1. Overview of the Vietnam War

2. Colonial Roots of Vietnam
1850s-1940s: French colony (Indochina—Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)
WWII: invaded by Japan
After WWII: France tries to retake Indochina w/U.S. help ( )
France abandons Vietnam after defeat at Dienbienphu

3. U.S. Involvement/Goals Truman supports “containment” of communism
Domino theory in region—1954 Eisenhower
Geneva Accords—Vietnam independence from France, splits in 2, U.S. takes France’s place

4. North Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh
Communist
Vietminh (political party of independence)
South Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem
Republic of Vietnam (some Vietminh)
Supported by U.S.
Vietcong (communist group just in South)

5. Vietnamese “Insurgents” Advantages
View war as struggle for independence against foreign invaders
Knew terrain & people
Were more willing to be patient and sustain high casualties
Need to fight only to a stalemate

6. Escalation of “Conflict”
1964—Tonkin Gulf Resolution—no war declared, troops sent
Pres. Johnson escalates war
1965-1st sustained bombing of North Vietnam
1965-Anti-war protests begin

7. - Operation Rolling Thunder - Winning the “Hearts & Minds” of the South Vietnamese - Role of the Media -‘It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.” -Johnson’s “Credibility gap”

8. LBJ &
“Credibility Gap”

9. The New Left Young radical political activists
Free Speech Movement (1964)
Pursued the rights of students to engage in political activity (UC Berkeley and SF State)
Anti-War Cause
Used “teach ins” to discuss the moral political aspects of the Vietnam War (University of Michigan)
Protested end of automatic deferments in 1966
Draft card burnings/Draft evasion
Counter-Culture/Hippies differ from New Left, though lines between 2 blurred

10. The Downfall: 1968 January: Tet Offensive Feb: My Lai Massacre
March: LBJ decides not to seek re-election
April: MLK assassinated
June: RFK assassinated
August: Riots at Dem. Convention
November: Nixon elected president

11. 1968 Election Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy & Hubert Humphrey
all vie for Democratic Nomination after LBJ
pulls out unexpectedly

12. ’68 Chicago Democratic Convention

13. Republican Richard Nixon triumphs with promises of “Peace With Honor” & appeals to the “Silent Majority”
Conservative backlash to “Tumult” of the 1960s
“New Federalism”

14. Vietnam War Under Nixon
1969: Nixon—policy of Vietnamization
1969: Lottery Draft System
1970: Secret Bombing of Cambodia (1971-Laos)
1970: Kent State Massacre

15. End of the War 1971: Pentagon Papers 1971: Voting Age=18
1973: Troops Withdraw & War Powers Act Passed
1975: Fall of Saigon
1977— draft dodgers pardoned; draft ends

17. Vietnam War Totals Longest war in U.S. history
indirect involvement of intelligence and $ ( )
direct military involvement in
$140 billion spent on war
58,000 American troops killed, 365,000 wounded
Vietnamese totals: 1.5 million killed
Presidents involved: Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon