Ch 17 Study Guide U.S. History

Flashcards for Chapter 17 Study Guide: The Vietnam War Era

War Powers Act

Law intended to check the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress.

Dove (Vietnam)

Individual who opposed the Vietnam War.

Hawk (Vietnam)

Individual who supported the Vietnam War.

Credibility Gap

A public distrust of statements made by the government.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Joint resolution that the United States Congress passed on August 7, 1964, in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Vietnamization

U.S. policy of withdrawing its troops and transferring the responsibility and direction of the war effort to the government of South Vietnam.

Domino Theory

Belief that if one country in Southeast Asia fell to communism, the rest would follow.

SEATO

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization; alliance formed to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.

Students for a Democratic Society

Student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main representations of the New Left.

Vietcong

South Vietnamese communists.

Divided Vietnam into North and South at the 17th parallel.

The peace treaty that followed France’s war with Vietnam did what to the country of Vietnam?

Distrust in government, reluctance to intervene in foreign conflicts

Lasting effect of Vietnam

Tet Offensive

A coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh’s Strategy and tactics

Guerrilla warfare, patience, and determination to unify Vietnam.

Vietminh: An organization whose goal was to win Vietnam's independence from foreign rule.

Vietcong: South Vietnamese communists.

Vietminh and Vietcong

My Lai

Massacre of unarmed Vietnamese civilians by U.S. troops.

African Americans fighting in Vietnam

Served in disproportionate numbers and faced discrimination.

Pentagon Papers

Revealed that the government had misled the public about its intentions in Vietnam.

Underestimated the determination and resourcefulness of the North Vietnamese.

American thought on N. Vietnamese War capabilities

Diverted funds and attention from domestic programs aimed at poverty and inequality.

Vietnam War and the Great Society