1. UNIT 10 Chapter 31 – THE VIETNAM WAR

2. Section 2: Fighting the War
America: Pathways to the Present
Chapter 31: The Vietnam War (1954–1975)
Section 1: War Unfolds
Section 2: Fighting the War
Section 3: Political Divisions
Section 4: The End of the War

3. Presidents of the United States
#21 - …
Chester A. Arthur; Republican (1881)
Grover Cleveland; Democrat (1884)
Benjamin Harrison; Republican (1888)
Grover Cleveland; Democrat (1892)
William McKinley; Republican (1896)
Theodore Roosevelt; Republican (1901)
William Howard Taft; Republican (1908)
Woodrow Wilson; Democrat (1912)
Warren G. Harding; Republican (1920)
Calvin Coolidge; Republican (1923)
Herbert Hoover; Republican (1928)
Franklin D. Roosevelt; Democrat (1932)
Harry S. Truman; Democrat (1945)
Dwight D. Eisenhower; Republican (1952)
John F. Kennedy; Democrat (1960)
Lyndon B. Johnson; Democrat (1963)
George Washington; Federalist (1788)
John Adams; Federalist (1796)
Thomas Jefferson (1800)
James Madison (1808)
James Monroe (1816)
John Quincy Adams (1824)
Andrew Jackson; Democrat (1828)
Martin Van Buren; Democrat (1836)
William Henry Harrison; Whig (1840)
John Tyler; Whig (1841)
James K. Polk; Democrat (1844)
Zachary Taylor; Whig (1848)
Millard Fillmore; Whig (1850)
Franklin Pierce; Democrat (1852)
James Buchanan; Democrat (1856)
Abraham Lincoln; Republican (1860)
Andrew Johnson; Democrat (1865)
Ulysses S. Grant; Republican (1868)
Rutherford B. Hayes; Republican (1876)
James Garfield; Republican (1880)

4. UNIT OBJECTIVES
CORE OBJECTIVE: Examine the causes, effects, and impact of the Vietnam War
Objective 10.2: Describe the course of the war and how the Tet Offensive was a turning point.

5. Chapter 31 SECTION 2 FIGHTING THE WAR
The violence and brutality of the Vietnam War affected civilians as well as soldiers

6. Battlefield Conditions
American Troops
Had superior weapons
Were unprepared for heat, terrain, or guerrilla tactics
Lacked support of most South Vietnamese
Most never saw the enemy but constantly faced the possibility of sudden danger.
Viet Cong Advantages
Fought as guerrillas; avoided head-on clashes
Were familiar with terrain; had support of many South Vietnamese
Built and hid in underground tunnels
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7. The Ground War
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Traps & pits were a major weapon in Vietnam. Viet Cong landmines killed and wounded both American GIs and Vietnamese civilians.
Land mines: devices which can be set off by the pressure of a footstep – were a major weapon of the Viet Cong.

8. The Air War
American B-52 bomber planes dropped thousands of explosives, resulting in saturation bombing, which is bombing a wide area
Fragmentation Bombs threw pieces of their thick metal casings in all directions when they exploded.
Fragmentation bombs, dropped by Americans over both North and South Vietnam, killed and maimed countless civilians.
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9. CHEMICAL War
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American pilots dropped an herbicide called Agent Orange over Vietnamese jungles to kill vegetation and exposed hiding places.
Video “Agent Orange”:
It was later discovered to cause health problems in livestock and humans.
Another chemical weapon, napalm, was a jellylike substance dropped from planes & burned victims severely.

10. ESCALATION
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After 1964, President Johnson began a gradual escalation, or expansion of the war.
The number of American soldiers stationed in Vietnam rose from about 25,000 at the beginning of 1965 to nearly 536,000 by the end of 1968.
Originally, American soldiers had been sent to advise the South Vietnamese; now their task was to prop up a failing South Vietnamese government led by Nguyen Cao Ky.
Despite the large buildup of American troops, between 1965 and 1967 the war was at a stalemate.
Within the United States, debate raged between hawks, those who supported the war, and doves, those who did not.

11. The SUPPLY Trail
North Vietnamese troops and supplies entered South Vietnam via the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a route that passed through Laos and Cambodia.
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12. The Tet Offensive
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On January 30, 1968, the Viet Cong launched a major offensive called the Tet Offensive (it occurred during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year)
My Lai Massacre
Both sides committed atrocities. Communists killed anyone labeled an enemy
Americans massacred hundreds of civilians at My Lai, a small village in South Vietnam.
A helicopter crew that stopped the massacre was later rewarded, and the officer who had ordered it was imprisoned.
Because Americans now knew that the Viet Cong could launch massive attacks, and because no end to the war was in sight, the Tet Offensive proved to be a major psychological victory for the Viet Cong and a turning point in the war.

13. Fighting the War—Assessment
Which of the following proved to be an advantage for the Viet Cong?
(A) Familiarity with Vietnam’s weather and terrain
(B) Possession of Agent Orange
(C) American military support
(D) Superior weapons technology
What made the Tet Offensive a turning point in the war?
(A) It took place in South Vietnam.
(B) It resulted in massive casualties.
(C) It made Americans question their involvement in Vietnam.
(D) It was unusually brutal.

14. Fighting the War—Assessment
Which of the following proved to be an advantage for the Viet Cong?
(A) Familiarity with Vietnam’s weather and terrain
(B) Possession of Agent Orange
(C) American military support
(D) Superior weapons technology
What made the Tet Offensive a turning point in the war?
(A) It took place in South Vietnam.
(B) It resulted in massive casualties.
(C) It made Americans question their involvement in Vietnam.
(D) It was unusually brutal.