While history often appears to be a continuous stream of events and decisions, there are some that are so dramatic that historians sometimes call them "turning points." Sometimes the term "tipping points" is also used. These are the moments when the whole future of events hangs in the balance.
There were several such turning points in this week's readings and discussions: the Buddhist riots of 1963, the coup d'etat against Diem in 1963, the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, the attack on USS MADDOX in 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964, and the 1964 presidential elections.
In a short paper of two pages double-spaced (maximum), take one of those turning points of your choice and write about it, answering these three questions:
1. Why is your chosen turning point actually a turning point and not just another event?
2. Why were the events immediately preceding the turning point necessary and essential in preparing for the turning point?
3. What subsequent event or events were dependent on the action of the turning point; also, what possible event or events became impossible because the turning point occurred?