the war by 1973. South Vietnam fell to the North two years later, reflecting on Nixon's complicated legacy.
The various opinions and antiwar protests during Nixon’s presidency shaped public opinion and likely influenced his administration, despite his claims to the contrary. The Nixon administration also became entangled in illegal operations culminating in the Watergate scandal, which eventually led to Nixon’s resignation.