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Confederate war clerk, J.B. Jones's description of the Richmond
Bread Riot of 1863, clearly highlights the suffering which
permeated the urban centers of the Confederacy by the midpoint of
the Civil War. The production and transportation of goods became
increasingly difficult in the war torn nation. Inflation undermined
the value of Confederate currency and made it difficult for those
on fixed wages to provide for themselves and their families. The
influx of thousands of refugees into Richmond created a deficit of
housing in the city and raised the already inflated prices of
goods. By 1863, most citizens remarked that they found it almost
impossible to feed themselves. As Emory M. Thomas has observed, "a
nation of farmers could indeed go hungry." Although the
Confederates ended 1862 militarily on a high note with the victory
at Fredericksburg in December, the staggering casualties at
Antietam and the ensuing Emancipation Proclamation combined to
create undercurrents of doubt in the fledgling nation. The
military's performance, however vital to the Confederacy's hope for
survival, did not affect the lives of the citizens on the home
front to the extent that the government's domestic policies did. In
fact, much of the Confederacy's legislation, passed in the opening
months of 1863, only accentuated whatever feelings of resentment
existed at the end of the previous year. In pursuit of success on
the battlefield, the Confederacy abandoned many of the principles
on which the nation had been founded. The Richmond Bread Riot
demonstrated that Confederate domestic legislation and treasury
policies combined to create a level of discontent on the home front
which spurred people to step outside traditional notions regarding
gender roles and social norms.
The assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem on
November 1, 1963, left a leadership void in Saigon that was never
filled. Heads of state went through Saigon like a revolving door,
yet none of them were able to successfully lead and govern the
people of South Vietnam. On the other side of the globe, President
of the United States John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November
22, 1963. While the U.S. had a line of succession, President
Johnson was relatively new to the Vietnam situation. Even though
Johnson was new, he still had Kennedy's cabinet and advisers to aid
his decisions. Despite this, by early 1964 two new leaders, Nguyen
Khanh and Lyndon Johnson sought a solution to the decades long
struggle in Vietnam. President Johnson inherited a three-front war
in Vietnam. One front was North Vietnamese support of the Viet Cong
(VC) insurgency in South Vietnam, and Johnson had to stop this
support in order to defeat the VC. The insurgency itself
constituted another front that had to be defeated in order to
maintain a free and independent South Vietnam. The third
overarching front was the creation of a stable and legitimate
government in Saigon capable of governing the people of South
Vietnam. The question for his administration was on which of these
aspects to focus. Before Johnson could make that decision, he first
had to decide if the U.S. should continue to aid Saigon; therefore,
he had three options: leave Vietnam, continue in an advisory role,
or escalate U.S. involvement. The political and military situations
in Vietnam deteriorated to such a point through 1964-1965 that by
February 1965 there were no good choices left from which President
Johnson could choose. Johnson desired for there to be a stable
South Vietnamese government before he committed U.S. forces to its
defense; however, no such government emerged. The administration
was unwilling to risk U.S. prestige, resources, and lives unless
they were confident South Vietnam could succeed without U.S.
support. Because of the instability in South Vietnam as well as the
perceived risk of communist aggression, President Johnson decided
that escalatory military actions would be limited and gradual.
Therefore, President Johnson made the least bad decision he could
in February 1965 by initiating Operation ROLLING THUNDER and
committing the United States to the Vietnam War.
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