The Vietnam War or "the war America didn't win" was a conflict that took place in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The United States became involved in this war because of its policy of containment against communism. This war, however, was about more than just winning or losing, especially for the American people. During the war and throughout most of the 1960s, American citizens protested several issues. During most of the 1960s and early 1970s, protests for civil rights, women's rights, and other issues increased tensions between the U.S. government and citizens. The "baby boom" generation of the 1940s, after World War II, had reached college age in the 1960s and was eager to become involved in politics and nationally relevant issues. This massive wave of students and other activists used music and other art forms as a way to campaign and protest the war and other social issues that affected America at that time. Before the Vietnam War began, the United States was experiencing an economic boom. because of World War II. Immediately after the war, the country shifted its war machine back to a consumer culture and found work for 12 million returning veterans. As the economy grew stronger and prosperity increased, people began to focus on domestic issues rather than foreign ones. Because of the new focus on domestic issues, Americans finally saw the triumph of the civil rights movement. The Brown v. The Supreme Court's Board of Education explicitly prohibited the segregation of public educational institutions for blacks and whites, effectively ending the "separate but equal" provision. Political advocates of the civil rights movement encouraged young people to get involved in rallies... middle of paper ...... h vandalism, arson, and even bombings. In 1968, as part of the Tet Offensive, a squad of Viet Cong guerrillas attacked the American embassy in Saigon. Soldiers seized the embassy and held it for six hours until an assault force of American paratroopers landed. The offensive was a crushing military defeat; the communists won a huge psychological victory that ultimately helped them win the war. Johnson, frustrated with his inability to achieve a solution in Vietnam, announced on March 31, 1968, that he would not seek or accept his party's nomination for re-election. In May 1968, the United States and North Vietnam began peace talks in Paris and reached a formal agreement in January 1973. Fighting between the North and South continued in Vietnam before the war ended. ended on April 30, 1975, when Saigon fell to the communists. the last Americans left Vietnam.