Question: Explain how events such as the Vietnam War and Watergate affected the American public’s opinion of the U.S government.

You must complete all three parts of the assignment.

Part 1

Read the question above and write down what you think the question is asking in your own words.

Part 2

Use an Internet search engine (such as Google, Yahoo or Bing) to find sources that would help you answer the question. Try to use the advanced search option to limit the number of results.

• You must choose four sources to complete this portion of the assignment.
  • Two on Watergate
  • Two on the Vietnam War
• You must have at least two different types of sources. Your sources could include a news or magazine article, a topic website, an online encyclopedia, or video.
• Submit the following information:
  • What search engine did you use?
  • What words did you type into the search engine to get your results?
  • What sources did you choose? Provide the web address and title of each source.

    Example: Richard Nixon Biography

Part 3

Choose one Vietnam War and one Watergate source from Part 2 and complete the following:

• Write two or three sentences to summarize each source.
• Write what you think the purpose of the source is and who the original audience would have been.
• Write at least one sentence explaining how the source helps you explain the way the event affected the American public’s opinion of the government.
• Choose a quote from the source that you would use as evidence to support your answer to the question.

Example of Part 3:

Summary: This source is from a newspaper article and explains how citizens reacted to the draft for the Vietnam War by burning their draft cards and protesting on college campuses.
Audience: The original audience would have been any citizen of the U.S. who read the newspaper in the 1960s.
Purpose: The purpose of the article is to explain methods that people took in the U.S. to show their dislike for the draft.
Explanation of use: This source could be used as evidence to prove that people were displaying their opinions to the government and that a percentage of people did not agree with the government’s actions regarding Vietnam.
Quote: A quote that I would use is: “Young men were burning their draft cards in front of cameras taking footage for the evening news.”

View the Research Asset to refresh your memory on the proper way to conduct an Internet search.