Berlin Wall• Physical division between East & West Germany• Symbolic boundary between Communism & Democracy• August 13, 1961 – November 9, 1989

A little geography…

Vietnam War (1954-1975)• 1954 France ended 100 years of colonial rule

• Vietnam temporarily divided at 17th parallel until 1956 elections• North Vietnam controlled by communist Ho Chi Minh• South Vietnam controlled by non-communist US supported Diem

• Diem worried N Vietnam was going to attack• Diem used harsh tactics to find suspected communists

• National Liberation Front (Vietcong) - South Vietnamese anti-Diem communist guerrillas fought Diem & wanted to reunite Vietnam

• 1963 Diem assassinated… 20 days later, JFK assassinated• South Vietnam had a series of unstable governments

Vietnam War (1954-1975)• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (August 1964)

• LBJ reported N Vietnamese boats fired on 2 US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin

• LBJ asked Congress permission to bomb N Vietnam• “take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force”• In effect, Congress gave war powers to the President

• But, LBJ had kept important info from Congress• US ships were spying on N Vietnam• Unclear if ships had actually been attacked• Draft resolution had been prepared in ADVANCE of the

“attack” just in case

Vietnam War (1954-1975)Truman initiated US involvement in Vietnam, Eisenhower continued it; JFK increased it; Johnson escalated it…

• 1963 – 16,000 US “advisors” in South Vietnam• 1965 – 200,000 American troops in South Vietnam• 1968 – 500,000+ American troops in South Vietnam

Vietnam War (1954-1975)Vietnam was very different than Korea -

• Korean War • US a military agent of the United Nations• Widespread support from non-communist countries

• Vietnam War• US only military supporting South Vietnam• Widespread hostility towards US policy in S Vietnam• Vietcong used hit-and-run tactics (“Elusive Enemy”)• Search & Destroy: U.S. military tactic used in Vietnam to locate

and eliminate the enemy• In our living rooms - unprecedented press access

Vietnam War (1954-1975)Tet Offensive - surprise military campaign during Vietnamese lunar New Year executed by the Viet Cong

• Supposedly exhausted communist guerillas launched major offensive attacks• US Embassy (center of American activities)• US bases across South Vietnam• S Vietnamese cities

• Tet is a celebration of Vietnamese lunar New Year• Tet Offensive was a military failure, but a psychological victory for

the Vietcong• LBJ decided not to run for re-election

Vietnam War (1954-1975)My Lai Massacre (spring 1968)• Angry and frustrated men of Charlie Company entered a village and

their superior officer said “This is what you’ve been waiting for – search and destroy – and you’ve got it.”• 700 inhabitants – children, women, elderly• Soldiers killed 504 Vietnamese civilians including:

• 50 under the age of 3 • 69 between 4-7 years old• 27 over the age of 70

Vietnam War (1954-1975)My Lai: while approved to search and destroy, angry and frustrated soldiers murdered innocent people causing embarrassment to the military

• The superior officer rounded up a group of villagers, ordered them into a ditch and gunned them down in machine gun fire.

• One soldier later testified “I cut their throats, cut off their hands, cut out their tongues, scalped them. I did it. A lot of people were doing it and I just followed. I lost all sense of direction."

Vietnam War (1954-1975)Changes on the home front…

• Strategy of Vietnamization• Get US out and put more responsibility on South Vietnamese• War started to move to Cambodia and Laos

• Increasing opposition and protest in US• Anti-draft• Kent State Protests (Ohio) – National Guard sent in, killed 4

students and wounded 9 more• Jackson State University (Mississippi) – State Police fired

randomly into a student dormitory, killed 2 students and wounded 12 more

War divides the nation

Doves: strongly opposed, wanted to withdraw (students, wealthy, educated)

Hawks: more military resources to win the war (middle class, less educated & wealthy)

Vietnam War (1954-1975)Withdraw from the war “with honor”

• June 23, 1973 US, South Vietnam, North Vietnam and Vietcong sign a cease-fire ending US military presence

• War continued between North and South Vietnam• April 30, 1975 North and South Vietnam formally united as

Socialist Republic of Vietnam• Vietnam remains united as a Communist country today

The Cold War DefrostsNixon

• Policy of détente – relaxation of tensions between US and communist bloc

• Increased trade with both USSR and ChinaJimmy Carter

• In response to the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan, Carter boycotted 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow

• The USSR boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in LA

The Cold War DefrostsRonald Reagan

• Called USSR “evil empire” and built up military• USSR’s economy started to fail, their new leader initiated glasnost

• Glasnost: This policy of “openness” introduced by Soviet leader Gorbachev led to the fall of the communist block in Europe

• Reagan shifted to diplomacy and pursued arms agreements• 1987 speaking at the Berlin Wall, Reagan said: “If you seek peace, if

you seek prosperity… Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”• November 1989 Berlin Wall torn down• December 1989 Cold War officially declared over• 1990-1991 Soviet Union collapsed