1. What was the impact of the ‘Vietnam War’ on US society?
LOs:
1. To identify reasons for US involvement, escalation and failure in Vietnam
2. To explain the impact of Vietnam on US society, economically, socially and politically
3. To explain the role of Vietnam in creating a ‘counter-culture’ and therefore conservative reaction (enter Nixon)

2. Where is ‘nam’?

3. USSR – the original communist enemies CHINA – became communist in 1950
NORTH KOREA – became communist after Korean War in 1954
VIETNAM – split into North (communist) & South (capitalist) in 1950’s, started fighting in 1960’s
Lots of countries including Indonesia, Philippines & Australia

4. Line up 8 dominoes in a row, and then knock them down…the result of this will be pretty obvious.
Line them up exactly the same, but this time use your fingers to hold onto one of the middle dominoes…what happens this time? (Again, quite obvious!)

6. Task one 1. Read the information sheet.
2. Why did American involvement in Vietnam escalate?
Challenge - Despite having more technology and more resources than the Viet Cong, the Americans lost the war. WHY??

7. Discuss: Despite having more technology and more resources than the Viet Cong, the Americans lost the war. How do you think this happened? Discuss and jot down your ideas.
Defeat unthinkable – confidence of US – compare to Iraq and Afghanistan
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8. Task two: 1) Draw the table below 2) In pairs, read about American tactics OR the Viet Cong and fill in your column. Aim to write down at least 3 tactics in your column. 3) Swap ideas to complete the table.
Reasons for defeat in Vietnam
Tactics used by the Americans
Tactics used by the Viet Cong
Challenge: Why would this war be so controversial amongst the American public.

9. Who fought for the USA?
During the Vietnam War, about two-third of American troops were volunteered, the rest were selected for military service through the drafts.
In the beginning of the war, the names of all American men in draft-age were collected by the Selective Service. When someone’s name was called, he had to report to his local draft broad, which was made up of various community members, so that they could begin to evaluate and decide who went.
In other words, local draft broads had an enormous power to decide who had to go and who would stay.
Most of U.S. soldiers drafted during the Vietnam War were men from poor and working-class families. The least political power sections were mistreated.
American forces in Vietnam included twenty-five percent poor, fifty-five percent working-class, twenty percent middle-class men, but very few came from upper-classes families.
Many soldiers came from rural towns and farming communities.

10. Task three
1. Read the sources and cards about the impact of Vietnam on US society.
2. Suggest at least three ways in which this would have affected US society?
Challenge: Which aspect of the war would be most controversial?

22. “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?”

23. HW Task
Use pages to give examples of the impact of the Vietnam War on the following:
Politics
The economy
Human cost
Student protests and counter-culture
Conservative reactions (to protests)
Challenge: How far did Vietnam divide society?