The ’60s were a turbulent decade. Every year was marked by a few triumphs in space technology and too many tragedies here on Earth. Of the ten years that marked the difficult decade, 1968 was the most eventful. Click here to get our hot take on these events more than 50 years later.
Keep reading for a quick rundown of some of the unforgettable historical events of 1968.
1. The Tet Offensive
Late January was the “Tet”, or Lunar New Year for much of Southeast Asia. Around this time in 1968, North Vietnam launched its violent Tet Offensive against the US and South Vietnam; it may have also marked the beginning of the end of the US involvement in the Vietnam War.
The two sides normally didn’t engage in battle on “Tet”. The day was an unspoken truce between the North and South. That day, the North launched an attack on 36 major cities and towns with an army of 85,000 Viet Cong.
While the invasion failed to make its intended impact, it led to widespread discussion against US involvement and kickstarted its eventual retreat from the Vietnam War.
2. RFK Announces Candidacy
On March 16, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy announced that he would be running for the role of the President of the United States, a rather late but welcome announcement for his supporters and the Democratic Party.
RFK’s main competitor in the race was the then Vice President Hubert Humphrey, but that seems a minor detail in the face of the fact that the campaign lasted only 82 days, ending in the Senator’s assassination.
3. The MLK Assassination
The Assassination of Martin Luther King was a historical event that shook America. It occurred on the evening of April 4, 1968, and sparked riots across the country that resulted in 40 deaths and caused property damage in more than 100 cities.
While an arrest was eventually made in the case, later investigations prove any charges and convictions to be nothing more than a coverup operation to hide the real killers.
4. The RFK Assassination
Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 6, 1968. His demise, like his forebearers’, would become an unsolved case. It would contain conflicting reports on how many gunshots were fired, its conclusions deviating from the proposed angles of the attack (at close range, from behind and from extreme top angles).
You can find more about these inaccuracies in Mel Ayton's The Kennedy Assassinations: A Review. This well-written article will make you think twice about every detail of the RFK and JFK assassinations. Support our organization, so we can keep using our words to advocate for the truth behind the political assassinations of the 1960s.
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