Vietnam War

  1. Brief Background

    1. Location:

      1. Indo-Chinese peninsula (under China)

      2. Southeast Asia

      3. Borders Laos and Cambodia

    2. Colonization

      1. Vietnam always under other countries' control

      2. Started as part of China but broke away

      3. French took it under the Age of Imperialism but lost after Nazis invaded France in WWII

      4. Japan immediately seized it but lost it after losing WWII

      5. During post-WWII, a communist man named Ho Chi Minh gained control over the northern portion of Vietnam

      6. Declared Vietnam independent

      7. The Southern portion largely resisted communist rule

      8. After WWII, the French attempted to retake Vietnam and entered into the First Indo-China War

    3. The First Indo-China War

      1. Purpose:

        1. French: regain control of Vietnam

        2. (North) Vietnam: resist French control

      2. The Vietminh:

        1. Ho Chi Mihn built an army of peasants called the Vietminh to resist French control after WWII

        2. Mostly located in the North

        3. Used Guerilla warfare - ambushes, booby traps, surprise attacks

      3. U.S. Involvement

        1. In 1950, the US started to send economic aid to the French because of the Domino Theory and Containment policy

          1. If one Southeastern Asia country fell to communism, all the others would fall too

      4. China’s Involvement

        1. In 1950, China starts pouring resources into the Vietminh after turning communist

        2. Helps the Vietminh to gain an advantage over the French

      5. Dien Bien Phu

        1. Last battle of the war

        2. The war lasted about 2 months

        3. With China's help, Vietnam was able to completely destroy the French at the final battle of Dien Bien Phu

        4. All of the French were either captured or killed

        5. Rest of the French elsewhere in Vietnam lost the will to fight, leading to peace negotiations

      6. The Geneva Conference, 1954

        1. Took place in Geneva, Switzerland

        2. As a result, the two sides signed the Geneva Accords

          1. Split Vietnam in half at the 17th parallel

          2. Gave Ho Chi Minh and the communists control of the North

          3. Gave France control of the South

          4. Both agreed to hold elections in 1956, 2 years later, to unite the country over their chosen leader

        3. US becomes concerned because they think France is not doing enough to prevent the spread of communism

          1. They only have 2 years to make sure they have a stable, democratic government in the South that can withstand the communists of the North and win the election

        4. President Eisenhower starts to send hundreds of political and military advisors from the US to Vietnam to help the French and the South Vietnamese government

          1. Does not send any combat troops - no war at this point

        5. French feel insulted by the US sending advisors

        6. French resent anything Americans try to do in Vietnam

    4. A Split Vietnam

      1. Ho Chi Minh’s North

        1. Ho Chi Minh knows he needs to firmly secure all the votes in the North

        2. Starts to take control and crushes free thought

        3. Wants the citizens to believe as the regime believes

        4. Targets writers and newspapers, imposes censorship, controls what children are learning, arrests and sometimes kills people who speaks out against him or communism

        5. Spends majority of his budget on the military

        6. Created the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) - official military of North Vietnam

        7. Obtains aid from the Soviet union and China

      2. Ngo Dinh Diem’s South

        1. South Vietnam in economic and political chaos after the split

        2. Need a visible government and military

        3. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles urges the US and France to support Ngo Dinh Diem becoming the leader of that new government

        4. Diem's brother was a political adviser in South Vietnam and pushed for him to be in this role

        5. No one else is volunteering for the job, so the 2 countries agree

        6. Diem proves to be an issue for South Vietnam

          1. Nationalist - not taking orders from France or US, ignoring advice

          2. No political experience - never had intent on becoming a political leader

          3. Part of Vietnamese elite society and was also Catholic - doesn't identify with the majority of the nation that was poor and Buddhist

            1. Oppressive to the Buddhist population

            2. To bring attention to this, Buddhist monks held public protests where they would sit silently, cover themselves in gasoline, and light themselves on fire

