Vietnam War, Latino Rights, and the Chicano Movement Flashcards

Flashcards about the Vietnam War, Latino Rights, and the Chicano Movement

Vietnamese guerrilla force that fought both the Japanese and the French

Viet Minh

President Johnson’s numerous programs aimed at helping American citizens

The Great Society

Program created to help low-income children get early childhood education

Project Head Start

Major factor that drove Vietnamese to fight the French and Americans:

Desire for independence and freedom from foreign control

Why did the US oppose Ho Chi Minh and support Ngo Dinh Diem?

The US opposed Ho Chi Minh because he was a communist, and supported anti-communist leaders

European nation that colonized Vietnam and was despised by the Vietnamese

France

Priority of this Vietnamese leader was not communism but Vietnamese independence

Ho Chi Minh

Temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel and called for elections

Geneva Accords

Military action that finished the French in Vietnam

Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954)

American presidents that gave over $330 million to fight the communists in Vietnam

Truman and Eisenhower

Communist opposition and military group in South Vietnam

Vietcong (National Liberation Front)

Why did the Americans fight the Vietnam War?

To stop the spread of communism (domino theory)

Candidate for president in 1964 who said that the US would not do the fighting that the Vietnamese should be doing for themselves

Barry Goldwater

How North Vietnam was able to supply the Vietcong

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Congressional action that gave President Johnson power to expand the war in Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Combat tactics most used by the Vietcong:

Guerrilla warfare, booby traps, ambushes

Nations that helped supply the North Vietnamese and Vietcong

Soviet Union and China

Major action that proved that the enemy was not close to defeat

Tet Offensive (1968)

Why winning the hearts and minds of villagers was difficult for American soldiers

Destruction of villages and civilian deaths undermined trust

One of the most common reasons for protesting the war

Belief it was immoral, unjust, or unwinnable

Group that said America should unleash greater military power to win the war

Hawks

Candidate for president in 1968 who promised law and order and to end the war

Richard Nixon

U.S. policy to train and equip South Vietnamese to fight, failed due to low morale and corruption

Vietnamization

Compromise at Paris peace talks before North Vietnam backed out

Ceasefire and U.S. troop withdrawal in exchange for POW return

How would Nixon punish North Vietnam for backing out?

"Christmas Bombings" – heavy bombing of North Vietnam

U.S. troop withdrawal; war continued after U.S. left

Paris Peace Accords

If one country falls to communism, others nearby will follow

Domino Theory

The point at which U.S. kills outpace enemy reinforcements – not achieved

Crossover point

The idea that we were winning because we killed more of them

War of attrition

The desire to keep US and China out of the war

Limited war strategy

Americans losing trust in government about Vietnam War info

Credibility gap

What made the draft disproportionate?

Poor and minorities were drafted more often

University gatherings against the war

Teach-ins

Two popular leaders killed in 1968

Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy

What happened inside/outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago?

Violent clashes between protesters and police; divided the party

Movement promoting Black pride and self-defense; viewed as militant

Black Power

What did Black Panthers teach and how did they help?

The many violent ideas of black muslims.

Bullets or ballots

Malcolm X’s idea: gain rights peacefully (ballots) or risk violence (bullets)

My Lai

U.S. troops massacred 500 civilians in a village

Secret bombings of Cambodia

Widened the war illegally; hidden from public and Congress

Kent State and Jackson State

National Guard shot and killed student protesters

Secret documents about the war; leaked by Daniel Ellsberg

Pentagon Papers

What contributed to decreased American casualties?

Vietnamization, troop withdrawals, ceasefire agreements

Experience of returning veterans

Faced neglect, trauma, and public resentment

U.S. allowed Mexican laborers to work during labor shortages (WWII – 1964)

Bracero Program

Led nonviolent protests for farm worker rights; co-founded UFW

Cesar Chavez

Co-founder of UFW; negotiated contracts, led strikes and walkouts

Dolores Huerta

Union that fought for better conditions for farmworkers

United Farm Workers (UFW)

Used murals to express Mexican-American culture and history

Chicano Mural Movement

Chicano political party advocating for Latino rights

La Raza Unida

Why were LA high school students protesting?

Demanded better education, curriculum, and respect for Chicano identity

LA teacher who organized the 1968 walkout

Sal Castro

What name did growers give Dolores Huerta?

"Dragon Lady" – meant to discredit her assertiveness

Criticisms of Eisenhower’s deportation program:

Brutal, violated rights, split families (Operation Wetback)

Primary purpose of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Fight discrimination and support Latino civil rights through legal means

Primary purpose of the American GI Forum

Support Latino veterans and combat discrimination