Vietnam War

What is the background to Vietnam:

-1800s France controlled Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia (known as French Indochina)

-Profit from plantations

-Strict rule over Vietnamese peasants (not allowed to uprise)

What happened to the Vietnamese Revolutionaries that fled to China?

-Led by Ho Chi Minh (Communist) & favored George Washington & against British

-Returned to Vietnam when Japan took control 1940

-Vietnam Ally (o) US during WWII (expanded territory bec. Germany was leader/control (o) France)

-Created the Vietminh (Ho Chi Minh folllowers)

-Vietminh’s Goal =Liberate Vietnam

What happened in WWII in 1945?

-Japan left Vietnam (bombed & surrendered)

-Ho Chi Minh declared independence

-French Army came in Vietnam & regained southern half (o) Vietnam (bec. controlled before WWII)

• Half Communist

• Half Democrats

Quote Explaination: “If ever the tiger pauses the

elephant will impale him on his

mighty tusks. But the tiger will

not pause and the elephant will

die of exhaustion and loss of

blood” – Ho Chi Minh

• Tiger: Vietnam

• Elephant: France

• Will weaken France —> make Vietnam have victory

What happened in French Indochina War?

• France’s attempt to reestablish its rule in Vietnam

• US sent massive economic & military support to stop the spread of communism

• 1950: Truman sent $15 million

• 1950-54: US sent over $ 1 billion

  • money for tanks/money/guns

Who were the Presidents during the Vietnam War?

1) Harry S. Truman

2) Dwight D. Eisenhower

3) John F. Kennedy

4) Lyndon B. Johnson

5) Richard Nixon

What is Eisenhower “Domino Theory”

• one country falls to the communists more will follow

• French surrendered in 1954 & pulled out Vietnam (1st defeat against France)

• Vietnam divided @ 17th parallel

Ho Chi Minh (North) vs. Ngo Dinh Diem (South)

• National elections cancelled by Diem w/ help (o) US—> bec. Diem was corrupt/abuse/jail any opposition

• Diem was corrupt/suppressed all opposition

  • only Catholic religion was allowed

• Ho Chi Minh was communist but he was a great leader

What is Vietcong?

• Communist in south who opposed Diem

  • wanted to unite 2 states to 1

• Diem continued his ways & under orders (o) JFK , Diem was removed

• Diem was assassinated against JFK’s orders

• JFK assassinated 3 weeks later

  *Looked a lot like general people

• There were women, children and men involved

called as: National Liberation Front

What is self Immolation

When people would burn themselves.

What does this quote mean: “I am not about to

send American boys 9

or 10,000 miles away

from home to do what

Asian boys ought to

be doing for

themselves.”

-LBJ

It said that they would not send any of American troops—> however they did at the end

How did Diem’s death brought more chaos to South Vietnam?

• Numerous military leaders attempted to take power

• All failed

• Vietcong’s influence grew in South Vietnam

What “ happened” to create Tonkin Gulf?

• August 2 , 1964:North Vietnamese patrol boat fired on American ship

• August 4 , 1964: Another ship was attacked —> (never really happed)

Americans lost trust in the people.

What did LBJ do as a result?

• Johnson asked Congress for powers to take “ all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces (o) YS

• 2 senators voted against it

• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed

What happened in February 1965?

• Vietcong attacked & killed American advisors

• Johnson unleashed “Operation Rolling Thunder” Bombing raids (o) North Vietnam

• June had more than 50,000 soldiers in Vietnam

Who were the people of JFK & LBJ for containment?

• McNamara (Secretary of Defense) & Dean Rusk (Secretary of State) advised LBJ to defend South Vietnam

• Only 24% of Americans were against LBJ’s Vietnam policy

• End (o) 1965: More than 180,000 American soldiers were Vietnam

  • if you were in college then you got deffered

Who was the major general at the time?

• General Westmoreland: not as successful

• Requested more ground troops to confront the Vietcong

• LBJ met his requests

• 1967: US had over 500,000 soldiers in Vietnam (needed to operate from 10 to 1)

Why were there elusive enemies?

• Guerrilla Warfare

• Hit & Run Tactics

• Knowledge (o) Jungle Terrain

• Secretly moving in & out (o) general population

• Women & kids took part in war effort

Traps sued:

• Cartridge trap

• Grenade in food cans

• Line for people

• Punji Trap

To find them:

Napalm: fire burns & sent it to see people by making me burn

powder (Agent Orange) was used—> but it was also caused various health concerns

What was significant of the tunnels (o) the Vietcong?

• Withstand air strikes

• Connected villages throughout countryside

• Used many booby traps

• Individuals were able to fit into it easily

What was the Tet Offensive in 1968?

• Communists attacked hundred location throughout Vietnam (still had capability to fight despite loss (o) many battles)

• US forced them back & communists suffered severe casualties

• Americans saw this negatively

Who was running in the election of 1968?

Democrats:

• Johnson (Hubert Humphrey VP)

• R. Kennedy(assassinated)

• McCarthy (end Vietnam War immediately & young people supported him)

Republican

• Nixon

What happens in the election?

-LBJ withdraws

-R Kennedy gets assassinated

-Humphrey joins the race & gets nomination over McCarthy

-Protests on streets (o) Chicago

Who became in the new President due to the Election of 1968?

• Richard Nixon (Republican)

• Quoted: “We have to

  get rid of the

  nightmares

  we inherited”

How did Nixon try to attempt “Peace with Honor”

• US wanted North to withdraw all troops from South

• Leave government in tact in South Vietnam

• North wanted the US out (o) south & wanted to unite the country (keeps the fight going)

Who was the National Security Advisor & wanted did he believe?

Henry Kissinger:

• Gradual withdrawal (o) US troops

• Allow South Vietnamese to fight the war

• W.in 3 yrs. US troops went from 500,000 to 25,000 (more dangerous due to reduction of people)

• Bombed Laos & Cambodia

What is The My Lai Massacre?

• US troops killed over 300 unarmed Vietnamese including women & kids—> bec. (o) confusion of Vietcong vs. South Vietnamiese

• 25 charged w/ crime —> only jailed William Calley Jr. —> after this people still need to be moral with their practices

What was the Invasion of Cambodia?

• 1970 Nixon announces the invasion

• Didn’t inform Congress

• 1.5 million college students formed student strike shutting down 1,200 campuses —> clogged hallways

What were the Kent State Protests?

• 17-19 years old

• try to burn building→ brought national guard—> open fire at people —> 4 people died —> wanted to end the war as soon as possible

• 4 killed

What was the problem of protests?

• The Silent Majority: People who were stuck in traffic & had to go places—> so they were forced to wait in the protest

Why were a loss of support in politics?

• Congress repealed Tonkin Gulf Resolution (power to wage war for presidents)

• Nixon ran for president stating he would end war in 1972

• Won election & withdrew all US troops by 3/29/73

• 4/30/1975: North Vietnam invaded & conquered South Vietnam

• It was all for nothing war

• Silent majority voted for Nixon —> he had tapes (o) breakout of Democrat room & he cut the tapes to remove evidence before handing it to the public

What happened in Cambodia & what did Vietnam go through/ present day ?

Cambodia rich people —> killed everyone who was rich

US didn’t aid Cambodia

• Cambodia vs. Vietnam

• China vs. Vietnam

• Vietnam is still communist to this day & we trade for benefits

What was the War’s legacy?

• 3.3 million served

• 58,000 American killed

• 303,000 wounded

• Vietnamese lost +2 million

• 400,00 South Vietnamese sent to labor camps as punishment

• 1.5 million fled the country