            3. Brought worldwide attention to their cause and earned them sympathy

            4. Did not lead to any leadership changes

        7. Diem never knows what he is doing and becomes a pain to the US and France

        8. Diem spends more of his time trying to consolidate his power than issuing any actual reforms and helping his people

      3. The Elections of 1956 and the Beginning of the Revolution

        1. The elections that were supposed to take place in 1956 never happen

          1. Largely due to the US believing that Ho Chi Minh will win, so they cancel the election

        2. As a result, a revolution began in Vietnam and the NVA began to attack Southern cities

        3. Ho Chi Minh also authorized the old Vietminh that were in the South to begin attacking Diem's government

        4. Sent them weapons through what became known as Ho Chi Minh Trail

          1. A trail through Cambodia and Laos where weapons and supplies were sent from the North to the communist rebel forces in the South

        5. Southern communist rebels began to be called the Vietcong

          1. Sometimes referred to the VC or Charlie - military code name

          2. Means Nam Kong Sen - Vietnamese communist

        6. Diem's government is being attacked by the NVA and the Vietcong at the same time

  2. Eisenhower and Vietnam

    1. Forming the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

      1. Eisenhower sends military advisors and trainers to help the French establish and train the  Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

      2. Diem orders ARVN to adopt a US-style of dress and salute to insult the French

      3. The French are so upset by this that they completely leave Vietnam

      4. Leaves the US alone in supporting South Vietnam

      5. Training ARVN becomes a headache for the US

        1. Inefficient

        2. Lack expertise (no trainers)

        3. No experience

        4. No dedication/lazy

        5. Corrupt officers

        6. Soldiers don’t recognize chain of command

        7. US army soldiers don't want to go to Vietnam to train

      6. Biggest issue: trying to model ARVN after the US military

        1. ARVN is not a conventional military, and this is not a conventional war

        2. Unintentionally setting up Vietnam for failure

        3. No experience with this kind of warfare (Guerilla)

    2. Strategic Hamlet Program

      1. Vietnamese population lives in small villages

      2. The Vietcong are able to easily infiltrate these villages and recruit

        1. If recruiting was unsuccessful, they would destroy these villages and kill everyone in them

      3. To stop this from happening, the US sets up a Strategic Hamlet Program

        1. Take these small villages and move them into one larger village

        2. Easier to protect them

  3. Kennedy and Vietnam

    1. Deteriorating Situation in Vietnam

      1. Vietcong actions began in 1959

      2. By the time Kennedy took office in 1961, the incidents of assassinations, ambushes, and kidnappings were all increasing drastically

