JFK Assassination and Vietnam Study Guide

John F. Kennedy

The 35th President of the United States, serving from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963.

Lee Harvey Oswald

The alleged assassin of John F. Kennedy, who was arrested shortly after the assassination.

Warren Commission

The commission established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of JFK.

Ho Chi Minh

The leader of North Vietnam and a key figure in the Vietnam War.

Ngo Dinh Diem

The first President of South Vietnam, whose regime was supported by the United States.

Westmoreland

General William Westmoreland, the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam from 1964 to 1968.

Eisenhower

The 34th President of the United States, whose policies laid the groundwork for U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Viet Minh

A communist-led nationalist movement in Vietnam that fought for independence from French colonial rule.

Viet Cong

The communist guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam who opposed the U.S.-backed government.

17th Parallel

The latitude line that divided North and South Vietnam.

Great Society

A set of domestic programs launched by LBJ aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice.

Lyndon Johnson

The 36th President of the United States, who succeeded JFK after his assassination.

Richard Nixon

The 37th President of the United States, who escalated U.S. involvement in Vietnam and later pursued Vietnamization.

Voting Rights Act

A landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibited racial discrimination in voting.

Civil Rights Act

A comprehensive civil rights law that aimed to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

A network of supply routes used by North Vietnam to transport troops and supplies to South Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

An event involving two alleged attacks on U.S. naval vessels by North Vietnamese forces, leading to increased U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A resolution passed by Congress that granted LBJ the authority to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Guerilla warfare

A form of irregular warfare in which small groups use tactics like ambushes and sabotage.

Search and destroy

A military strategy used during the Vietnam War aimed at seeking out and eliminating enemy forces.

War of attrition

A military strategy aimed at wearing down the enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses.

Agent Orange

A herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover for the enemy.

Kent State

The site of a 1970 protest against the Vietnam War where National Guardsmen shot and killed four students.

Tet Offensive

A major offensive launched by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces in January 1968, marking a turning point in the Vietnam War.

Vietnamization

Nixon's strategy to withdraw U.S. troops from Vietnam and transfer the responsibility for the war to the South Vietnamese.

Pentagon Papers

A classified report that revealed the U.S. government had misled the public about the Vietnam War.

Credibility Gap

The public's skepticism about the government's statements and policies regarding the Vietnam War.

Cambodia Bombing

The secret U.S. bombing campaign in Cambodia aimed at destroying North Vietnamese supply routes.

War on Poverty

A set of initiatives launched by LBJ aimed at reducing poverty in the United States.

Operation Rolling Thunder

A sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam conducted by the U.S. from 1965 to 1968.

Napalm

A flammable liquid used in warfare, particularly during the Vietnam War, to destroy enemy positions.