The Vietnam War How was the US involvement in the Vietnam war a product of the Containment Policy?

The Situation in Vietnam At the Geneva Conference Vietnam was split at the 17th parallel. North Vietnam- controlled by Ho Chi Minh – Communist South Vietnam- Democratic

The United States supports the leaders of South Vietnam with money, supplies, and support troops Containment Policy JFK did not commit combat troops to Vietnam before he was assassinated.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Aug. 4, 1964- President Johnson tells Congress that a US ship in the Gulf of Tonkin has been fired on by NV troops. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Allows Johnson to send as many troops to Vietnam as he want without a declaration of war.

The United States is fight the North Vietnamese, but also the Vietcong President Johnson commits over 500,000 troops to fight in Vietnam, using a military draft to meet his military needs. The United States is fight the North Vietnamese, but also the Vietcong Vietcong- South Vietnamese people that dislike their leader and want to be ruled by Ho Chi Minh This leads to US Soldiers not known who is their ally and who is their enemy. Guerilla Warfare: Communist forces used a style of war tactics that made them difficult to track, used surprise attacks, and there was very little army on army combat. Tunnel System of North Vietnamese

Rise of the Anti-War Movement Fighting a jungle war against an unknown enemy led to massive casualties. Ho Chi Minh Trail Civilian casualties in South Vietnam Young men saw the draft as a death sentence, and many did not understand why we were involved in Vietnam. Draft Dodgers Many anti- war protestors claimed many of the Vietnamese wanted to be communist and it seemed as if the American government was forcing democracy on the people Use of television furthered anti-war sentiment because it was the first time people at home saw true images of war.

Tet Offensive 1968 United States commander, General William Westmoreland, believed that the communist forces were on the verge of collapse as his publication of enemy body-counts would indicate. He urged Congress to authorize an additional 200,000 men to finish off the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong once and for all. The communist forces were not defeated, but had withdrawn into their sanctuaries in Cambodia and Laos to rebuild and train. General Giap, the commander of the North Vietnamese forces, decided to stage a massive offensive in the south in order to shatter the morale of the U.S. and South Vietnamese units. Giap struck 100 cities in South Vietnam during the traditional lunar New Year festival. Although initially caught off guard, ARVN (Army of the Republic of Viet Nam) forces the U.S. rallied and counter-attacked inflicting severe casualties on the Vietcong. Televised scenes of heavy street fighting in Saigon and Hue played out against Westmoreland’s earlier report that the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong were finished as a fighting force. Fueled anti-war movement because citizens believed the government lied. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/tet-offensive

Scenario You are a member of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War. You will be designing a protest song and a protest poster against the actions of the US government during the war. Use the following images and songs as inspiration for your song and poster You need to jot down ideas as we move through the slides Your song and poster must be original- you cannot copy any you are about to view.

Protest Songs Country Joe Vietnam Song Fortunate Son