      3. There was lots of pressure on Kennedy to do something about this

    2. JFK’s Team

      1. Dean Rusk – Secretary of State

        1. Foreign relations

        2. Army officer in the Pacific during WWII

        3. Not very vocal with other advisors; keeps things between him and JFK

        4. Initially, Rusk is hesitant towards Vietnam and US involvement

        5. Later, becomes one of the main supporters of escalating things

      2. McGeorge Bundy – National Security Advisor

        1. Intelligence officer in WWII

        2. Helped implement Marshall plan after the war

        3. Professor at Harvard

        4. Bundy's arrogance gets in the way of making rational decisions

      3. Robert McNamara – Secretary of Defense

        1. In charge of entire military

        2. Served in WWII

        3. President of Ford Motor Company

        4. Little political experience and no knowledge of defense

      4. Maxwell Taylor – Military Advisor

        1. Extremely experienced

          1. Commander of the 101st Airborne

          2. Member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 

        2. Taylor's idea for Vietnam is to use counterinsurgency

          1. Units that are smaller, faster, and highly trained

        3. Kennedy and Johnson didn't listen to his ideas

    3. Project Beef Up

      1. Kennedy sends more advisors (up to 16,000) and military equipment

      2. Beef up strategic hamlets - fails

        1. Diem puts someone in charge who was actually a Vietcong spy

    4. Constraints to JFK’s Policies

      1.  Vietnam is not the US's main priority

        1. Dealing with Cuba, Germany, etc.

      2. Liberal media is quick to criticize the president and the war effort

    5. Fall of Diem, 1963

      1. ARVN loses a huge battle - let the Vietcong escape instead of pursuing them

      2. Diem proclaims it a victory

      3. Kennedy threatens to pull support from Vietnam 

      4. The South Vietnamese military leaders take this threat as permission to overthrow Diem - plan a coup

      5. Diem and his brother are both assassinated during the coup

      6. Politics of South Vietnam are thrown into chaos

      7. Kennedy wants to leave the South Vietnamese

      8. 3 weeks after Diem is assassinated, Kennedy is assassinated

      9. Johnson escalates things in Vietnam

  4. Lyndon Johnson

    1. Domestic Policy

      1. The Great Society

        1. Support for Civil Rights

        2. War on Poverty in 1964

        3. Office of Economic Opportunity

          1. Head Start programs, the Job Corps, and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)

        4. Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

          1. Authorized $1 billion in federal funds to benefit impoverished children

        5. Higher Education Act

          1. Provided the first federal scholarships for college students

        6. Medicare and Medicaid

          1. Provided health insurance for the elderly and the poor

        7. Immigration Act of 1965

          1. Abandoned the old quota systems from the 1920s

      2. Results:

        1. Although the Great Society benefitted many Americans, it did not solve the basic problems of entrenched poverty, racial segregation in cities, and skewed distribution of wealth

        2. Much of the money that was supposed to be spent on Great Society programs was repurposed to help fund the escalating conflict in Vietnam

    2. Foreign Policy

      1. Containment

        1. Johnson had strong support for the containment policy

        2. So when he said that he was “not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asia boys ought to be doing for themselves,” he lied

        3. This was the first of many, many lies from the Johnson Administration in regards to American involvement in Vietnam

      2. Foreign Policy Advisors

        1. Robert McNamara and Dean Rusk encourage Johnson to send combat troops into Vietnam

        2. Johnson listens and sends the first regiment of troops into Vietnam

  5. Johnson and Vietnam

    1. Troop Buildup Accelerates

      1. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident

        1. US destroyer called the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin

        2. Claimed to be fired upon by the NVA

        3. Johnson uses this as an opportunity to ask Congress to use force against the Vietnamese

          1. Congress approves

      2. Tonkin Gulf Resolution

        1. Passed in August 1964

        2. NOT a declaration of war

        3. Granted Johnson military powers in Vietnam

        4. Giving him power to take military control without declaring war

        5. US never formally declares war in Vietnam

      3. Secrets

        1. Johnson kept information from Congress

        2. USS Maddox was in the Gulf of Tonkin collecting information about secret raids the US had been conducting

        3. Johnson had drafted the resolution giving him so much power months beforehand

    2. Operation Rolling Thunder

      1. February 1965

      2. Johnson using his new power

      3. Operation Rolling Thunder: the sustained bombing of North Vietnamese cities

      4. Johnson starts sending troops in March 1965

      5. By the end of that year, more than 180,000 US troops are in Vietnam

      6. By the end of 1967, it has increased to more than 500,000

    3. Fighting in the Jungle

      1. Between the Guerilla tactics and the jungle, the US troops are struggling

      2. The Vietcong is very elusive as an enemy

      3. Network of elaborate tunnels

      4. Can pop out, ambush US troops, and quickly leave

    4. A Frustrating War of Attrition

      1. War of attrition: destroy enemy by chipping away at their morale

      2. Constant harassment

    5. The Battle for “Hearts and Minds”

      1. Politicians start telling American people that the US is winning

      2. Body count-wise, looks like the US is winning

        1. In reality, are not

        2. Vietcong are fighting for something, US isn't

      3. US starts flushing out the Vietcong from their hiding holes

        1. Napalm - gasoline based bombs

          1. Destroys everything in its path

        2. Agent Orange - toxic substance sprayed on plants to kill them

          1. Sprayed across the jungle

        3. Search and destroy missions - uproot anyone they thought was Vietcong

          1. "Had to destroy a village in order to save it"

