2. Eastern edge of the Indochinese Peninsula
Jungle conditions, swamp, lush land along the deltas.
Slightly larger than New Mexico
Temperature:
August: 91o F
January: 70oF
Precipitation:
August: 13.5 inches
January: 8 inches
3.
4. America involvement:
1950-1973—money, weapons, and military advisors
1965-1973—American combat troops on the ground
2nd longest military engagement
Afghan war is now the longest
American Fatalities:
37,393
MIA: 2,000
South Vietnam Fatalities
Military: 266,000
Civilian: 843,000
North Vietnam Fatalities:
Military: 251,000
Civilian: 182,000
5. 1. Summarize Vietnam’s history as a French colony and
its struggle for independence.
2. Examine how the United States became involved in
the Vietnam conflict.
3. Describe the expansion of U.S. military involvement
under President Johnson.
6. The Vietnamese had been
striving for independence
for years*
Vietnam declared
Independence on
September 2, 1945 from
French colonial rule*
A friendship between the
U.S. and Vietnam
began, which later turned
into war
7. Communist
Leader of the Vietminh: Vietnamese
Nationalist Force
Founded in 1941
Purpose: to drive the French out
Goals: land reform and an
independent unified Vietnam
Was actually trained by OSS forces
around 1945
8. French did not want to give up their colony of Vietnam
November 1946: War between French and the Vietminh
begins
1950: French appeal to U.S. for help
U.S. did not want to lose France as an ally
China became Communist in 1949 (puts the pressure on us)
Containment: U.S. policy that opposes Communism and
where it does it exist, it “ contained”
U.S. agreed to send military aid to France
9. Ike takes office in ‘53. By ‘56 we were
paying for 80% of the 1st Indochina
War
1956: The French surrender
France and Vietnam meet in Geneva
to work out a peace agreement
between the countries – The Geneva
Accords
Vietnam was to be temporarily
divided along the 17th parallel
To Be reunited after 1956 National
Vietnamese elections
Ike refused to sign it due to the
domino theory
If one country fell to
communism, those in the area would
fall to communism.
10. South Vietnam was in chaos after
colonialism and war
Ngo Dinh Diem (groomed by the U.S.)
Was an anti-Communist and
nationalist
Refused to take part in the ‘56
elections as spelled out in the Geneva
Accords
1954-1961: U.S. sent $1 billion to South
Vietnam
Had little in common with his people
Rigged elections so he would
win, refused to hold real elections
11. Vietcong
Vietcong: In South Vietnam, but oppose Diem and
support North Vietnam
Promised economic reform, reunification, and used
terror extensively
Tied to Ho Chi Minh government
Vietcong supported by North Vietnam, China, and the
Soviet Union
The Ho Chi Minh Trail*
Network of paths thru Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
Used to move goods and most importantly provide for
guerilla warfare.
12. 1963: Buddhists protested
Diem regime, which
persecuted Buddhists
Plan to overthrow
Diem, with U.S./JFK
support- November
1, 1963*
Diem was “accidentally”
killed in the process*
Kennedy was assassinated Thich Quang Duc*
Nov. 22, 1963 and the
Vietnam conflict was
turned over to Johnson
13. Believed Vietnam was
important to a Cold War
victory
By 1964, U.S. aid was still the
only thing keeping South
Vietnam from collapsing
Johnson wanted to expand
U.S. involvement to ensure
a non-communist victory
Advised by Secretary of
Defense Robert McNamara
14. August 1964:
Tonkin Gulf Incident
Johnson announced two U.S.
destroyers were attacked off
the coast of North Vietnam
(it is now known that this
incident never really
happened, the government
made it up so that Americans
would support expansion in
Vietnam)
Congress passed the Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution:
Did not declare war, but it
widened the war (gave
Johnson more military powers
in wartime than any President
before him)
15. 1. Explain the reasons for the escalation of U.S.
involvement in Vietnam.
2. Describe the military tactics and weapons used by
U.S. forces and the Vietcong.
