Chapter 20 Vocab Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh/ Vietminh Leader of the Vietnamese independence movement who also embraced communism. Founded the Vietminh…the League for the Independence of Vietnam.

Domino Theory The belief that if one country (Vietnam) fell to communism, the rest of the region (southeast asia) would soon follow.

Dien Bien Phu French military base in northwest Vietnam where French forces surrendered to Vietminh forces in 1954.

Geneva Accords France granted independence to Indo- China (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), and Vietnam was divided at the 17 th parallell into two countries.

Ngo Dinh Diem Anti-communist leader of South Vietnam. Unpopular with the Vietnamese people, but supported by the US government.

Vietcong Guerilla fighters committed to undermining Diem’s government in the South and uniting Vietnam as a single, communist state.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Authorized the US president to “take all necessary measures to repel anyi armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression.” Congress essentially handed their war powers over to the president.

William Westmoreland The American commander in South Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh Trail Network of jungle paths that North Vietnam used to supply the Vietcong.

Napalm Jellied gasoline

Agent Orange Herbicide sprayed by US forces to kill plant life. Later it is believed to cause cancer.

Search and Destroy Mission of US forces to find and kill as many Vietcong as they could.

Hawks and Doves Congress and later the American people divided over the war policy Hawks-favored the war policy Doves-opposed the war policy

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Student activist group originally committed to fight against racism and poverty, which also campaigns against the war in Vietnam.

Credibility Gap Gap between what the Johnson administration said and what journalists reported. Made it hard for the American public to believe what the government told them.

Tet Offensive Coordinated assault by the North Vietnamese army on many important targets in South Vietnam (including the US embassy in Saigon) Turned American public opinion against the war. Named after the lunar New Year.

Vietnamization (Nixon) gradual withdrawal of American troops, as South Vietnam slowly assumed more of the fighting.

My Lai Village in S. Vietnam where in 1968 US forces opened fire on unarmed civilians killing between Vietnamese.

Pentagon Papers Government papers leaked to the New York Times, that revealed that the US governemnt had not been honest about the conflict.

Paris Peace Accords 1973 Peace Agreement between the US, S. Vietnam, N. Vietnam, and the Vietcong that effectivly ended the Vietnam War.

War Powers Act Passed by Congress in 1973, this act required the President to inform Congress of any commitment of troops abroad within 48 hours and to withdraw them in days unless Congress approves the troop commitment. This was a way to reestablish some limits on executive power.

26 th Amendment Lowered the voting age in the US to 18.