Nixon’s Promises & Plans In The Vietnam War

Done By :Aldana Mohamed & Fatima Adnan - 9C ~*

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974.

Nixon had promised South Vietnam

That he would provide military support to them, in the event of a worsening situation, or an offensive from the North.

Plans: Vietnamization Peace With Honor Nixon Doctrine Aiding Cambodia from the

ground attack of Vietnamese Army and Vietcong bases.

•  Nixon announced a new policy of Vietnamization to withdraw the more than 500,000 American soldiers from Vietnam,return control of the war to the South Vietnamese ARVN and to train the South Vietnam troops.

• Nixon announced the Nixon Doctrine, in which he proclaimed that the United States would honor its current defense commitments but that it would not commit troops anywhere else. 

• Nixon refused to withdraw from Vietnam and form a communist government in South Vietnam and continued in his policy of “Vietnamization”. This act was called “Peace with Honor”.

• Nixon found out about the Vietnamese offensive in Cambodia so he carries the war to Cambodia. North Vietnam remained determined to have peace on its terms or no peace at all.

• Antiwar activists argued that Nixon made the world a more dangerous place and that he is taking risks by widening the war. College students that protested were mostly found dead.

• Nixon starts sending more troops in Vietnam. They reached a place called “My Lai” which had strong Vietcong presence. Many US soldiers were injured and killed and an amount of 4OO-5OO Vietnamese unarmed civilians were shot and killed. It was a disaster.

• On the heels of My Lai came the publication of the Pentagon Papers, a classified government history of America’s involvement in Vietnam in “The New York Times”! This made it hard for Nixon not to pull US troops out if Vietnam.

• Vietnamization was a failure. Nixon and the country came to a the idea of withdrawing American troops out of Vietnam even if South Vietnam would end up being a communist country.

• The United States and North Vietnam came to terms on a peace settlement in 1972. Nixon did win the election. North Vietnam refused to sign the agreement to provide peace between the nations but as soon as the US started bombing North Vietnam, they signed it. The Paris Peace Accords was also signed were it stated that the US troops could leave south Vietnam.

• It was an end to the US but North and South Vietnam started fighting again. With the soviets aiding the North and no one aiding the south, the North took over South Vietnam!