3. Explain the impact of the war on American society.
16. Increased Involvement
‘65 and every year after, Johnson continued to escalate the # of
troops in Vietnam to support South Vietnam(Americans supported
it)
American’s fought along side the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(South Vietnamese)…fought against the Vietcong and North Vietnam.
U.S. hoped to destroy the Vietcong’s will through bombing and
combat
Bombing: Operation Rolling Thunder—bombing of North Vietnam
Ground War: Search and Destroy Missions (controversial)
Vietcong appealed to peasants
Vietcong could be anyone
Use of napalm and agent orange – know what these are
Guerrilla Warfare: (Vietcong) Small groups of fighters to
annoy U.S. troops, avoid open fighting
Strategic Hamlet Program: (U.S.) Uproot villages and force
people to move to cities or refugee camps
Bottom Line: Fighting the Vietcong was a nightmare…!!!
17. *By the end of ‘65 the govt.
had sent almost 200,000
Americans to Vietnam.
*General Westmoreland
Commander of U.S. troops
in Vietnam
Asked Johnson to send
troops in March 1965
Nov. 21, 1967:
Westmoreland states the
end is near- 10 weeks later
we get the Tet Offensive
Felt that the Vietnamese
could not withstand our
troop support..
By ‘67 – 500,000 troops!!
18. America’s first “Living Room War”
Combat footage appeared on the
nightly news
The news seemed to counter the
Governments portrayal of what
was happening over there
The govt came back with body
count stats of how many Vietcong
were dying in combat versus how
many Americans were dying
A credibility gap was growing
Government was saying one
thing, but the American people
were seeing something different
on TV. Journalist Walter Cronkite
19. 1. Explain the draft polices that led to the Vietnam War
becoming a working-class war.
2. Trace the roots of opposition to the war.
3. Describe the antiwar movement and the growing
divisions in U.S. public opinion about the war.
20. The Draft
Use of the Selective Service System (18-26 years of age)
As doubts grew, men found ways to avoid the draft
Medical exemptions
College exemptions (most common)
This often left the working class to fight the war…
African Americans
Made up a disproportionate # of soldiers…
1969 – instituted a draft lottery
Women – could not serve in combat
10,000 served as nurses, many more in the red cross and the
USO
21. The New Left
Youth movement demanding sweeping changes
SDS – Students for a Democratic Society
Corporations are taking over America
Called for civil disobedience @ selective service centers
By ‘70 had chapters on 400 college campuses
Free Speech Movement
Colleges were a breeding ground for all of these groups…
Protests quickly changed to resistance
“burn cards, not people”
“hell, no, we won’t go”
Doves (for peace) vs. Hawks (for war)
Even with all the resistance Johnson stays the course.
22. 22.4 Objectives
Describe the Tet offensive and its effect on the American
public.
Explain the domestic turbulence of 1968.
Describe the 1968 presidential election.
23. The Tet Offensive
On the eve of the Vietnamese New Year (Tet) the Vietcong attacked
100 towns and 12 U.S. air bases in South Vietnam. They even
attacked the U.S. embassy in Saigon. Continued for about a month.
Result
America and South Vietnam able to regain control.
Showed the Vietcong not close to surrendering.
What effect did it have on public opinion?
Walter Cronkite
Clark Clifford
Hawks vs. Doves
How was the democratic party “a house divided” in 1968?
Johnson announced that we would seek negotiations to end the
war, then he announced he would no longer be running for
president.
