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domino theory
Idea that if Vietnam fell to communism, the rest of Southeast Asia would follow
Geneva Accords
1954 peace agreement that divided Vietnam into Communist-controlled North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam until unification elections could be held in 1956
Vietcong
A group of Communist guerrillas who, with the help of North Vietnam, fought against the South Vietnamese government in the Vietnam War
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Authorized the president to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression"
Operation Rolling Thunder
Strategy of gradually intensified bombing of North Vietnam, began in February 1965. Less than a month later, Johnson ordered the first US combat troops to South Vietnam, and in July he shifted US troops from defensive to offensive operations, dispatching 50,000 more soldiers.
Agent Orange
Chemical that strips leaves from trees and shrubs--helped American troops find enemy troops
Ho Chi Minh Trail
A network of jungle paths winding from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam, used as a military route by North Vietnam to supply the Vietcong during the Vietnam War.
credibility gap
A lack of popular confidence in the truth of the claims or public statements made by the Johnson administration
TET Offensive
National Liberation Front and North Vietnamese forces launched a huge attack on the Vietnamese New Year (), which was defeated after a month of fighting and many thousands of casualties; major defeat for communism, but Americans reacted sharply, with declining approval of LBJ and more anti-war sentiment
Vietnamization
President Richard Nixons strategy for ending U.S involvement in the vietnam war, involving a gradual withdrawl of American troops and replacement of them with South Vietnamese forces
Pentagon Papers
Secret U.S. government report detailing early planning and policy decisions regarding the Vietnam War under presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Leaked to the New York Times, it revealed instances of governmental secrecy, lies, and incompetence in the prosecution of the war.
War Powers Act
Required that the president informs Congress of any commitment of troops abroad within 48 hours, and to withdraw them in 60 to 90 days, unless Congress explicitly approved the troop commitment
Ho Chi Minh
Communist leader of North Vietnam; he and his Viet Minh/Viet Cong allies fought French and American forces to a standstill in Vietnam, 1946-1973. Considered a nationalist by many, others viewed him as an agent of the Soviet Union and China.
Ngo Dinh DIem
Nationalist leader of South Vietnam
Robert McNamara
Secretary of Defense under JFK & LBJ; expanded American involvement in Vietnam
William Westmoreland
American General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War
Eugene McCarthy
1968 Democratic candidate for President who ran to succeed incumbent Lyndon Baines Johnson on an anti-war platform
Robert Kennedy
Democrat who ran for president in 1968 promoting civil rights and other equality based ideals. He was ultimately assassinated in 1968, leaving Nixon to take the presidency but instilling hope in many Americans.
Hubert Humphrey
A prominent liberal senator from Minnesota dedicated to the promotion of civil rights, he served as Johnson's vice-president from 1964-68 and ran an unsuccessful personal campaign for the presidency in 1968.
George Wallace
A third party ticket candidate for the American Independent party in 1968 that lost against Nixon. He was a former governor of Alabama and had stood in the doorway to prevent black students from entering the University of Alabama.
Henry Kissinger
The main negotiator of the peace treaty with the North Vietnamese; secretary of state during Nixon's presidency
