Vietnam

The Vietnam War

Why Did the United States Fight a War in Vietnam?

• Vietnam had no strategic interest to the U.S.

• Most Americans in the 1950s had never even heard of Vietnam.

• Yet thanks to the “domino theory” we believed we had to hold the line against the spread of world Communism.

Vietnam:The Eisenhower

Years—

See Map

Kennedy and Vietnam1963—Early Escalation

• Staying true to Eisenhower’s mission in Vietnam, JFK increased “advisors” in South Vietnam to 16,000

Letter from Bobby Lou Pendergrass to President Kennedy

1963—Early Escalation • Diem’s rule in the South—which favored Catholics, his own family,

and wealthy land owners—was terribly unpopular.

• In show of protest, Buddhist monks practiced self-immolation with TV cameras rolling.

• The U.S. began assisting in the plot to overthrow Diem.

• In November 1963, both JFK and Ngo Dinh Diem were assassinated.

• Lyndon Johnson would inherit the situation and seek to stay true to our Cold War policies . . .

1964: Tonkin Gulf• The U.S.S. Maddox, on a

spying mission in the Gulf of Tonkin, encountered hostile vessels and fired shots.

• Pres. Johnson claimed the U.S. had been attacked, and that he needed the authority to use more force in Vietnam

• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: allowed president to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States.”

• The president was essentially given the power to wage war without a war declaration…

(April 1965)

– One month after the U.S. sent its first troops to Vietnam

– 16,000 people picketed outside the White House• “No More War”• “We Want Peace Now”

1965—1968: Operation Rolling Thunder • To stop the flow of

supplies from N to S Vietnam, LBJ authorized “Rolling Thunder”—a bombing campaign of North Vietnam.

• 1965: U.S. had 184,000 troops in Vietnam

• 1967: U.S. had 485,000 troops in Vietnam—16,000 had died.• 1968 would prove to be a turning

point in the war . . .

(Eve of Destruction)

Troop Levels in Vietnam

•1966: 380,000

•1967: 485,000

•1968: 536,000“History’s Turning Points: The Battle for Vietnam”

Anti-War Movement Grows

• Poor (& African Americans) were serving in disproportionate numbers—deferred from draft w/ college enrollments/ “connections”

• By 1969, draft lottery based on birth date implemented

• CBS reported nightly “body counts”

• Images coming out of Vietnam increasing violent, exit strategy seemed unclear at best

• Beginning in 1968, the nation became increasingly critical of the Vietnam War—and tensions between protestors, the government, and the media grew.

1968

(The Counterculture)• By the late 1960s the“hippie” was born – youthful movement

that glorified liberation from social structure.• Protest ideas and liberation became mixed up with a) music

b) drugs c) sex• Students dropped out of school and “followed the way” • Birth of the “flower children

• Summer of Love (1967)– “turn on, tune in, & drop out “– 100,000 young people converged on San Francisco, creating a phenomenon of cultural and political rebellion

• 1969Woodstock

(Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag)

(Nixon & the “Silent Majority”)• Nixon—a Republican—won the presidency in 1968,

promising “Peace with honor.” • Many citizens opted not to vote, others were ready for

“law and order.” “Okie from Muskogee”

Nixon and the Vietnam War• Immediately began “vietnamization”=gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops (numbers would drop to 30,000 by 1972)

• Yet, without alerting the public, Nixon expanded bombing and sent U.S. troops into Cambodia to cut of supply lines

• News of this expansion of warwould leak to the newspapersin 1970 and lead to increasedanti-war demonstrations

American Were Increasingly Disturbed By What They Saw On Television . . .

• 1970: National Guard sent to Kent State after protesters burn down ROTC building

• 4 students shot dead by soldiers at subsequent rally

• Strikes by faculty and students caused campuses nationwide to close down temporarily

1970—Images of My Lai Massacre (1968) surfaced

• U.S. soldiers killed over 450 unarmed women, children, and the elderly

1972—famous image of children running from napalm attack released.

“Peace With Honor?”• 1974: After intense bombing of North Vietnam and

lengthy peace talks, the North finally agreed to an armistice Cost of the War

• 58,000 U.S. lives lost, 300,000 wounded

• $150 Billion• 3,000,000 Vietnamese

killed• U.S. morale, trust of

government destroyed• 2,583 POWs/MIAs still

unaccountedfor

• As U.S. “exited” Vietnam, the Communist quickly overran the South and united Vietnam under the rule of Ho Chi Minh