Vietnam War Final Review

Vietcong

A more communist version of the Vietminh that formed to resist Diem’s govt in South Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

This 1964 Congressional resolution granted the US President broader military powers in Vietnam

1968 DNC

Fights broke out inside and outside of this event in Chicago. Anti-war protesters clashed with police and the Democratic party was in shambles

Invasion of Cambodia

Nixon expanded bombings into this country without Congressional approval in an attempt to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Reasons to protest the war

Attrition, the massacre of innocents, hamlets, corrupt Southern Vietnam govt, removal of funding from domestic social programs

Credibility Gap

Americans lost trust in govt because of lies from presidents about our progress in Vietnam and because of Watergate

Problems in Diem’s govt

Persecution of Buddhists, corruption, lack of land reform, stopped elections

War Powers Act

This 1973 act allows presidents to get away with a lot in war as long as they justified it to Congress later

Vietnamization

Nixon’s secret plan to gradually replace US troops with South Vietnamese troops so we could leave the war

Dien Bien Phu

The French were forced to surrender from Vietnam in this battle

Ho Chi Minh Trail

A trail that ran through Laos and Cambodia from North Vietnam used to send supplies to Northern troops in South Vietnam

Geneva Accords

This temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel and it was agreed Vietnam would hold elections to unify in 1956.

Tet Offensive

This 1968 attack by the North was not a military success but it made Americans doubt our ability to win the war

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

US Destroyer Maddox claimed they were under serious attack by Northern forces in 1964

Body Count Concept

US would measure military gains based on how many people we killed because we couldn’t hold land

Watergate

Nixon’s men were caught tapping a room used by Democrats at the Watergate hotel, his paranoia exposed

Results of the Vietnam War

Loss of trust in govt, US questioning our role as policeman of world, Vietnam reunited

1968 Election

Nixon was narrowly elected on a law and order platform, and the Democrats are in shambles from DNC riots

Kent State Massacre

4 students were killed here by National Guardsmen after days of anti-Nixon protests, other students had burned ROTC office and threw rocks at the National Guard

Pentagon Papers

These papers were leaked in 1971 by Daniel Elisburg and revealed LBJ planned to enter the Vietnam war before re-election knowing there was no clear victory