    6. Sinking Morale

      1. Many soldiers began to lose their faith in the war after a while

      2. Retaliations started to grow bigger and bigger

        1. Going AWOL, killing commanders, etc.

        2. Majority turns to drug use

    7. The Early War at Home

      1. The Great Society

        1. Johnson's programs start to suffer due to inflation from the war

      2. The Credibility Gap

        1. First war to be on television

        2. Citizens can see these battles

        3. Politicians are still telling Americans that the US is winning

        4. By 1967, Americans are evenly split in people supporting vs opposing the war

        5. Protest movement beginning in American youth

    8. The Working Class War

      1. Vietnam becomes known as the "Working Class War"

      2. A lot of people trying to get out of the draft

      3. The draft is somewhat manipulatable

      4. Some people seek medical exemption from their doctors

      5. In some areas, the draft board was more lenient

      6. Most common excuse:

        1. People in college could be deferred

        2. White middle and upper-class men are able to go to college

        3. The working class/minorities are being drafted

  6. The Protest Movement

    1. The Roots of Opposition

      1. The New Left

        1. Growing movement about changes in society, mainly ending the conflict in Vietnam

      2. New Left Organizations

        1. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

          1. Began at the University of Michigan

          2. Had a manifesto - Port Huron Statement

            1. Proposed a new form of participatory democracy to rescue modern society from destructive militarism and cultural alienation

          3. Wanted greater individual freedom and more people to be engaged in issues that affected all people

        2. Free Speech Movement (FSM)

          1. Started at UC Berkley to protest the ban on on-campus political activity

          2. Evolved into anti-war protests

    2. The Growth of the Movement

      1. Growth in Numbers

        1. In April of 1965, SDS organizes a protest on Washington with 15,000 protestors

        2. In November of 1965, there's another protest rally in Washington that had over 30,000 protestors

      2. Draft Requirements Change

        1. In February of 1966, the Johnson Administration changed the requirements for the college deferment during war

        2. Claim that college itself isn't enough - must be in good standing at college

        3. When this requirement is changed, protests erupt in college campuses across the nation

        4. The SDS starts preaching civil disobedience and urging people to flee to Canada to avoid the draft

        5. By 1969, the SDS has chapters at over 400 colleges

      3. Reasons for the Protests

        1. Students feel that the conflict in Vietnam is a civil war and the US has no business there

        2. Repressive government of South Vietnam was no better than the communist government of North Vietnam

        3. The US cannot police the entire globe

        4. Many people felt that the war was morally unjust

      4. Growth Beyond College Students

        1. Vietnam veterans returning home from the war join in the protests

        2. Organizations like Vietnam Veterans Against the War

        3. Singers and songwriters writing anti-war songs

    3. From Protest to Resistance

      1. Still not much change in the government despite protests

      2. Movement becomes more violent

      3. In 1967, thousands gather in Central Park in NYC to throw their draft cards into a bonfire

        1. "Burn cards, not people"

