■ Unit 10 ■The Vietnam War

Unit 10 Terms/Names-Part 1 ■Indochina ■Ho Chi Minh ■North Vietnam ■South Vietnam ■Ngo Din Diem ■Hanoi ■Saigon ■Viet Cong ■USS Maddox ■Gulf of Tonkin ■Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Unit 10 Terms/Names-Part 2 ■Tet ■Tet Offensive ■Draft ■RFK ■Richard Nixon ■Vietnamization ■Kent State University ■Henry Kissinger ■January 27, 1973 ■March 29, 1973

America’s Commitment to Vietnam Since 1883, France ruled Southeast Asia, known as Indochina. France left to defend its lands in WWII. In 1946 France returns to reclaim Indochina–men led by communist Ho Chi Minh fought the French for Vietminh independence. President Truman and Eisenhower send France military aid. Facing defeat in 1954, France asks for peace.

■USA, France, China USSR, and the Vietminh meet in Geneva, Switzerland. ■1) Indochina becomes Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. ■2) Vietnam is divided into two separate countries North Vietnam-Communist Country-capital is Hanoi. South Vietnam-Free Republic-capital is Saigon. ■3) Elections are to be held in one year to decide the fate of Vietnam. ■4) Elections do not happen: Ho Chi Minh send North Vietnamese troops into South Vietnam. (1956) start of the Vietnam War

America’s Commitment to Vietnam Vietnam was divided along the 17th parallel Ho Chi Minh-leader of communist North Vietnam Ngo Din Diem became president of South Vietnam

America’s Commitment to Vietnam In South Vietnam, a group of communists called the Vietcong were formed to oppose Diem and his government.

South Vietnamese President Diem led a corrupt government, offered little assistance to the poor, & oppressed Buddhists America’s Commitment to Vietnam In 1963, Buddhist monk Quang Duc immolated himself to protest Diem’s regime “Strongly in our mind is what happened in China at the end of World War II, where China was lost. We don’t want that.” —JFK Diem’s assassination led to chaos in South Vietnam After JFK’s death in 1963, Vietnam policy was up to Lyndon Johnson

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, 1964 In 1964, a North Vietnamese gunboat attacked the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin, a body of water off the coast of North Vietnam. Congress responded with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave Lyndon Johnson powers to “defend South Vietnam at any cost.”

U.S. Troops in Vietnam In an effort to contain the spread of communism into South Vietnam, LBJ began sending U.S. troops in In “Operation Rolling Thunder,” the U.S. military began bombing North Vietnam The Escalation of the Vietnam War By 1968, over 500,000 U.S. soldiers were fighting in Vietnam

Fighting the War in Vietnam ■The goal of U.S. military was to defeat the Vietcong & North Vietnamese-and support democracy in South Vietnam: –But, the Vietcong lived among the civilians in cities & villages. –The Vietcong used guerilla tactics to combat U.S. military superiority –Jungles made fighting difficult.

Despite overwhelming military superiority, the U.S. could not win in Vietnam & the war became unpopular at home Television made Vietnam a “living room war” TV broadcasts reported body counts, atrocities, declining troop morale, & lack of gains in the war “My Lai Massacre” 1968

The Tet Offensive, 1968 Tet Offensive In 1968, the Vietcong attacked USA military bases all over South Vietnam, known as the Tet Offensive. Tet is the Vietnamese New Year. The attack was contrary to LBJ reports that the U.S. was winning the Vietnam War. The US Embassy in Saigon was also attacked.

President Johnson began to question whether the war could be won… “Johnson’s War”

Protesting the Vietnam War Since 1965, U.S. troops had been in Vietnam… but 1968 was the height of the Vietnam War & the year of the disastrous Tet Offensive As more men were drafted into the war, the larger the anti-Vietnam protests became

Students protested the killing of civilians & the draft, especially the large numbers of African Americans, Hispanics, & High- School dropouts Protesting the Vietnam War

■March of 1968 LBJ announces he will not run for re-election-Democrat RFK (Robert “Bobby Kennedy) decides to run for president to end the war. ■He is very, very popular. But, RFK is killed in July of 1968, four months before the election.

Richard Nixon & the Election of 1968 Richard Nixon won the presidency in 1968 for the Republicans

Nixon wanted “peace with honor” in Vietnam

Vietnamization Nixon & National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger developed a plan called Vietnamization: gradually withdraw U.S. troops & replace them with South Vietnamese soldiers But, Nixon really wanted a “total victory” so, secretly, he sent U.S. troops into Cambodia & ordered bombings of Laos- now the war was fought in 3 countries!!!

When Americans found out about Nixon’s attacks on Cambodia & Laos, it set off the largest protest in U.S. history 250,000 people, mostly students on college campuses, protested the war & some protests turned violent 4 students died when the National Guard shot into a crowd of violent protestors at Kent State University in 1970.

■Nixon used his security advisor, Henry Kissinger, to take part in secret peace negotiations with the North Vietnamese. ■All during 1972 the negotiations took place. ■November of 1972 Nixon wins re-election. ■Mid-December of 1972 final peace talks stalled-Nixon was angry!!

■Nixon orders USA military to bomb Hanoi and Haiphong, the two major cities of North Vietnam-for 11 days, 100,000 bombs were dropped. ■China, USSR, and the USA Congress had finally had enough of war-peace talks began again!! ■January 27, 1973 the USA announced a cease fire with North Vietnam/Vietcong.

■North Vietnamese troops were to remain in their positions within South Vietnam-but- no fighting…. ■USA announced they would leave Vietnam by April. ■March 29, 1973 the USA military left Vietnam.

Ending the Vietnam War In 1973, the U.S. & North Vietnam agreed to a cease fire & the U.S. withdrew troops from Vietnam In 1975, North Vietnam violated the cease fire, invaded South Vietnam, & unified the nation under a communist government

The Impact of the Vietnam War ■ The conflict in Vietnam was the longest & most divisive war in U.S. history Of the 3.3 million U.S. soldiers who served:  58,000 were killed  303,000 were wounded  15% were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the war  Many vets faced hostility from other U.S. citizens when they returned home