51d ago

Vietnam War Notes

Vietnam War: Painted Black

  • The lecture is named after The Rolling Stones' song "Paint It Black," released in 1966.

  • The song isn't directly about the Vietnam War, but Vietnam veterans adopted it as a soundtrack for their experiences due to its themes of alienation and feeling apart from others.

  • The war is arguably the most divisive war in U.S. history, shaping Americans' understanding of modern warfare.

Key Questions

  • Why is Vietnam remembered negatively?

  • What factors contributed to this negative perception?

  • How does Vietnam set the tone for subsequent American military engagements?

Overview

  • The Vietnam War was America's longest war to date.

  • It deeply divided the nation, rivaling the Civil War in its impact.

  • For 30 years, the United States invested resources and soldiers to prevent communism in Vietnam.

  • From 1945-1964, the U.S. fought a proxy war, providing aid to those willing to fight Vietnamese communists.

  • In 1965, it became an American war with the deployment of U.S. ground forces.

  • By 1967, the anti-war movement gained momentum, protesting U.S. involvement.

  • The United States withdrew in 1973, and the war ended with a communist victory in 1975, marking America's first decisive loss.

Flower Power

  • October 1967: Anti-war protesters rallied at the Lincoln Memorial and marched to the Pentagon.

  • An 18-year-old actor placed pink carnations into soldiers' rifles, captured in the iconic photo "Flower Power."

  • Interpretations of the photo varied:

    • Peace advocates saw it as a contrast between government violence and the demand for peace.

    • Critics viewed it as a ploy to distract soldiers before demonstrators stormed the Pentagon.

Origins and Escalation

  • The war began as an anticolonial struggle against France, evolving into a civil war.

  • Five U.S. presidents (Truman to Nixon) chose escalation, fearing a domino effect of communist revolutions in Southeast Asia.

  • The war fractured the nation, unlike the unifying effect of World War II.

  • Guerrilla warfare made it difficult to distinguish between enemy and civilians.

  • American military tactics, such as using overwhelming force, resulted in civilian casualties and turned Americans against the war.

Cold War Context

  • The Cold War shifted to Asia in 1949 with the fall of China to communism.

  • U.S. policy in Vietnam and Korea was driven by containment: preventing the spread of communism.

  • The U.S. supported French efforts to recolonize French Indochina after World War II (1946-1954).

Ho Chi Minh

  • Leader of the Vietnamese independence movement and figurehead of communism in Southeast Asia.

  • Often viewed negatively in the U.S. but seen as a liberationist in Vietnam.

  • Initially hoped for U.S. support for Vietnamese independence, given U.S. aid against the Japanese during the war, but was disappointed.

  • Cultivated a fatherly "Uncle Ho" persona, aligning with Confucian ideals like respect for elders and humane treatment.

  • Lived simply, eschewing personal luxuries.

The Monolithic Communism Idea

  • American policymakers often viewed communism as a unified movement, ignoring the diversity of communist independence movements.

  • The U.S. tended to paint all communist movements with the same brush.

  • A 1953 illustration depicts Stalin controlling the Korean War, suggesting all communist uprisings were orchestrated by the Soviet Union.

  • This worldview ignored frictions within communist movements; for example, Ho Chi Minh distrusted China due to historical conflicts.

  • Ho Chi Minh Quote: "It is better to sniff French dung for a while than eat China's all of our life."

Geneva Accords

  • The U.S. officially took over from the French in 1954 after their defeat at Dien Bien Phu.

  • The French recognized the challenges of fighting against anticolonial movements and a lack of public support at home.

  • The Geneva Accords in 1954 partitioned Vietnam at the 17th Parallel, with a promise of elections for a unified Vietnam within two years.

  • North Vietnam was under Ho Chi Minh's control (Viet Minh), while South Vietnam was under French and later U.S. control.

Diem

  • The Eisenhower administration had no intention of allowing elections.

  • The U.S. sent advisers to Vietnam to find a suitable leader for South Vietnam.

  • Diem was a wealthy Catholic and staunch nationalist who had served in the French colonial administration.

  • CIA operatives sabotaged North Vietnam's efforts to consolidate power.

Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO)

  • Established in 1954, included the U.S., Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

  • Pledged to meet common dangers in Southeast Asia.

  • Unlike NATO, SEATO's commitments were vague.

  • SEATO provided a justification for direct American involvement in Vietnam.

Diem's Unpopularity

  • The U.S. propped up reactionary governments that opposed communism.

  • Diem was a dictator who modeled his rule on 19th-century Vietnamese emperors and used a secret police force.

  • He was ardently Catholic in a predominantly Buddhist country, leading to persecution of Buddhists.

  • The North Vietnamese destabilized Diem's government by assassinating landlords and officials.

  • Diem moved peasants into "strategic hamlets," which angered them.

North Vietnam

  • Ho Chi Minh's government instituted land redistribution policies that led to deaths and famine.

  • By 1960, North Vietnam consolidated power and supported southern communists.

National Liberation Front (NLF)

  • Southern communists formed the National Liberation Front (NLF) in 1960.

  • Diem derogatorily called them Viet Cong, a name that stuck.

Kennedy and Vietnam

  • John F. Kennedy was aware of the Democratic Party's reputation for being soft on communism.

  • The Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 was a failed CIA plan to topple Fidel Castro in Cuba.

  • The Berlin Wall was erected in August 1961, separating East and West Berlin.

Cuban Missile Crisis

  • In October 1962, intelligence reports revealed Soviet Union was installing missiles in Cuba.

  • Kennedy blockaded Cuba, leading to a tense standoff.

  • The Soviet Union agreed to concessions made behind closed doors between Kennedy and Khrushchev.

Kennedy Escalation

  • Kennedy further escalated the U.S. presence in Vietnam by sending more "advisers" (Green Berets, special forces) to orchestrate sabotage and raids on North Vietnam.

  • There were up to 23,000 advisers by the time of Kennedy's assassination in November 1963.

  • Kennedy sanctioned a coup to depose Diem, who was assassinated two weeks after Kennedy.

Buddhist Protests

  • The Diem government's crackdown on dissidence, particularly against Buddhists, led to public protests.

  • Incidents such as Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation in June 1963 gained international attention.

  • Malcolm Browne's photograph of the event highlighted opposition to Diem's rule.

Johnson's Escalation

  • Lyndon B. Johnson became president after Kennedy's assassination in November 1963.

  • Johnson was influenced by advisers urging escalation in Vietnam.

  • Johnson feared appearing weak on communism, which could undermine his domestic policies (Great Society).

  • Like his predecessors, Johnson chose escalation over de-escalation.

  • General Earl Wheeler advocated for direct U.S. military control of the war effort.

Gulf of Tonkin

  • In August 1964, the USS Maddox was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin.

  • The attack served as a pretext for greater U.S. involvement.

  • The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized Johnson to take all necessary measures in Vietnam.

Early Involvement

  • The first troops landed in Da Nang in March 1965 and were initially greeted warmly.

  • Operation Rolling Thunder, a major bombing campaign, began in 1965.

  • From 1965 to 1967, the number of American soldiers in Vietnam increased dramatically to half a million.

  • General William Westmoreland requested more troops, leading to further escalation.

  • The U.S. dropped more ordnance during the Vietnam War than in all of World War II.

Composition of the Military

  • Soldiers in Vietnam were younger, often 18-19 years old, and disproportionately working class and minority Americans.

  • College educated and wealthy Americans could avoid the draft through deferments.

  • The war was one of attrition, focused on racking up body counts.

  • It was difficult to distinguish between enemy and civilians.

  • American soldiers conducted search and destroy missions in villages.

  • It was a guerrilla-style war that favored the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong.

Tet Offensive

  • The Tet Offensive in January 1968 was a major turning point in the war.

  • It was a massive, multipronged offensive against U.S. and South Vietnamese installations.

  • The Tet Offensive was a tactical defeat for the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, it was a strategic victory.

  • It showed the American public that the Johnson administration had been misleading them about the progress of the war.

  • It widened the credibility gap between the public and the government.

Bombing Campaign

  • The American bombing campaign was the largest in human history, with 5 million tons of ordnance dropped in eight years.

  • The U.S. also bombed Laos and Cambodia.

