vietnam war

domino theory

if one nation fell to communism, its neighbors would follow

Vietnam War of Independence (1st Indochina War)

• French controlled region from 1858-1940

• Japan took advantage of weakened French presence & occupied the northern region

• August 1945 Vietnamese nationalists revolt & claim independence on Sept 2

  • Vietminh forces drove French from northern Viet.

  • French forces surrender in May of 1954 after the humiliating defeat at Dien Bien Phu

• nation divided at 17th parallel through Geneva Accords

Ho Chi Minh

leader of Communist North Vietnam

Ngo Dinh Diem

• leader of anti-Communist South Vietnam

• assassinated by U.S. military leaders in 1963 (coup by JFK)

Westmoreland

• commander of US forces during Vietnam

• Westmoreland was the one who had decided on a war of attrition

• Pressed LBJ to expand the war in Cambodia and Laos

McNamara

• secretary of defense

• McNamara played a large role in troop escalation in Vietnam

• Didn’t always see eye to eye with LBJ

• Stretched the truth about our progress in the war

• Fired when it was realized the war couldn't be won

Vietnam War

• began when Eisnehower sent 675 military advisers to aid SV against NV

  • JFK pledged support (16k advisers) but organized coup after becoming disillusioned w/ Diem gov. (anti-Buddhist)

• Guerilla warfare, unidentified enemies, protest at home, & insufficient training (jungle warfare) make the war un-winnable for the US

• 1972 - NV launches major attack on South & Nixon orders bombing of NV

• dragged on until 1973 when US withdrew troops & left Viet. divided

• SV fell to NV in 1975

Operation Rolling Thunder

1965

hopes of bombing North Vietnam into submission

Plan created and overseen by Curtis LeMay

Viet Cong

• Communist guerillas in SV

• aided NV forces in gaining territory & winning over SV who had no confidence in their new gov.

• used guerrilla warfare, attacking from jungle hideouts

• had advantage of knowing the land & often had support of local pop.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• Communist advanced alarmed LBJ

• 1964 - announced that NV forces had attacked US ships off coast of NV

  • reports were sketchy

• resolution gave LBJ power to take whatever action he deemed necessary to prevent aggression against US forces in Viet. w/o official declaration of war

  • expanded presidential power & gained total control over US involvement in Viet.

Cu Chi

• Largest tunnel located in Cu Chi, 200 miles long

• US trained “tunnel rats” and had dogs go down into them as well

land mine

explosive device planted in ground that could kill or mangle a soldier

saturation bombing

• US planes dropping thousands of tons of explosives over wide areas

• fragmentation bombs threw pieces of thick metal casings in all directions when exploding

  • killed countless civilians in SV

Agent Orange

herbicide used to strip trees of leaves

napalm

jellylike substance that burned unctrollably from planes

Ho Chi Minh Trail

supply route through Laos & Cambodia connecting Viet Cong in SV w/ NV

hawks

supported war

doves

criticized escalation (expansion) of conflict

Tet Offensive

• Jan. 31 1968

• NV army & Viet Cong launched massive attack on cities & military bases across South

• NV turned back but had won psychological victory

  • shown unprecedented brutality toward civilians & caused similar reactions in actions of US troops (i.e. My Lai village)

  • caused LBJ’s popularity to plunge

My Lai Village Massacre

• U.S. troops were told My Lai was a Viet Cong stronghold.

• Lieutenant William Calley ordered US soldiers to kill anything that moved

• Only Hugh Thompson Jr. (helicopter pilot) and his crew intervened, threatening to fire on U.S. troops to stop killings.

generation gap

• young ppl rebelling against elders’ values

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

• national student activist organization in US during the 1960s

• one of the principal representations of the New Left.

New Left

• political movement influenced by student activists calling for radical change

• antiwar & demanded radical change to poverty & racism

teach-in

• used by teachers to protest Viet. War

• held separate classed to discuess war

split of Democratic party

• 1968 election

• antiwar candidates like Robert Kennedy & Senator Eugene McCarthy opposed LBJ’s policies

• LBJ chose not to run for reelection

• VP Hubert Humphrey became Democratic candidate against Nixon

Democratic National Convention (1968)

• conflict broke out among delgates

• violence erupted in streets as antiwar protesters faced police clubs

Middle America

desire of mainstream Americans for stability

Paris peace talks (1968)

• peace plan proposed by LBJ for Viet. that failed to reach a settlement

Vietnamization

• Nixon’s policy to withdraw American forces from Viet. & replace them w/ SV soldiers

• Nixon also intensified bombing & expanded war into Cambodia

silent majority

those who opposed antiwar protesters & radical change

POW

prisoner of war

MIA

missing in action

Khmer Rouge

• Cambodian force of Communists led by Pol Pot

• declared war on own ppl, killing ¼ of population

Kent State & Jackson State

4 dead in Ohio, 9 wounded.

2 dead in Mississippi, 11 wounded

In 1954 Ho Chi Minh became the

Communist leader of NV

JFK’s goal in Vietnam was to

prevent Communists from defeating SV

When LBJ became President he quickly began to

increase number of American troops in Viet

American soldiers in Vietnam had to deal with

surprise attacks & guerrilla warfare

In fighting the NV, the American military used

bombs & chemical weapons

In what became known as the My Lai masacre,

American troops killed Vietnamese villagers

What role did student activists play in the antiwar effort?

they helped lead the protest movement

Many mainstream Americans opposed youth activism because they thought it

promoted violence

As Nixon withdrew American troops from Vietnam, he also

expanded the war into Cambodia

The Vietnam War ended when

NV defeated SV