“No event in American History is more misunderst ood than the Vietnam War.” -Richard Nixon “No event in American History is more misunderst ood than the Vietnam War.” -Richard Nixon SONG FOR THE DAY: FEEL LIKE I’M FIXIN’ TO DIE RAG Daily Comment & Card -Guiding principle of US foreign policy during the Cold War era -Stated publicly by President Eisenhower in Belief that if one area was overtaken by communism, nearby nations would follow -Used as a motivation for the U.S. intervention in foreign conflicts throughout the world 1950s- 1980s DOMINO THEORY

“No event in American History is more misunderst ood than the Vietnam War.” -Richard Nixon “No event in American History is more misunderst ood than the Vietnam War.” -Richard Nixon SONG FOR THE DAY: BALLAD OF THE GREEN BERET Daily Comment & Card GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION -The North Vietnamese supposedly fired on American ships in the Gulf of Tonkin -Congress passed a resolution allowing President Johnson to use military action in Vietnam -Johnson retaliated against the Viet Cong with bombing attacks in the North followed by ground troops. 1964

“No event in American History is more misunderst ood than the Vietnam War.” -Richard Nixon “No event in American History is more misunderst ood than the Vietnam War.” -Richard Nixon SONG FOR THE DAY: FEEL LIKE I’M FIXIN’ TO DIE RAG Daily Comment & Card GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION -The North Vietnamese supposedly fired on American ships in the Gulf of Tonkin -Congress passed a resolution allowing President Johnson to use military action in Vietnam -Johnson retaliated against the Viet Cong with bombing attacks in the North followed by ground troops Guiding principle of US foreign policy during the Cold War era -Stated publicly by President Eisenhower in Belief that if one area was overtaken by communism, nearby nations would follow -Used as a motivation for the U.S. intervention in foreign conflicts throughout the world 1950s- 1980s DOMINO THEORY

“No event in American History is more misunderst ood than the Vietnam War.” -Richard Nixon “No event in American History is more misunderst ood than the Vietnam War.” -Richard Nixon SONG FOR THE DAY: BALLAD OF THE GREEN BERET Daily Comment & Card VIETNAM WAR: CAUSES -Vietnam was divided into the Communist North, led by Ho Chi Minh, and the South, supported by the United States -The Viet Cong (Communist guerillas) attempted to overthrow Saigon, South Vietnam’s capital -South Vietnam asked President Kennedy for aid to fight the Communists Beginning 1954

- STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO: -Define Domino Theory, TET 68 -Identify those on each side of the Vietnam War -Describe how we got involved in Vietnam -Analyze the responses of Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon -Evaluate the effects of the war on the American public -Summarize how Vietnam was different from other wars -Locate Vietnam and it’s major cities

I. VIETNAM (THE NOTES) A. HISTORY B. KENNEDY & JOHNSON C. ANTI-WAR PROTEST D. NIXON E. A DIFFERENT (UNIQUE) WAR

WHEN THE KOREAN WAR ENDED, THE U.S. WAS ALREADY IN VIETNAM. WE BECAME INVOLVED BECAUSE THE FRENCH WANTED TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THEIR COLONY AFTER WORLD WAR II. WE HELPED BECAUSE WE WANTED THEM TO JOIN NATO.

A. HISTORY OF VIETNAM NATIONALISTS HAD STARTED A GUERILLA WAR TO KEEP THE FRENCH FROM REGAINING CONTROL OF THEIR COLONY AFTER WW2. THEY WERE LED BY HO CHI MINH, A COMMUNIST WHO UNITED THE NATIONALISTS INTO AN ARMY KNOWN AS THE VIET MINH.

THE FRENCH LEFT AFTER A DEFEAT IN THE BATTLE OF DIENBIEN PHU (MAY 1954). WE STAYED BECAUSE OF THE DOMINO THEORY. IF ONE NATION FALLS TO COMMUNISM, THEY ALL FALL… THE AREA KNOWN AS INDOCHINA WAS DIVIDED INTO LAOS, CAMBODIA, AND VIETNAM IN THE 1954 GENEVA ACCORDS.

WE GAVE OUR ASSISTANCE TO SOUTH VIETNAM UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF NGO DINH DIEM AND GRADUALLY INCREASED OUR SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS. 1960= 900 ADVISERS 1961= 3, = 11,000 THEY WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO FIGHT! B. KENNEDY AND JOHNSON

IN SOUTH VIETNAM, GUERILLAS KNOWN AS VIET CONG WERE SUPPORTED BY HO CHI MINH. VIET CONG = VC OR CHARLIE BY 1963, DIEM WAS OVERTHROWN BY S. VIETNAMESE LEADERS AND THE V.C. WERE GAINING GROUND. PRESIDENT KENNEDY INDICATED HOPE OF WITHDRAWING OUR TROOPS, BUT HE WAS ASSASSINATED IN NOVEMBER OF 1963…

HE NEEDED AN ALL OUT WAR, AND IN 1964 THE GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION GAVE HIM A “BLANK CHECK” TO “TAKE ALL NECESSARY MEASURES” TO PROTECT AMERICAN LIVES AND INTERESTS. THE NORTH VIETNAMESE HIT 2 AMERICAN DESTROYERS WITH THEIR TORPEDO BOATS. (AMERICANS DID NOT KNOW THAT THEY HAD VIOLATED NORTH VIETNAMESE TERRITORIAL WATERS). LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON (LBJ) BECAME PRESIDENT (AND HE COULD NEVER ACCEPT A LOSS TO “COMMIES”).

