Self-Immolation of Buddhist Monk, June 11, 1963Self-Immolation of Buddhist Monk, June 11, 1963
America’s most unpopular warCost LBJ his second term to Richard Nixon
America’s longest and most expensive war
Divided America on the homefrontThe best technical war money could buyAmerica hardly ever lost a tactical battle
A war America did not winA war America did not winToday, we are living with the “ghosts of Vietnam”.
Today, we are living with the “ghosts of Vietnam”.
grunts
grunts
tet
dead soldiers
bombing
bombing
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8VB2QEVAc0
Domino Theory-
• If one area falls to communism, areas near it will fall, like dominoes.
• This is taking Containment to the next level.
Domino Theory- In Asia
Communist Expansion“CONTAINMENT”
Communist Expansion“CONTAINMENT”
China1949
Soviet Union1918
Korean War1950 to 1953
Eastern Europe
1946
CONTAINMENT•Marshall Plan•Berlin Airlift
•NATO•Korean War
•Cuban Missile Crisis
•Alliance for Progress
•Peace Corps
Berlin Blockade
1947-8XX
Vietnam War1946 to 1975
US Involvement1965 to 1975
Cuban Missile Crisis *
XX
XX
*Cuba would
remain and still is a
communist country.
Vietnam-1954
• Communist Ho Chi Minh leads a revolution.
• Colonial power France is kicked out of Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh
“You can kill 10 of my men for every one I
kill of yours, yet even at those odds, you will lose and I
will win”
Early Protests of Diem’s Government
Early Protests of Diem’s Government
Self-Emulation by a Buddhist Monk protesting against the brutality of Diem’s government
U.S. Troop Deployments in
Vietnam
U.S. Troop Deployments in
Vietnam
Vietnam-1954
• Very Similar to Korea.
• North Vietnam –Communist (USSR)
• South Vietnam-non Communist(USA)
Vietnam 1960
• 15,000 American troops are put into South Vietnam
•Why are we in South Vietnam? We are there
because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American
President has offered to support the people of
South Vietnam.
•We have helped to build and we have helped to
defend. Thus, over many years, we have made a national pledge to help
South Vietnam defend its independence.
•Why are we in South Vietnam? We are there
because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American
President has offered to support the people of
South Vietnam.
•We have helped to build and we have helped to
defend. Thus, over many years, we have made a national pledge to help
South Vietnam defend its independence.
Lyndon Johnson, Speech at Johns
Hopkins University, "Why are we in South
Vietnam"
Lyndon Johnson, Speech at Johns
Hopkins University, "Why are we in South
Vietnam"
vietnam collage
•I intend to keep our promise. To dishonor that pledge, to abandon this
small and brave nation to its enemy and to the
terror that must follow would be an unforgivable
wrong.
•We are there to strengthen world order.
•I intend to keep our promise. To dishonor that pledge, to abandon this
small and brave nation to its enemy and to the
terror that must follow would be an unforgivable
wrong.
•We are there to strengthen world order.
Lyndon Johnson, Speech at Johns
Hopkins University, "Why are we in South
Vietnam"
Lyndon Johnson, Speech at Johns
Hopkins University, "Why are we in South
Vietnam"
Vietnam 1960
Johnson Sends Ground ForcesJohnson Sends Ground Forces
Remembers Truman’s “loss” of China --> Domino TheoryDomino Theory revived
I’m not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.
Vietnam 1964-Gulf of Tonkin Bombing
• Gulf of Tonkin• American Ships are
bombed by North Vietnam.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: CONTAINMENT LEADS TO VIETNAM
• Gulf of Tonkin Incident
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: CONTAINMENT LEADS TO VIETNAM
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Congress charged that the North Vietnamese had Congress charged that the North Vietnamese had deliberately and repeatedly attacked US naval vessels deliberately and repeatedly attacked US naval vessels operating lawfully in international watersoperating lawfully in international waters
this was part of systematic campaign of aggression being this was part of systematic campaign of aggression being waged by North Vietnam against its neighbors. waged by North Vietnam against its neighbors.
Congress gave the president sweeping powers to “take all Congress gave the president sweeping powers to “take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its Collective Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its freedom.” freedom.”
The resolution was to expire when the president had The resolution was to expire when the president had determined that “the peace and security of the area is determined that “the peace and security of the area is reasonably assured." reasonably assured."
Vietnam 1964-Gulf of Tonkin bombing
• President Johnson increases troop levels
Vietnam 1964
• American troops were not trained properly to fight in the Jungle.
Troop Deployments
1964Gulf of Tonkin Incident
The Vietnam War, The Vietnam War, 1964 to 19751964 to 1975
Who Is the Enemy?Who Is the Enemy? VietcongVietcong: founded in South Vietnam who were
communists—supported by N. Vietnam. Farmers by day; guerillas at night. Very patient people willing to accept many
casualties. The US grossly underestimated their resolve
and their resourcefulness. ““Charlies”Charlies” to American Troops that will later
fight them.
