1. U.S. History Monday: May 11th
Bellringer: What was the “Tet Offensive” and how did it impact the Vietnam “War” (conflict)?
Today I can identify the impact of the Vietnam War and the lasting impacts of the conflict.

2. Vietnam: the Tet Offensive
Finish video

3. Impact of the Tet Offensive
Domestic U.S. Reaction: Disbelief, Anger, Distrust of Johnson Administration
Seen as an American defeat

4. #1.

5. Public Opinion of the War
HAWKS
DOVES
People who supported the war’s goals.
Wanted more troops and more bombings in order to win.
WE MUST WIN!
People who opposed the war.
Don’t know why we are there
Protest the war
College Campuses
War Costs too much
Destroying the people and society
Too many American lives lost

6. #2.

7. President Nixon and Vietnamization, 1969-1975
Nixon’s plan for the gradual withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam
“We have to get rid of the nightmares we inherited. One of the nightmares is a war without end.”
By 1972, American soldiers in Vietnam was less than 25,000

8. Pentagon Papers
7,000 page document prepared for Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. It revealed plans that the government was making plans for entering the war in Vietnam even as President Johnson promised not to send American troops to Vietnam
Confirms Americans distrust of the government

9. The End of the War
After years of negotiations, on January 27, 1973 the U.S. signed an agreement ending the war
North Vietnamese troops would remain in South Vietnam
March 29, 1973 the last of American combat forces left Vietnam

10. End of the War cont.
Within months of the peace agreement, the cease-fire agreement between North and South Vietnam collapsed
In March of 1975, North Vietnam launched a full scale attack on South Vietnam
Within a month, Saigon fell to North Vietnam and South Vietnam surrendered

11. Legacy of the War
58,000 U.S. soldiers died
365,000 wounded
15% of the 3.3 million soldiers returned home with delayed stress syndrome
War Powers Act- President must inform Congress within 48 hours if U.S. forces are sent into a hostile area without a declaration of war. In addition, the troops cannot remain there for more than 90 days without Congressional approval or a declaration of war
Reverses the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

12. Lasting Impacts (Effects)
Hesitant to send in troops overseas again.
American public does not trust the government any more.
“Vietnamization” fails…
The Media will play a major role in shaping public opinion any military conflict from this time forward.
Not just guns and strength…you must win the “hearts and minds” of the people to win a war.