Chronology

Selected Events for Vietnam
Year	Month	Day	Event	Related Resource
1964	August		Congress passes the Tonkin Gulf Resolution giving the President the power to take "all necessary measures" to "prevent further (Communist) aggression" in South Vietnam.
	November	03	Lyndon Johnson is elected President in a landslide victory over Barry Goldwater.
1965	March	08	In U.S. v. Seeger the Supreme Court extended conscientious objector status to those who do not necessarily believe in a supreme being, but who oppose war based on sincere beliefs that are equivalent to religious faith.	Link
	March	08	President Johnson sends the first U.S. ground troops into action, a crucial turning point in the American involvement in the Vietnam War. At the beginning of the year there are 25,000 American troops; by the end of that year there are 185,000.
	March	24	The first antiwar teach-in is held at the University of Michigan. At first, both supporters and opponents of the war attend the teach-ins. Before long, the campus teach-ins become anti-war rallies.
	April	17	15,000 students march in Washigton during a VietNam War protest sponsored by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
1966	March	26	20,000 - 30,000 people demonstrate against the Vietnam War in New York City.
	May	16	Martin Luther King, Jr. presents an antiwar statement at a Washington DC Vietnam protest rally. King agrees to serve as a co-chairman of Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam.
1967	April	04	Martin Luther King, Jr delivers an antiwar address, "Beyond Vietnam: Time to Break the Silence" at a meeting of the Clergy and Laity Concerned About Vietnam at Riverside Church in New York City.	Link
	October	22	100,000 people March on the Pentagon to protest the Vietnam War. The March includes appearances by Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman, author Norman Mailer, poet Robert Lowell and pediatrician Benjamin Spock. This is one of many demonstrations during the year.
1968	January	15	The Jeanette Rankin Brigade, a coalition of women's peace groups, demonstrates at the opening of the U.S. Congress against the Vietnam War.
	January	30	North Vietnamese and National Liberation Front forces launch the Tet Offensive. The savage attacks on the cities of South Vietnam are designed to destroy the South Vietnamese army, force the U.S. to withdraw from Vietnam, and topple the Saigon regime.
	March	16	An army platoon led by Lieutenant William Calley massacres hundreds of South Vietnamese civilians in the hamlet of My Lai.	Link
	April	30	More than 1,000 protesting students occupy five buildings in the last week of April 1968, effectively shutting down Columbia University until they are forcibly removed by the New York City police.
	August	05	Richard Nixon is chosen the Presidential nominee by the Republicans.
	August	26	Hubert Humphrey is chosen as the Democratic Presidential nominee.
	December	31	During the year, over 14,000 Americans are killed in Vietnam combat, 150,000 are wounded..
1969	April	30	U.S.forces reach their combat peak in Vietnam at 543,000 troops.
	November	15	250,000 people march in the largest anti-war demonstration in the history of Washington DC. Another 200,00 people gather in the Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
	December	01	The first draft lottery since 1942 begins. This event determined the order of call for induction during calendar year 1970, that is, for registrants born between January 1, 1944, and December 31, 1950.	Link
1970	March	10	Captain Ernest Medina is charged with murder for his participation at My Lai. This event leads to the My Lai Courts-Martial. On March 29, 1970 Lt. William L. Calley Jr. is convicted of premeditated murder in the My Lai massacre.	Link
	April	30	President Richard Nixon announces to a national television audience that US troops are invading Cambodia, the country west of Vietnam through which the North Vietnamese military is supplying their troops in the South. In fact, the US has been conducting bombing raids in Cambodia for over a year. The invasion initiates campus protests.	Link
	May	04	Four students are killed by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio. The killings shocked the American public and generated hundreds of protest activities across college campuses in the United States.
	May	04	The Cambodian invasion leads to campus protests. Four demonstrating students are killed and 10 wounded by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio. The killings shocked the American public and increase protest activities across college campuses in the United States.
	June	30	Invasion of Cambodia ends.
1971	February		South Vietnam and the U.S. invade Laos in an attempt to sever the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
	June	13	The New York Times begins publishing the top-secret Pentagon Papers, which explore the U.S. decision-making process regarding South Vietnam.	Link
	July		President Nixon certifies the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age to 18.	Link
1972	November		President Nixon wins second term, defeating Democrat George S. McGovern.
	December	18	U.S. bombing of Hanoi and North Vietnam begins.
	December	28	The North Vietnamese announce that they will return to Paris if Nixon ends the bombing. The bombing campaign is halted and the negotiators met during the first week of January, 1973.
1973	January	23	United States, South Vietnam, and North Vietnam sign the Paris Peace Accords, ending the American combat role in war. The U.S. military draft ends. A cease-fire goes into effect 5 days later.	Link
	February	12	POWs begin to come home as part of Operation Homecoming.
	March	29	Last U.S. combat troops leave Vietnam.
	April	01	North Vietnam releases the last 591 acknowledged American POWs.
	November		Congress overrides presidential veto of War Powers Act, which limits president's ability to wage war without congressional approval.