The Vietnam War Lyndon Johnson and

Richard Nixon

Concerns about the spread of communism

led the United States to become increasingly involved in Vietnam

Western imperialism in SE Asia was brief, but it left a problematic legacy. The introduction by the colonials of Western-style

bureaucracies, education and capitalism led to the demise of older monarchical forms of authority and the rise of Western-educated

elites

A Brief History (Views of Vietnam)• Truman: extension of the Cold War struggle against the USSR

(Containment)• Eisenhower: if S. Vietnam falls, all Southeast Asia will fall to

communism (Domino Theory)• Geneva Accords: general elections in July 1956 would reunify

the country – The U.S. never fully supported the peace agreements fearing that Ho

Chi Minh and the Communists would win the nationwide election –We supported Diem in the south first with advisors then with troops

and weapons

An illustration of

what Eisenhower called the “Falling Domino

Principle” in an interview in 1954. The

“Domino Theory” justified

American involvement in Southeast

Asia.

•Diem’s opponents in South Vietnam began to revolt.•North Vietnam supplied weapons to Vietminh

(communist) rebels in South Vietnam.–They formed the National Liberation Front and

called their military forces the Vietcong (VC).

•Diem is overthrown (1963)• The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is passed after

the USS Maddox is fired upon (1964) –Allows LBJ “to take all necessary measures” and

the escalation begins

• Operation Rolling Thunder to bomb roads, bridges, bases and the Ho Chi Minh Trail that supplied the Viet Cong in South Vietnam

• Agent Orange—defoliant, or chemical, that destroys vegetation

• Napalm—jellied form of gasoline used to create firebombs

Opposition to the War in the U.S.• TV news brings the war to living rooms (first news

reports were positive then negative)• Escalating costs: $600 - $700 billion (total) and

500,000 soldiers (1,200 dying/month)• Public opinion was divided– Hawks believed in containment– Doves believed the US action

immoral and futile• Credibility Gap- difference between

the reality of the war and Johnson’s portrayal of it (underscored with the Pentagon Papers leak)

More Protests• Opposition grew after the Tet Offensive and when Americans

learned about the My Lai massacre and the Pentagon Papers.– Tet (1968) was an unsuccessful offensive by the N. Vietnamese that turned

public opinion against the war even more– Also in 1968, troops under Lt. William

Calley killed at least 450 men, women, and children in the village of My Lai while on a search-and-destroy mission.

• Campus violence at Kent State University in May, 1970 (4 students killed and 9 injured) and Jackson State College in Mississippi (2 killed, 9 wounded)

• Remembering Kent State and Ohio

The Pentagon Papers• In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, former Department

of Defense official leaked a top-secret study known as the Pentagon Papers. – This study revealed how previous administrations

deceived Congress and the public about Vietnam.

• Congress stopped the publication of the papers but it was brought to trial• In New York Times Co. vs United

States free speech won and the papers were published.

Nixon and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger devised plans to end the war.

Vietnamization

• Turn over more of the fighting to the S.Vietnamese and bring U.S. forces home– Nixon Doctrine (the U.S. will

expect its Asian allies to tend to their own military defense)

• Antiwar activists called for an immediate not a gradual reduction and end

• Nixon hoped for “Peace with Honor” with the backing of the “silent majority”

Laos and Cambodia

• However, Nixon was secretly expanding the war by bombing Cambodia along the Ho Chi Minh trail.

• Concealed the air strikes from the American people and members of Congress

• Sent troops into Cambodia and Laos to destroy North Vietnamese army bases (that’s what sparked KSU)

• Renewed bombing of North Vietnam to force them to seek peace.

• In 1972 Nixon stressed law and order at home and told voters he would end the war.

• Henry Kissinger (Nat. Sec. Advisor) announced a breakthrough in the peace talks just weeks before the election.

• The announcement helped Nixon win by a landslide.

Finally the End• Officials from North

Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States finally reached an agreement in January 1973.

• The U.S. agreed to withdraw all troops.

• All prisoners of war were to be released

• Toll: 58,000 Americans were killed; 600 were held as POWs; 2,500 soldiers reported MIA; 300,000 wounded

• Two years after U.S. troops were withdrawn, N. Vietnamese troops invaded S. Vietnam.

• After a short amount of fighting, South Vietnam surrendered.– The U.S. military

rushed to evacuate Americans still working in Saigon.

• After two decades of “temporary” division, Vietnam was reunited under a Communist government.

• In 1975, Communist forces called the Khmer Rouge gained control of Cambodia.

The Legacy of Vietnam• Veterans experienced a negative reception upon

return and had trouble readjusting to civilian life– Some suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder

• Spent more than $600 billion on the war• Changed how many Americans viewed government• Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973.– The President can only send combat troops into battle or

into areas where ''imminent'' hostilities are likely, for 60 days without either a declaration of war by Congress or a specific Congressional mandate.

– Avoids the problems of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which allowed LBJ to escalate the American presence in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war