By: HISTORY.com Editors
The Communist delegation in Paris rejects President Richard Nixon’s October 7 proposal as “a maneuver to deceive world opinion.”
Nixon had announced five-point proposal to end the war, based on a “standstill” cease-fire in place in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. He proposed eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces, unconditional release of prisoners of war, and political solutions reflecting the will of the South Vietnamese people.
North Vietnam's surprise attack on the South during the holiday of Tet altered the entire course of the Vietnam War. Morale among U.S. and South Vietnamese troops was crushed, and Americans back home increasingly wondered why their soldiers were there in the first place.
The U.S. Senate had adopted a resolution expressing support for President Nixon’s initiative, calling the proposals “fair and equitable,” and there was hope that the Communists would respond accordingly. However, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong negotiators refused to even consider Nixon’s proposal, reiterating their previous and long-standing demand for an unconditional and total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Indochina and the overthrow of the “puppet” leaders in Saigon.
U.S. officials publicly urged the Soviet Union to use its “considerable influence” with the Communists to persuade them to accept President Nixon’s new proposals, but the North Vietnamese stood their ground.
Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on October 8th
The historic visit by President Richard Nixon to the People's Republic of China warmed relations between the two nations and substantially altered the balance of power between the U.S., China and the Soviet Union.
From George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower to John F. Kennedy, military veterans have risen to the nation's highest office many times through history.
Journalists have angered presidents from the earliest days of America’s founding.
Some undid the work of their running mate, others bolstered their ticket.
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