  • Air power was seen as a way to limit American casualties.

  • The bombing became a major propaganda boon for the North Vietnamese.

  • The U.S. bombing campaign turned out to be indiscriminate, harming civilians.

    • Chemicals

    • Napalm, a jelly-like gasoline substance.

    • Agent Orange, a defoliant that caused birth defects and cancer.

  • The U.S. lost the propaganda war in part because of the bombing campaigns.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

  • The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a 600-mile trail used by North Vietnam to supply their allies in the South.

  • It was an ad hoc system of trails through the jungle.

  • Defoliants like Agent Orange were used to clear foliage along the trail.

  • The use of chemicals stiffened the antiwar movement due to images of the impact on Vietnamese civilians.

Morality of the War

  • Images of birth defects caused by Agent Orange reminded young Americans of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

  • The war was seen as a moral abomination and a threat to democracy, with the government lying to its people.

  • The draft was considered unconstitutional.

The Experience of Soldiers

  • The first wave of marines were largely volunteers, viewing Vietnam as a place to seek glory.

  • Drafted men, often working class and minorities, had different views.

  • African Americans and Latinos were disproportionately drafted.

  • Soldiers faced difficulties distinguishing between enemy and civilians.

  • Search and destroy missions often reduced villages to rubble.

Environment

  • The environment in Vietnam was alien to many Americans.

  • The Viet Minh and Viet Cong could blend into the jungle, making Americans feel like the entire topography was against them.

David Halberstram Quote

  • "It is often impossible to separate the cruel and dedicated foe you want to kill from the simple and illiterate peasant you want to woo."

Tunnels

  • The Viet Cong built hundreds of miles of underground tunnels to avoid bombing.

  • "Tunnel rats" were soldiers tasked with going into the tunnels to clear them.

African Americans.

  • African Americans were disproportionately represented in the military, leading to protests within the black community.

  • The war was seen as an extension of Jim Crow.

  • Martin Luther King criticized the war, leading to a loss of support.

Body Counts

  • Measuring the success of the war by tallying enemy dead incentivized indiscriminate killings.

    • Body counts were often inaccurate.


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Vietnam War Notes

Vietnam War: Painted Black

  • The lecture is named after The Rolling Stones' song "Paint It Black," released in 1966.
  • The song isn't directly about the Vietnam War, but Vietnam veterans adopted it as a soundtrack for their experiences due to its themes of alienation and feeling apart from others.
  • The war is arguably the most divisive war in U.S. history, shaping Americans' understanding of modern warfare.

Key Questions

  • Why is Vietnam remembered negatively?
  • What factors contributed to this negative perception?
  • How does Vietnam set the tone for subsequent American military engagements?

Overview

  • The Vietnam War was America's longest war to date.
  • It deeply divided the nation, rivaling the Civil War in its impact.
  • For 30 years, the United States invested resources and soldiers to prevent communism in Vietnam.
  • From 1945-1964, the U.S. fought a proxy war, providing aid to those willing to fight Vietnamese communists.
  • In 1965, it became an American war with the deployment of U.S. ground forces.
  • By 1967, the anti-war movement gained momentum, protesting U.S. involvement.
  • The United States withdrew in 1973, and the war ended with a communist victory in 1975, marking America's first decisive loss.

Flower Power

  • October 1967: Anti-war protesters rallied at the Lincoln Memorial and marched to the Pentagon.
  • An 18-year-old actor placed pink carnations into soldiers' rifles, captured in the iconic photo "Flower Power."
  • Interpretations of the photo varied:
    • Peace advocates saw it as a contrast between government violence and the demand for peace.
    • Critics viewed it as a ploy to distract soldiers before demonstrators stormed the Pentagon.

Origins and Escalation

  • The war began as an anticolonial struggle against France, evolving into a civil war.
  • Five U.S. presidents (Truman to Nixon) chose escalation, fearing a domino effect of communist revolutions in Southeast Asia.
  • The war fractured the nation, unlike the unifying effect of World War II.
  • Guerrilla warfare made it difficult to distinguish between enemy and civilians.
  • American military tactics, such as using overwhelming force, resulted in civilian casualties and turned Americans against the war.

