The Vietnam War: Origins of US Intervention If we have to fight, we will fight. You will kill ten of our men and we will kill one of yours, and in the end it will be you who tires of it. - Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh Japanese Takeover of French Indochina early in the war Member of Communist party since 1920 (while studying in France) Leader of the Vietnamese Independence League (Viet Minh) Gained valuable military and political support from China, US and USSR during WWII August of 1945: Vietnamese Declaration of Independence

French Reassert Power “First Indochina War” 8 year war (mostly financed by the US) with the Viet Minh French defeat at Dien Bien Phu leads to the Geneva Peace Accords

Why did the US get involved? Political: Domino Theory and sustain Democracy in Vietnam Economic: Raw materials: rice, rubber, coal and iron ore 1953 State Department Memo: “If the French actually decide to withdraw, the U.S. would have to consider most seriously whether to take over this area…”

Geneva Peace Accords French withdraw temporarily into Southern Vietnam Partition at the 17th Parallel National elections in 2 years for the purpose of reunification

Ngo Dinh Diem 1954: Eisenhower pledged support for Diem to control the North US financial and military support Unpopular as a result of: Catholicism Pro-Landlord in country of peasants (80%) No land reform like Ho Chi Minh Imprisoned political opposition Make sure that Geneva elections does not take place! Leads to the creation of the Viet Cong “National Liberation Front” in South Vietnam

Creation of the Viet Cong Remnants of the Viet Minh peasants in the southern countryside Organization on a massive scale By early 1962: 300,000 members Extremely Popular: Peasants promised a different life More a social revolution with importance placed on the lowly peasant Saigon, June 1963 Nov. 1, 1963: South Vietnam military leaders overthrow Diem’s government and assassinate him and his brother

CHOICES: America’s Deepening Commitment Review Homework Questions for Zinn Chapter 7 Review Homework Questions for America’s Deepening Commitment

Case Study: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution On a piece of paper, write the names of the people in your group. Take turns being scribes. This activity will count as a quiz grade. Part I: June 1964 Read and have scribes write down answers to discussion questions below LBJ vs. Goldwater: 1964 Election: Daisy Summarize the four main points of the Bundy and Rostow report of June 1964. Why did Johnson believe that bipartisan (both Republicans and Democrats) congressional support for his policies in Vietnam was so important? Does the government of a democracy have to operate under a different set of rules from those of a dictatorship when formulating foreign policy?

Case Study: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Part II: The Incident: Summer of 1964 Read and answer questions: Some have argued that the North Vietnamese were to blame for the incident, while others have maintained the United States was at fault. Discuss the case that both sides might make. Why do you think that President Johnson went to Congress and the American people immediately, rather than waiting for a full investigation of the second “attack”?

Case Study: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Part III: The Request: August, 1964 Summarize each point of the Resolution. How do the changes in wording from the June draft change the President’s ability to direct U.S. policy in Vietnam? Explain by comparing specific phrases from the two documents. Sometime later, Johnson remarked to aides that this resolution was “like grandma’s nightshirt—it covered everything.” What did he mean by this?

Case Study: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Part IV: The Action Read and answer questions If the administration had foreseen how long and costly the war would be, do you think that it would have chosen the same means to obtain congressional support and legal authority? What kind of turning point in US history is the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution? Why was there no congressional opposition?

The Fog of War (2003) Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and LBJ What were the effects of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution? Start 1:05-1:15:31

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Blank Check “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” Operation Rolling Thunder: 120,000 American soldiers in Vietnam Ongoing bombing of Hanoi for the next three years