JOHNSON WAS RE-ELECTED AND WE CONTINUED TO SEND IN GROUND TROOPS (NOW WE ARE FIGHTING)!! WE TOOK OVER FROM ARVN (ARMY OF REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM), THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE ARMY. 1964=23, =184, =485, =536, =23, =184, =485, =536,000 We call this “escalation”

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TURNING POINT OF THE WAR CAME IN 1968 WITH THE TET OFFENSIVE. TET WAS THE VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR AND TRADITIONALLY FIGHTING STOPPED FOR THIS CELEBRATION. THEY SHOCKED US BY LAUNCHING SIMULTANEOUS ATTACKS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY (AMERICAN EMBASSY SAIGON, AMERICAN MILITARY HQ, TAN SON NHUT AIRBASE. IT WAS A PSYCHOLOGICAL VICTORY FOR THE NORTH AND THE VC.

AS JOHNSON’S POPULARITY FELL, ANTI-WAR PROTEST SEEMED TO BE ON THE RISE… IN 1965, AS MANY AS 80% OF AMERICANS SUPPORTED THE WAR, BUT THINGS CHANGED AS TIME WENT ON… COLLEGE CAMPUSES WERE THE CENTER OF PROTEST GROUPS LIKE SDS (STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY) STAGED DEMONSTRATIONS. AMERICANS LEARNED OF INCIDENTS LIKE THE 1968 MY LAI MASSACRE. C. ANTI-WAR PROTEST

D. NIXON Under Nixon, the anti-war movement increased in intensity. Anti-war protesters were shocked by the bombing of Cambodia. In 1969, national guardsmen fired on and killed four student demonstrators at Kent State, Ohio. Students marched in Washington D.C. and other major cities… Nixon insisted that most Americans still supported the war. They referred to their supporters as the “silent majority.” The PENTAGON PAPERS published in 1971 proved that several Presidents had lied to the American public about the war and that although they felt they could not win, they did not want defeat associated with their presidencies.

D. NIXON THE WAR POWERS ACT PASSED OVER NIXON’S VETO IN NOVEMBER 1973 REDUCED THE PRESIDENT’S ABILITY TO INVOLVE THE U.S. IN AN UNDECLARED WAR! REQUIRES PRES TO REPORT TO CONGRESS WITHIN 48 HOURS AFTER COMMITTING AMERICAN TROOPS TO FOREIGN CONFLICT. WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL THE PRES HAS 60 DAYS TO BEGIN WITHDRAWING THE TROOPS.

NIXON BEGAN THE PROCESS OF “VIETNAMIZATION” WHICH MEANT TURNING THE WAR BACK OVER TO SOUTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS. HE BEGAN BRINGING OUR TROOPS HOME. THE DRAFT ENDED IN 1973 IN MARCH OF ’73 THE LAST U.S. FORCES LEFT VIETNAM IN 1975 SOUTH VIETNAM FELL (the Fall of Saigon) TO THE NORTH (COMMUNISM) HE WAS LOOKING FOR “PEACE WITH HONOR.”

E. A DIFFERENT WAR!!  AVERAGE AGE OF SOLDIER WAS  DAILY NEWS COVERAGE (TELEVISION)  MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY (SOLDIERS SURVIVED WOUNDS)  NO FRONT LINES/ COULDN’T IDENTIFY ENEMY  NO DEBRIEFING (DOWNTIME)  365 DAY TOUR OF DUTY  AVERAGE AGE OF SOLDIER WAS  DAILY NEWS COVERAGE (TELEVISION)  MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY (SOLDIERS SURVIVED WOUNDS)  NO FRONT LINES/ COULDN’T IDENTIFY ENEMY  NO DEBRIEFING (DOWNTIME)  365 DAY TOUR OF DUTY HOW WAS THIS WAR DIFFERENT?

In May 1968, Roy Benavidez, facing constant enemy fire carried wounded members of his platoon to rescue-helicopters. Benavidez was critically wounded, but he refused to stop gathering survivors and saved the lives of eight men. At first he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, but when the full story became known, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Ronald Reagan in (He died in San Antonio in 1998)

Long Binh

ANALYZE THE WAYS IN WHICH THE VIETNAM WAR HEIGHTENED SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND ECONOMIC TENSIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. FOCUS YOUR ANSWER ON THE PERIOD 1964 TO SOCIALPOLITICAL ECONOMIC