Unit 17: The Vietnam War Vocab part 1

26th Amendment

lowered voting age to 18

Agent Orange

chemicals/pesticides used to kill vegetation in Vietnam. unfortunately, it also caused severe health problems for soldiers later in life

Army of the Republic of Vietnam

free and democratic South Vietnamese. helped prevent the collapse of SV

Credibility Gap

the difference between the reality of the Vietnam War and the Johnson administration's positive portrayal of it

Domino Theory

the belief that if Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of Southeast Asia would fall like "a row of dominoes"

First Indochina War

the war between the Viet Minh and the French from 1946 to 1954

Geneva Accords

Vietnam was split along the 17th parallel

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

not a legal declaration of war, but it gave the president permission to expand the US role

Insurgency

rebellion

Napalm

jellied gasoline dropped from U.S. planes during the Vietnam War as an incendiary bomb designed to burn forests and destroy enemy installations

North Vietnamese Army

the army of communist North Vietnam, which supported the Viet Cong in South Vietnam with troops and supplies

Viet Cong

communists living in the South

Viet Minh

Vietnamese movement led by Ho Chi Minh against foreign occupation