24. Democrat Hubert Humphrey
Loyal Supporter of LBJ
People were afraid that I
wouldn’t end the war
I was the Democrat’s
nominee for president in
1968
I lost the presidency in
the 1968 general election
to my Republican
opponent
25. I was a member of the Eugene McCarthy
Democrat Party
I was a Senator from
Minnesota
I decided to run for
president even when LBJ
was still running
I was an anti-war supporter
I did not earn the
Democrat nomination for
President
26. I was a member of the Robert Kennedy
Democrat Party
I was a Senator from New
York
I wanted to end the war
I was assassinated
27. I was a member of the George Wallace
American Independent
Party
I was once the governor of
Alabama
I supported school
segregation and states’
rights
I lost the presidency in the
general election, but I took
votes away from Hubert
Humphrey
28. I was a member of the Richard Nixon
Republican Party
I was V.P. under
Eisenhower
I promised to restore law
and order
I won the Presidency in
1968
29. Martin Luther King
Assassinated April
4th, 1968
Robert Kennedy
Decided to run because
of Johnson’s weakness at
the polls
June 4th he won the
California primary
June 5th he was
assassinated
Protests on college
campuses skyrocketed
30. ‘68 Democratic National Convention
Humphrey was going to win the nomination
Why did this upset anti-war voters?
Around 10,000 protestors met in Chicago
Some came to voice their displeasure over Humphrey
Some to provoke violence (the Yippies)
Mayor Richard Daley “there will be law and order”
Mobilized 12,000 police officers and 5,000 National Guard
Riots broke out
Democratic party problems was seen by millions of
Americans.
Nixon wins the election
Promised to restore law and order, and to end the war in
Vietnam
Appealed to the Silent Majority
31.
32. 1. Describe Nixon’s policy of Vietnamization.
2. Explain the public’s reaction to the Vietnam War
during Nixon’s presidency.
3. Describe the end of the U.S. involvement and the
final outcome in Vietnam.
4. Examine the war’s painful legacy in the United
States and Southeast Asia.
33. Nixon and Vietnamization
Began troop withdrawal in early 1969
But he continued the war against North Vietnam
Kissinger (national security advisor) and Nixon came up with
vietnamization
Gradual withdrawal of troops from Vietnam
The S. Vietnamese would take a more active role in combat
By ‘72 troop #’s dropped from 500,000 to 25,000.
“Peace with Honor”
Preserve our clout at the negotiation table
Ordering of massive bombing campaigns in N. Vietnam, Laos and
Cambodia.
The enemy needs to fear us.
34. The My Lai Massacre
What happened at this
incident?
Cambodian Invasion
To clear out N. Vietnamese and
Vietcong supply centers.
Kent State Shootings
Students were protesting the
bombings in Cambodia
So what happened???
The Pentagon Papers
Papers drawn up by Robert
McNamara, leaked by Daniel
Ellsberg that detailed our true
plan for the war in Vietnam.
35. March 1972 – NVA launch the largest attack since Tet
Nixon orders to lay more mines and this halted the attack and
he terrible stalemate continued.
October 26th, 1972 – “Peace is at Hand” – Henry Kissinger
Nixon is re-elected in ‘72
Christmas bombings – U.S. dropped 100,000 lbs. of bombs on
the 2 largest cities of Vietnam
Jan 27, ’73 – Agreement to end the war and restore peace
March 29, ‘73 – the last U.S. combat troops left for home
March of ‘75 – The North Vietnamese led a full scale attack on
South Vietnam. By April 30th, tanks rolled in and captured
Saigon. (how did the U.S. react??)
36. In the U.S.
58,000 Americans were killed – 303,000 were wounded
How many Vietnamese died???
Change of attitude
Many now look more cautiously at foreign affairs, and more cynical
toward their government.
How did many Americans treat their fellow Americans coming home
from Vietnam?
15% of the returning soldiers developed post-traumatic stress
disorder (????)
In Asia
The N. Vietnamese began to “Nationalize” the
country, imprisoning 400,000 in “reeducation” camps. 1.5
million fled the country in the mid 70’s.
Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, took over Cambodia
Killed at least a million of his own people.
37. What were the hawks vs. doves arguments after the war???
Major policy changes
Abolished the draft
War Powers Act of ‘73
The President must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending
troops into a hostile area without a declaration of war.
The troops may remain there no longer than 90 days unless
Congress approves the actions or declares war.
How did the war alter our views on foreign policy?
Overall Legacy
People generally do not trust their govt. as much as they did
before the war.
Do you feel it that we won the Vietnam War or that we lost
the Vietnam War? Why?