Chapter 12 Lesson 1 The Vietnam War Years

 While many groups were trying to win better treatment and equal rights, President Johnson was working on his plan to better America.  His plan was called the Great Society.

The Vietnam War  Like Korea, Vietnam was divided into two countries after World War II.  North Vietnam- Communist  South Vietnam- Republic

 In the late 1950s, South Vietnamese communists, called the Vietcong, tried to take over South Vietnam. North Vietnam helped them. The United States sent money, supplies, and soldiers to help South Vietnam.The United States sent money, supplies, and soldiers to help South Vietnam.

 By 1963, the Vietcong were winning the war.  In 1964, a North Vietnamese gunboat attacked a United States Navy ship. This caused the U.S. to send more soldiers to Vietnam.

 When the U.S. and the South Vietnamese troops failed to win quickly, the U.S. sent war planes to bomb North Vietnam.  We also sent more troops!

By 1968, the U.S. had more than 500,000 troops in Vietnam.

 The Vietnam War was now costing the U.S. billions of dollars each year.  Despite what President Johnson believed, the U.S. could not afford to finance the war and his Great Society programs.

 To pay for both, the government had to borrow a lot of money.  The borrowing led to inflation, which hurt our economy.

Citizens are Divided The Vietnam War divided the American people. Hawks- supported the war Doves- wanted the war to end

 The number of United States troops killed in Vietnam was now well into the thousands.  People at home began to have protests to show their support for ending the war.  Many people moved to Canada so they could not be drafted and sent to fight

 Many Americans were unhappy with President Johnson.  He announced he would not run for President again.

A New President  “I’m going to end that war-fast”  Richard Nixon

Kent State University  Kent State is a university in Ohio.  During a protest in 1970, four students died.

 Richard Nixon’s plan for ending the war involved training the South Vietnam troops to protect themselves better.  That way, they could fight for themselves and the U.S. troops could come home.

Improved Relations  In 1972, President Nixon visited China.  The U.S. had not been friendly with China since 1949 when they became communist.  After the visit, the U.S. and China agreed to begin trading with each other.

 Three months later, President Nixon visited the Soviet Union.  The U.S. and the Soviets also agreed to begin trading and limit their amount of weapons.

Watergate  During the 1972 elections, some people working to help Nixon win broke into a Democratic office building to steal secrets.  President Nixon found out and tried to cover it up.

 When the American people found out that he had lied, they were very upset.  President Nixon was forced to resign.  Vice President Gerald Ford became the President.

The War Ends  In 1973, before Nixon left office, the last American troops left Vietnam.  However, once they left, fighting broke out again in Vietnam.  Without the help of the U.S., South Vietnam was forced to surrender.

 On Veteran’s Day, 1982, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. was opened to visitors.  The wall lists the names of over 58,000 people who lost their lives in Vietnam.