      4. People start to resist the draft

    4. War Divides the Nation, but Johnson Remains Determined

      1. Doves - those in opposition of the war (dissenters)

        1. Represent peace

      2. Hawks - believe the war should be escalated further

      3. Doves are mad Johnson is not ending conflict

      4. War Hawks are mad he isn't escalating quicker

      5. Johnson ignores both groups - policy of Slow Escalation

      6. By 1967, everyone is getting frustrated

        1. Secretary of Defense Rober McNamara resigns

  7. 1968 – The Most Turbulent Year of the ‘60s

    1. Tet Offensive Changes American Public Opinion

      1. A week-long truce is declared so that the Vietnamese can celebrate Tet - Vietnamese New Year

      2. During this truce, there are a lot of funerals to mourn deaths from the war

      3. Vietcong uses this as an opportunity to surprise attack over 100 cities in South Vietnam, breaking the truce

        1. Tet offensive - disguising as funeral goers and hiding in coffins

        2. Goes on for over a month

      4. General Westmoreland declares these attacks an "overwhelming defeat for the Vietcong"

        1. Over 32,000 Vietcong deaths

        2. Only 3,000 ARVN deaths

        3. Appears like the Vietcong are losing - in reality, they are not giving up

        4. Vietcong psychologically winning

        5. Proved that Johnson's administration had been lying to the US

      5. Tet offensive affects public opinion of the war

        1. Before, 58% of people still supported the war

        2. After, numbers dropped to 40%

      6. Public support becomes so low that Johnson decides to not run for reelection

    2. Violence and Protest Grip the Nation

      1. MLK Assassination

      2. RFK Assassination

      3. College Campus Protests

      4. Democratic National Convention

        1. Without Johnson running, a presidential candidate is needed

        2. Democratic National Convention is held in Chicago

        3. 2 people going for the nomination

        4. Eugene McCarthy - popular with the anti-war crowd

        5. Hubert Humphrey - Johnson's vice president

        6. Supposed to choose who gets the nomination at the convention, but it had pretty much already been decided

        7. Democrats threw their support behind Humphrey

          1. Anti-war crowd doesn't think that is fair

        8. When the delegates show up in Chicago, so did 10,000 protesters

        9. Chicago's mayor deploys 12,000 police officers and 5,000 national guardsmen to keep the peace

        10. When votes were cast for Humphrey in the convention, the protesters start to march

          1. They are met with police violence

        11. Also fighting inside the convention

          1. Democrats cannot decide on their own platform: pro- or anti-war

        12. Whole nation is watching this on television

    3. Election of 1968

      1. Democrats do not win

      2. Richard Nixon wins easily

      3. Campaigned on 2 promises:

        1. Restore law and order

        2. Vaguely promise to end the war in Vietnam

  8. The Counterculture

    1. The Counterculture

      1. Those who refused to form in the 60s where known as hippies

      2. Against materialism, technology, and the war

    2. The Age of Aquarius

      1. Nicknamed after Broadway music Hair

      2. Known for distinct clothing, drug use, etc.

      3. Many left home and opted to live in communes

      4. A neighborhood called Haigh-Ashbury in San Francisco becomes known as the hippie capital

        1. Many communes and hippies

      5. Eventually, the drug-use leads to the end of this counterculture

    3. Music

      1. Rock n' roll is still popular, but psychedelic rock starts to become popular

      2. Songs you could get high to

      3. First music festival is held in 1969 in New York - Woodstock

        1. One-time thing

        2. 3 days full of music, drugs, thousands of people, etc.

    4. Art

      1. Pop art - Andy Warhol

      2. Campbell soup can, Marilyn Monroe, etc.

    5. Conservatives React to the Counterculture

      1. Not everyone in the 1960s was a hippie

      2. In fact, a large majority of American were still pretty conservative in their values

      3. The conservatives felt like the hippies would undermine traditional values and mainstream society with their immoral behavior

      4. There were several conflicts between hippies and conservatives throughout the 1960s including a kind of system of segregation – some places like restaurants would not allow hippies inside

    6. The Rebirth of the Women’s Movement

      1. Labor Feminists

        1. Feminist concerns were kept alive in the 1950s and 1960s by working women who campaigned for such things as maternity leave and equal pay

        2. Betty Friedman:

          1. Suggested that women felt stifled by their domestic routines

          2. Women needed education and work outside the home

        3. Women finally have the legal tools to fight discrimination thanks to the Civil Rights Act of 1964

      2. The National Organization for Women (NOW)

        1. Started by Betty Friedman and Gloria Steinem

        2. Modeled after the NAACP as a civil rights organization for women

  9. Nixon in Vietnam

    1. Nixon’s Campaign Promises and Peace Negotiations

      1. When Nixon was campaigning for president in 1968, he promised in vague but appealing terms to get the US out of the war in Vietnam

      2. When he took office, he started initiating peace negotiations with North Vietnam, but those would go nowhere

      3. Neither side was willing to give up what they wanted

    2. Vietnamization and Peace with Honor

      1. Henry Kissinger came up with a plan called Vietnamization

        1. Gradual removal of US troops from Vietnam so that the South Vietnamese could take a more active role

        2. Slowly handing over the Vietnam War to the South Vietnamese

      2. Nixon didn't want to be the president that lost Vietnam - came up with a plan to force the North to accept his negotiations called "Peace with Honor"

