The Vietnam War/60s

What was French Indochina?

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, controlled by France

Who was Ho Chi Minh?

The leader of Viet Minh, a communist political party that wanted independence from France. He convinced Emperor Bao Dai to abdicate and proclaimed himself as leader of Vietnam, but no country recognized his leadership/Vietnam's independence.

What did Ho Chi Minh want?

He asked Woodrow Wilson for Vietnam to be independent at the Treaty of Versailles, but got shut down. He then left Vietnam for China to learn about communism to free his people.

What was the First Indochina War?

- 1946, France vs Vietnam/Viet Minh (when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina)

- Prez. Truman sides with France because they were old allies and he's against communism

How did Eisenhower treat Vietnam?

He believed in Domino Theory (nearby countries falling to communism like dominoes) and gave $1B to France to help them fight war against Vietnam

What was the Battle of Dien Bien Phu?

most significant battle of the Viet Minh over French colonial forces in 1954, France surrendered and Vietnam was free from French rule

Who was Ngo Dinh Diem?

A corrupt leader of South Vietnam that was capitalist and Catholic. The US/JFK supported him because he was anti-communist. He and his brother were killed in a coup and replaced with General Duong Van Minh.

How did people react to Diem?

He and his brother Nhu were heavily corrupt leaders, and the US supported them financially.

- He banned the buddhist flag (80% of Viet was buddhist) and killed buddhists

- Initiated the strategic hamlet program (moving villagers to protected areas)

Buddhist monks protested by setting themselves on fire and people hated him. He/his brother were later assassinated in a coup. JFK initially supported Diem, but later quietly hoped he would be removed.

What were the terms of the Geneva Accords?

The 1954 Geneva Conference was intended to settle issues from the First Indochina War. The conference passed the Geneva Accords: Vietnam would be temporarily divided along the 17th parallel into North and South and an election in 1956 would reunite VN under one gov't.

What were the results of the 1956 election?

The CIA rigged the 1956 election for Diem to win. The Viet Cong forms in South Vietnam in response. A communist dictatorship settled in the North, and a nationalist government settled in the South.

What was the Viet Cong?

Communist guerrilla army that fought in South Vietnam that opposed the US and were on the side of North Vietnam. They used elusive tactics like spies and booby traps because they lacked the weaponry of the US.

What were the sides of the Vietnam war?

North Vietnam (Communist)/Viet Cong: backed by USSR and China

South Vietnam (Capitalist): backed by US military

What was the Strategic Hamlet Program?

South Viet and US program: spikes, moats, and other structures meant to keep out the Viet Cong. Vietnamese people were forcefully displaced from their homes. Part of an effort to win the loyalty of the Vietnamese citizens, but they only got angrier.

Who was Robert McNamara?

Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and Johnson, resigned in 1967 under President Johnson due to disagreements, involved in the Pentagon Papers

How did Johnson treat Vietnam?

He got more involved in Vietnam so he wouldn't be seen as "soft" on communism.

What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

LBJ heard that North Vietnam was attacking US Ships (the USS Maddox). In response, he asked for congressional authorization to use force against Vietnam without having to ask for Congressional permission. This led to Operation Rolling Thunder.

What was Operation Rolling Thunder?

LBJ using his expanded military powers to start a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam to end the war quicker

What was the attitude of US citizens towards the Vietnam War?

Since it was the first televised war, there was a "credibility cap," journalists/the president was upbeat but the footage on TV was not, people thought their gov't was lying to them. Many young people at universities held anti-war protests. American "Doves" wanted to withdraw immediately while "Hawks" wanted to be aggressive to end the war

What was the Selective Service Act?

The draft. A disproportionate amount of working class people and black people were in the war because of it, which increased racial tensions. The Vietnam War was a working class war.

How did people escape the draft?

- Talk to sympathetic doctors/get doctor's notes

- Move to Canada

- Become National Guard or Coast Guard

- Educational deferment

What was the New Left?

Movement that protested American involvement in Vietnam and wanted societal change in America.

What were the major events of 1968?

- Tet offensive

- MLK jr. assassination

- RFK assassination

- Election year (Nixon elected president)

What was the Tet Offensive?

a massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on South Vietnamese towns and cities in early 1968. The US public was lied to that the war was almost over.

What was the Chicago DNC protest?

Democrats protested the Vietnam War at the Chicago Democratic National Convention. The mayor wouldn't allow the protesters to protest. The political party was in turmoil and it was widely publicized on TV, so Republican candidate Nixon became president.

Who were the Democratic party nominees?

LBJ dropped out due to his soiled reputation. The nominees were: Eugene McCarthy (appealed to anti-war youths, uncharismatic) and Robert Kennedy (appealed to wider audience, but was later assasinated)

Who won the 1968 election and how?

Nixon won the election because the Democratic party was being disgraced by the Chicago DNC protest, and the democratic candidates were unfavorable. Nixon appealed to the silent majority (mainstream Americans who supported the war effort.)

How did Nixon treat Vietnam?

Vietnamization - gradual removal of US troops (he secretly bombs North Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to get rid of Viet Cong). The US also invaded Cambodia which agitated the Khmer Rouge.

What were the Kent State University Protests?

An anti-war protest in 1970 where a riot broke out and 4 students were killed by police.

What were the Pentagon Papers?

7k pages of gov't documents of Robert McNamara explaining that each president never had a real plan to end the war and that the presidents were lying to everyone about the direness of the situation. The papers were leaked to the public and fueled the anti-war feelings in the US.

Who were the Presidents involved in the Vietnam War?

Truman: money/support to France in 1st Indochina War as well as Truman Doctrine

Eisenhower: money/support to France in their war against Vietnam, Domino Theory

Kennedy: Supported Diem at first bc anti-communist and then didn't like him

LBJ: escalated everything with more troops, didn't want to seem soft on communism

Nixon: brought troops home (Vietnamization), spreads issues into Cambodia

What was the Ho Chi Minh Trail?

A series of underground tunnels/an elaborate trench system from North Vietnam to South VIetnam, Viet Cong could get supplies w/o US knowing

What was the My Lai Massacre?

Killing of an entire village. Photo journalists captured footage of the fearful villagers - an example of the desensitized US soldiers that were out of control

What was the Paris Peace Agreement?

In 1973, an agreement was reached with the gov't of North Vietnam and USA. America would withdraw its forces, the North would recognize the government in South Vietnam, but the North wouldn't withdraw from the South.

What was the Fall of Saigon?

1975: North Vietnam surmised that the USA was done with Vietnam (occupied with Nixon) so they moved into Saigon. Americans and South Vietnam were evacuated by helicopter. America was defeated in Vietnam, and Vietnam was reunified under a communist government. The war was over.

What was the legacy of the Vietnam War?

- 58k US troops killed

- PTSD

- Heavy drug use

- Treatment of returning vets

- Invasion in Cambodia contributed to Khmer Rouge

- 1 million Cambodians were killed