Throughout history, the American people have, for the most part, remained united during times of war. The American people always seemed to rally behind each other. Most people were willing to fight in the war or willing to take on the responsibilities of those who went to war. The majority of Americans have supported the decisions of our nation's government. This was not the case during the Vietnam War. For the first time in American history, widespread revolt against our nation's decision to fight the war influenced the outcome. This is what saved our country and the lives of soldiers who were fighting an unwinnable war. The initial policy decision made by President Lyndon B. Johnson was to “Americanize” the Vietnam War (Tindall and Shi, p. 1341). This meant that American troops would be sent to Vietnam in large numbers to fight. The goal was to prevent South Vietnam from falling into the hands of communism and becoming involved in the war. As public pressure to leave Vietnam reached an all-time high, President Johnson faced another obstacle: the gold crisis. Because Johnson financed the war without adequate taxation or congressional consent, the economy went into crisis (Herring, p. 252-253). This made it increasingly difficult for Johnson to fulfill his promise to bring the war to a successful outcome. At this point, Johnson made a major change in war policy. He, together with his advisors, decided to move from Americanization to Vietnamization. This meant equipping the South Vietnamese with the right supplies and allowing them to fight for themselves (Herring, p. 246). In a speech on March 31, 1968, Johnson announced that the bombing of Vietnam would be drastically reduced. He also shocked the nation by saying, "I will not seek, and will not accept, my party's nomination for another term as your president." (Herring, p. 258). This was the beginning of the end of US involvement in Vietnam