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The War inVietnam
Chapter 30
Vietnam
• A colony of France until after World War II• 1954- War for Independence led by Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
The Geneva Accords
• The Geneva Accords divided the country into North and South Vietnam
• In 1956 a general election designed to unite the whole country would end the division
• The United States was allowed to intervene in creating a new government for Vietnam
North and South Vietnam
• North– Communist, aided by the Soviet Union– Led by Ho Chi Minh
• South– Free, aided by the United States– Led by Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem• Some people from the South joined the National Liberation Front (Vietcong)- guerilla fighters who joined with the Communist North to fight against Diem• On November 1, 1963, a group of South Vietnamese army officers staged a coup and assassinated Diem
The Domino Theory
• Americans were worried that if the Communists took South Vietnam, the surrounding countries of Southeast Asia would fall to communism
Special Forces
• President Kennedy sent special forces- the Green Berets- to train and advise South Vietnamese troops
Robert McNamara
• Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara reported that South Vietnam couldn’t resist the Vietcong without more U.S. assistance
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident
• August 1964• Reports surfaced that
North Vietnamese patrol boats had attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• Congress allowed the president to use “all necessary measures” to stop aggression and prevent further aggression in Vietnam
• President Johnson used this broad authority to escalate the use of American forces in Vietnam
Operation Rolling Thunder
• An intense bombing campaign to attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail
• By the end of 1968, American planes had dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than they had dropped on Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII
The Ho Chi Minh Trail
• Ho Chi Minh Trail- a network of roads, paths, and bridges that wound from North Vietnam through Cambodia and Laos into South Vietnam
• Used by North Vietnamese troops to bring equipment to the South
Fighting Conditions
• Dense jungles, muddy trails, and swampy rice paddies
• Long rainy seasons• The enemy (Vietcong) was difficult to identify- they
blended in with the villagers!• Often necessary to recapture places where they had
already fought
Dense Jungles
Muddy Trails and Swamps
Long Rainy Seasons
Vietcong
New Fighting Tactics
• American troops used search and destroy missions to seek out and destroy Vietcong or North Vietnamese units and destroy them
New Fighting Tactics
• Napalm- an explosive that burned and destroyed jungle growth
• Agent Orange- a chemical herbicide sprayed to clear out forests and tall grasses
Effect of Agent Orange
1968 – A Year of Crisis
• On January 23, North Korean boats seized the USS Pueblo, a navy spy ship, off the coast of Korea
The Tet Offensive• Began on January 31, 1968- The Vietnamese New
Year, Tet• A series of surprise attacks that targeted American
military bases in major South Vietnamese cities• The U.S. Embassy in Saigon, the capital of South
Vietnam, was attacked• THE TURNING POINT OF THE WAR• Americans become upset about this and want to
leave Vietnam
The Tet Offensive
Tet: Vietnamese New Year
• Lasts for three days, but many celebrations occur before and after these days
• People bring special food to people they want to impress
• Follow the lunar calendar for Tet, but follow the solar calendar the rest of the year
• A person is considered one year older on this day• A strong emphasis on ancestors• New clothes, houses painted
Assassinations of 1968
• Robert Kennedy Martin Luther King, Jr.
Election of 1968
• Richard M. Nixon is elected in 1968, and promises to bring an end to the war in Vietnam
• He appealed to the “Silent Majority”
The MediaThe Media
• The Vietnam war was much more publicized than any war had ever been.
• For the first time, cameras were allowed in the midst of the action.
• Photographs and video images from the war in Vietnam had a strong influence on the opinions of the American public.
America’sAmerica’s ReactionReaction• Hawks- supporters of the war• Doves- Oppose the war; anti-war protests
(usually on college campuses)
American Culture Begins American Culture Begins to Changeto Change
• Counterculture- a movement that rejected traditional American values
• Sometimes called “Hippies”- experimented with clothing and music
The DraftThe Draft• The Selective Service System• The law required all men to register for the draft at
age eighteen• Deferments- issued by draft boards to excuse
certain people from military service• Full-time college students received deferments
Opposition to the DraftOpposition to the Draft
• Conscientious objectors- claimed their moral or religious beliefs kept them from fighting in the war
• Burning of draft cards
Dove/Hawk Day!!
Thursday, May 5th
Come dressed up!You may choose to dress up as either
a Dove or a Hawk.
Nixon’s Plan
• “Peace with honor”– Reform of the Selective Service
System– “Vietnamization”- giving more
responsibility to South Vietnam for fighting the war
– Expanding the bombing campaign
Peace Talks Begin• Henry Kissinger, President
Nixon’s national security adviser, represented the U.S. in the Paris peace talks
• Rather than accepting the peace terms, North Vietnam adopted a “wait-and-see” attitude with the renewed bombing campaign, believing the anti-war movement in the U.S. would force us to withdraw
The War Goes On
• Nixon orders the bombing of Cambodia in April 1970• North Vietnamese were using Cambodian trails to
transport supplies, soldiers, and weapons • Critics believed that Nixon had invaded a neutral
country and taken advantage of his presidential authority
• Nixon begins to slowly bring troops home
College Protests
• Kent State University- four students were killed and nine were wounded by National Guardsmen during an anti-war protest
• Jackson State University- following a night of campus violence, two students were shot and killed by police
“Peace is at Hand”• In 1972, Henry Kissinger was sent back to Paris to
negotiate a peace agreement, but the South Vietnamese President did not agree to the terms
• Paris Peace Accords- signed on January 27, 1973; ended American involvement in Vietnam–U.S. agreed to withdraw remaining troops–North Vietnamese would release all P.O.W.’s
After the Peace Talks
• The Paris Peace Accords did not end the conflict• 1975- a final major offensive was launched; the South
Vietnamese army collapsed• April 30, 1975- Fall of Saigon, the capital of South
Vietnam
The War’s Legacy
• 58,000 Americans die in Vietnam; over one million Vietnamese die
• More than $150 billion spent by the U.S. on the war in Vietnam
• The war lasted 13 years!• Caused division in America• Changed American culture• Vietnam calls the war “The American War”
Vietnam Soldiers Come Home
• When they came home, the soldiers did not receive a hero’s welcome
• Many Americans wanted to forget the war• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was
constructed in Washington, D.C., in 1982