Cold War Context

  • The Cold War shifted to Asia in 1949 with the fall of China to communism.
  • U.S. policy in Vietnam and Korea was driven by containment: preventing the spread of communism.
  • The U.S. supported French efforts to recolonize French Indochina after World War II (1946-1954).

Ho Chi Minh

  • Leader of the Vietnamese independence movement and figurehead of communism in Southeast Asia.
  • Often viewed negatively in the U.S. but seen as a liberationist in Vietnam.
  • Initially hoped for U.S. support for Vietnamese independence, given U.S. aid against the Japanese during the war, but was disappointed.
  • Cultivated a fatherly "Uncle Ho" persona, aligning with Confucian ideals like respect for elders and humane treatment.
  • Lived simply, eschewing personal luxuries.

The Monolithic Communism Idea

  • American policymakers often viewed communism as a unified movement, ignoring the diversity of communist independence movements.
  • The U.S. tended to paint all communist movements with the same brush.
  • A 1953 illustration depicts Stalin controlling the Korean War, suggesting all communist uprisings were orchestrated by the Soviet Union.
  • This worldview ignored frictions within communist movements; for example, Ho Chi Minh distrusted China due to historical conflicts.
  • Ho Chi Minh Quote: "It is better to sniff French dung for a while than eat China's all of our life."

Geneva Accords

  • The U.S. officially took over from the French in 1954 after their defeat at Dien Bien Phu.
  • The French recognized the challenges of fighting against anticolonial movements and a lack of public support at home.
  • The Geneva Accords in 1954 partitioned Vietnam at the 17th Parallel, with a promise of elections for a unified Vietnam within two years.
  • North Vietnam was under Ho Chi Minh's control (Viet Minh), while South Vietnam was under French and later U.S. control.

Diem

  • The Eisenhower administration had no intention of allowing elections.
  • The U.S. sent advisers to Vietnam to find a suitable leader for South Vietnam.
  • Diem was a wealthy Catholic and staunch nationalist who had served in the French colonial administration.
  • CIA operatives sabotaged North Vietnam's efforts to consolidate power.

Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO)

  • Established in 1954, included the U.S., Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
  • Pledged to meet common dangers in Southeast Asia.
  • Unlike NATO, SEATO's commitments were vague.
  • SEATO provided a justification for direct American involvement in Vietnam.

Diem's Unpopularity

  • The U.S. propped up reactionary governments that opposed communism.
  • Diem was a dictator who modeled his rule on 19th-century Vietnamese emperors and used a secret police force.
  • He was ardently Catholic in a predominantly Buddhist country, leading to persecution of Buddhists.
  • The North Vietnamese destabilized Diem's government by assassinating landlords and officials.
  • Diem moved peasants into "strategic hamlets," which angered them.

North Vietnam

  • Ho Chi Minh's government instituted land redistribution policies that led to deaths and famine.
  • By 1960, North Vietnam consolidated power and supported southern communists.

National Liberation Front (NLF)

  • Southern communists formed the National Liberation Front (NLF) in 1960.
  • Diem derogatorily called them Viet Cong, a name that stuck.

Kennedy and Vietnam

  • John F. Kennedy was aware of the Democratic Party's reputation for being soft on communism.
  • The Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 was a failed CIA plan to topple Fidel Castro in Cuba.
  • The Berlin Wall was erected in August 1961, separating East and West Berlin.

Cuban Missile Crisis

  • In October 1962, intelligence reports revealed Soviet Union was installing missiles in Cuba.
  • Kennedy blockaded Cuba, leading to a tense standoff.
  • The Soviet Union agreed to concessions made behind closed doors between Kennedy and Khrushchev.

Kennedy Escalation

  • Kennedy further escalated the U.S. presence in Vietnam by sending more "advisers" (Green Berets, special forces) to orchestrate sabotage and raids on North Vietnam.
  • There were up to 23,000 advisers by the time of Kennedy's assassination in November 1963.
  • Kennedy sanctioned a coup to depose Diem, who was assassinated two weeks after Kennedy.

Buddhist Protests

  • The Diem government's crackdown on dissidence, particularly against Buddhists, led to public protests.
  • Incidents such as Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation in June 1963 gained international attention.
  • Malcolm Browne's photograph of the event highlighted opposition to Diem's rule.