The guerilla wins if he does not lose, the conventional army loses if it does not win. -- Mao ZedongMao Zedong
The Ground War1965-1968
The Ground War1965-1968
General WestmorelandGeneral Westmoreland, late 1967: “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel’”
•Wearing down to weaken or destroy; "a war of attrition"
The Air War:A Napalm
Attack
The Air War:A Napalm
Attack
Helicopter deploying American troops in the Vietnam War
American soldiers on a search and destroy mission, 1967
American soldiers on patrol in Vietnam
Logistics in a Guerrilla War
1964Gulf of Tonkin Incident
1965First sustained bombing of North Vietnam
1966U.S. air raids over Hanoi, 1966 to 1968
1968Tet Offensive, Jan. 30 to Feb. 24
The Vietnam War, The Vietnam War, 1964 to 19751964 to 1975
The Tet Offensive, January 1968The Tet Offensive, January 1968
N. Vietnamese Army + Viet Cong attack South simultaneously
80,000 attack 100 cities, bases and the US embassy in Saigon
Take every major southern city U.S. + ARVN beat back the offensive
Viet Cong destroyed N. Vietnamese army debilitated
The Tet OffensiveThe Tet Offensive
US troops defending the American Embassy in Saigon
The Tet Offensive: A Turning Point
• On January 30, 1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnam launched a major offensive. This series of attacks was called the Tet Offensive since it occurred during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year.
• During and after the Tet Offensive, both sides were guilty of brutal atrocities. Communists slaughtered anyone they labeled an enemy; Americans massacred hundreds of civilians at My Lai, a small village in South Vietnam. A helicopter crew that stopped the massacre was later rewarded, and the officer who had ordered it was imprisoned.
The Tet Offensive: Results: A Turning Point
• Although the USA won….
• Americans now knew that the Viet Cong could launch massive attacks, and because no end to the war was in sight, the Tet Offensive proved to be a major psychological victory for the Viet Cong and a turning point in the war.
Vietnam 1965-1973
Vietnam 1965-1973
Impact of the Tet Offensive
Impact of the Tet Offensive Domestic U.S. Reaction: Disbelief, Anger, Distrust of
Johnson Administration
Hey, Hey LBJ! How Hey, Hey LBJ! How many kids did you many kids did you
kill today?kill today?
The War at Home
GUIDING QUESTIONHow did the war in Vietnam affect American society and its political and social beliefs?
C. FOREIGN AFFAIRS: CONTAINMENT LEADS TO VIETNAM
• teach-ins• Deferments• Protests• draft resisters• ‘guns and butter”
University of California, Berkeley
students during free speech sit
in, 1964
Anti war protesters, 1967
Military police guard an entrance to the Pentagon during 1967 anti-war protest
Antiwar Demonstrators Burn Draft Cards on the Steps of the
Pentagon, May 22, 1972
Anti-war demonstration at Pentagon Oct 1967
Anti-war movements
Anti-WarDemonstration
s
Anti-WarDemonstration
s
Columbia University, 1967
Vietnam 1965-1973
• The protest movement gains momentum
• Hippies Rejoice.
Vietnam 1965-1973
Vietnam 1965-1973-flower-power
DEEP DIVISIONS AT HOME: Election of 1968
• Eugene McCarthy• LBJ• Robert Kennedy• Hubert Humphrey• Democratic Convention - Chicago• Richard M. Nixon – “silent majority”
Robert KennedyRobert Kennedy Hubert H. HumphreyHubert H. Humphrey Richard NixonRichard NixonPresident JohnsonPresident Johnson
Presidential Election of 1968
Ending Vietnam
Vietnam- 1973
• A cease fire agreement is signed
• Communists overtake south Vietnam and Cambodia within 2 years
• 50,000 Americans die in Vietnam
B. FOREIGN AFFAIRS IN A MULTI-POLAR WORLD
• Henry Kissinger
• “Vietnamization”• Cambodian invasion (1970)
• Kent State University
• Daniel Ellsberg– The Pentagon Papers
• Paris Peace Accords (1973)
• Fall of Saigon (April 1975)
U.S. U.S. Troop Troop and and CasualtCasualty y Levels Levels in in VietnaVietnam m 1960-1960-19721972
The Fall of SaigonThe Fall of Saigon
America Abandons Its Embassy
April 30, 1975
The Fall of SaigonThe Fall of Saigon
North Vietnamese at the Presidential Palace
The CostsThe Costs 3,000,000 Vietnamese killed
58,000 Americans killed 300,000 wounded
Of those that died 11,465 were teenagers 10,000 dead from accidents
153,000 hospitalized & survive 2,590,000 Americans in Vietnam.
Great Society programsGreat Society programs underfunded $150,000,000,000 in U.S. spending
U.S. morale, self-confidence, trust of government decimated
1,200 airplanes crash 6,727,084 tons of bombs were dropped.
3,750 fixed wing aircraft 4,865 helicopters were lost.
500,000 acres of Vietnam were sprayed with defoliants, Agent Orange
The effects of Agent Orange may last up to 100 years.
The CostsThe Costs