      3. As the US is withdrawing troops, Nixon is continuing to bomb the Ho Chi Minh Trail

        1. Bombing outside of Vietnam - Cambodia and Laos

        2. Not telling this to Congress or the American people

    3. Bad Press for the War

      1. Bombing of Cambodia Leads to Violent Protests

        1. The secret bombing leads the US to invade Cambodia

        2. All these secrets are revealed in the New York Times

        3. Americans are infuriated - feel lied to again

        4. Protests break out on college campuses

          1. Become deadly in some cases

          2. Most famous protest takes place at Kent State University in Ohio

          3. Student protesters burn down the campus's student military (ROTC) building

          4. Ohio national guard is sent to put down the protest

          5. Protesters start throwing rocks at the national guardsmen

          6. In return, the national guard fire into the crowd

          7. 4 students are killed, 2 of which were just bystanders

      2. My Lai Massacre

        1. In 1968, a US army platoon under the command of Lt. William Calley Jr. went into the small village of My Lai on a search and destroy mission

        2. This particular platoon had been attacked by the Vietcong several times

        3. All their information told them it was coming from My Lai

        4. When they find no Vietcong, the soldiers snapped

          1. Charlie company rounds of 400 innocent Vietnamese citizens (mostly women, children, and elderly) and rapes and kills them

        5. This incident is not reported and instead covered up

        6. People find out through one of the members of Charlie company bragging about what he did to a soldier in another platoon

        7. 25 officers are charged with some degree of responsibility

        8. Only Lieutenant Calley was convicted and imprisoned

        9. Released by Nixon after only 3 days in prison

        10. Nixon begins losing support

        11. In 1970, Congress repeals the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that gave the president unprecedented militaristic power

      3. The Pentagon Papers

        1. 7,000 page document leaked by a Department of Defense worker and published in the newspaper

        2. Proved that the government had not been honest about their intentions in Vietnam

          1. Ex: revealed that Johnson was drawing up plans in the war as he was telling Americans that US wasn’t going to send troops

        3. Support for the war reaches an all-time low

    4. The End of the Vietnam War

      1. Negotiating Peace

        1. US starts demanding peace

        2. The two sides finally sign a peace agreement in March of 1973

        3. The North would leave troops in the South but stop fighting and stop trying to take over the Southern government

        4. The last of the US troops left Vietnam on March 29th, 1973

      2. The Fall of Saigon (this happens under Gerald Ford’s presidency)

        1. Within a month, the peace collapsed

        2. After a couple more years of fighting, the North launches a full-scale invasion of the South

        3. South reaches out to the US for help again

        4. US only sends economic aid - no more troops

        5. Communists of the North capture the capital in the South - Saigon

        6. Vietnam is reunited under communist rule

  10. Legacy and Effects of the Vietnam War

    1. Veterans

      1. Vietnam veterans faced a very different homecoming than that given to the veterans of previous wars

      2. There was very little public recognition for their efforts

      3. War protesters blamed the soldiers for the war – called them baby killers

      4. Some veterans tried to slip back into civilian life; others formed their own protest organizations

      5. A lot of veterans developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and had recurring nightmares, suffered from headaches, shell shock, and memory lapses

      6. Some began to abuse drugs and/or alcohol

      7. Several took their own lives

    2. Vietnam

      1. Vietnam suffered a high loss of life

      2. Their infrastructure was destroyed

      3. Agriculture was destroyed

      4. Damaged economy

    3. Government Implications

      1. Vietnam War showed the US's weaknesses as a country/military

      2. Caused Vietnam Syndrome - fear of getting involved in foreign conflict again

      3. US trust in the government tanked in the 70s

      4. Congress passes the War Powers Act - the president had to inform Congress within 48 hours of sending military forces into a hostile area

        1. Troops cannot be there for longer than 90 days without either Congressional approval or a declaration of war

        2. Consequence of giving the president too much power (Gulf of Tonkin Resolution)