Johnson's Escalation

  • Lyndon B. Johnson became president after Kennedy's assassination in November 1963.
  • Johnson was influenced by advisers urging escalation in Vietnam.
  • Johnson feared appearing weak on communism, which could undermine his domestic policies (Great Society).
  • Like his predecessors, Johnson chose escalation over de-escalation.
  • General Earl Wheeler advocated for direct U.S. military control of the war effort.

Gulf of Tonkin

  • In August 1964, the USS Maddox was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin.
  • The attack served as a pretext for greater U.S. involvement.
  • The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized Johnson to take all necessary measures in Vietnam.

Early Involvement

  • The first troops landed in Da Nang in March 1965 and were initially greeted warmly.
  • Operation Rolling Thunder, a major bombing campaign, began in 1965.
  • From 1965 to 1967, the number of American soldiers in Vietnam increased dramatically to half a million.
  • General William Westmoreland requested more troops, leading to further escalation.
  • The U.S. dropped more ordnance during the Vietnam War than in all of World War II.

Composition of the Military

  • Soldiers in Vietnam were younger, often 18-19 years old, and disproportionately working class and minority Americans.
  • College educated and wealthy Americans could avoid the draft through deferments.
  • The war was one of attrition, focused on racking up body counts.
  • It was difficult to distinguish between enemy and civilians.
  • American soldiers conducted search and destroy missions in villages.
  • It was a guerrilla-style war that favored the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong.

Tet Offensive

  • The Tet Offensive in January 1968 was a major turning point in the war.
  • It was a massive, multipronged offensive against U.S. and South Vietnamese installations.
  • The Tet Offensive was a tactical defeat for the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, it was a strategic victory.
  • It showed the American public that the Johnson administration had been misleading them about the progress of the war.
  • It widened the credibility gap between the public and the government.

Bombing Campaign

  • The American bombing campaign was the largest in human history, with 5 million tons of ordnance dropped in eight years.
  • The U.S. also bombed Laos and Cambodia.
  • Air power was seen as a way to limit American casualties.
  • The bombing became a major propaganda boon for the North Vietnamese.
  • The U.S. bombing campaign turned out to be indiscriminate, harming civilians.
    • Chemicals
    • Napalm, a jelly-like gasoline substance.
    • Agent Orange, a defoliant that caused birth defects and cancer.
  • The U.S. lost the propaganda war in part because of the bombing campaigns.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

  • The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a 600-mile trail used by North Vietnam to supply their allies in the South.
  • It was an ad hoc system of trails through the jungle.
  • Defoliants like Agent Orange were used to clear foliage along the trail.
  • The use of chemicals stiffened the antiwar movement due to images of the impact on Vietnamese civilians.

Morality of the War

  • Images of birth defects caused by Agent Orange reminded young Americans of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
  • The war was seen as a moral abomination and a threat to democracy, with the government lying to its people.
  • The draft was considered unconstitutional.

The Experience of Soldiers

  • The first wave of marines were largely volunteers, viewing Vietnam as a place to seek glory.
  • Drafted men, often working class and minorities, had different views.
  • African Americans and Latinos were disproportionately drafted.
  • Soldiers faced difficulties distinguishing between enemy and civilians.
  • Search and destroy missions often reduced villages to rubble.

Environment

  • The environment in Vietnam was alien to many Americans.
  • The Viet Minh and Viet Cong could blend into the jungle, making Americans feel like the entire topography was against them.

David Halberstram Quote

  • "It is often impossible to separate the cruel and dedicated foe you want to kill from the simple and illiterate peasant you want to woo."

Tunnels

  • The Viet Cong built hundreds of miles of underground tunnels to avoid bombing.
  • "Tunnel rats" were soldiers tasked with going into the tunnels to clear them.

African Americans.

  • African Americans were disproportionately represented in the military, leading to protests within the black community.
  • The war was seen as an extension of Jim Crow.
  • Martin Luther King criticized the war, leading to a loss of support.

Body Counts

  • Measuring the success of the war by tallying enemy dead incentivized indiscriminate killings.
    • Body counts were often inaccurate.