1. The Vietnam War Years

2. America Supports France
French Rule in Vietnam
Late 1800s – WWII: France rules most of Indochina
Ho Chi Minh: Leader of the Vietnamese independence movement
Helps to create the Indochinese Communist Party
1940: Japanese take control of Vietnam
Vietminh: Organization that aims to rid Vietnam of foreign rulers
September 1945: Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam an independent nation

3. America Supports France
French Battle the Vietminh
French troops move into Vietnam
Fight to regain cities in the South
1950: US begins economic aid to France in an effort to stop the spread of communism
Vietminh Drive Out the French
1954: Vietminh overrun the French at Dien Bien Phu
France surrenders
The Geneva Accords divide Vietnam at the 17th Parallel
Election to unify the country scheduled for 1956

4. THE US Steps in Diem Cancels Elections
Ho Chi Minh won popular support in the North by breaking up large estates & redistributing land to the peasants
South Vietnam’s anti-communist president – Ngo Dinh Diem – refuses to participate in the election
US promises military aid & training in return for a stable government in the South
Diem is corrupt, stifles opposition, & restricts Buddhism
1957: Vietcong – a Communist opposition group in the South – kills government officials
1959: Ho Chi Minh sends arms to the Vietcong along the Ho Chi Minh Trail

5. THE US Steps in Kennedy & Vietnam
Like Eisenhower, Kennedy backs Diem financially & sends military advisors
Diem’s popularity plummets due to corruption & the lack of land reform
Starts a strategic hamlet program to fight the Vietcong
Continues attacks on Buddhism – monks burn themselves in protest
November 1963: US supported military coup topples the government
Diem is assassinated

6. THE US Steps in

7. LBJ Expands the Conflict
The South Grows More Unstable
A succession of military rulers take control in the South
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
In response to an alleged attack on the USS Maddox, LBJ asks for increased military powers
1964: Tonkin Gulf Resolution gives the president a “blank check”
February 1965: Operation Rolling Thunder orders sustained bombing of the North
March 1965: US combat troops enter Vietnam

8. LBJ Expands the Conflict

9. LBJ Increases US Involvement
Troop Build Up Escalates
LBJ’s advisors encourage troop build up
Sec of Defense – Robert McNamara
Sec of State – Dean Rusk
The majority of Americans support LBJ’s early Vietnam policies
Late 1965: General William Westmoreland – US commander in South Vietnam
Thinks the Southern Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) is ineffective
Requests increasing numbers of American troops

10. LBJ Increases US Involvement

11. Fighting in the Jungle An Elusive Enemy A Frustrating War of Attrition
Vietcong use hit-&-run, ambush tactics & move among civilians
Use tunnels to help withstand airstrikes, launch attacks, & connect villages
Lace the terrain with booby traps & land mines
A Frustrating War of Attrition
Westmoreland tries to destroy Vietcong morale through attrition
Vietcong receive supplies from China & the USSR – remain defiant
US sees the war as a military struggle – the Vietcong view it as a battle for survival

12. Fighting in the Jungle The Battle for “Hearts & Minds”
The US wants to stop the Vietcong from winning the support of the rural population
Weapons for exposing tunnels often wound civilians & destroy villages
Napalm: A Gasoline-based bomb that sets fire to the jungle
Agent Orange: A leaf-killing, toxic chemical
Search & destroy missions move civilians & destroy property
Forces villagers into the cities & refugee camps
By 1967, there are over 3 million Vietnamese refugees

13. Fighting in the Jungle Sinking Morale Fulfilling a Duty
Guerilla warfare, jungle conditions, & lack of progress work to lower US morale
Many soldiers turn to alcohol & drugs for relief
Fulfilling a Duty
Most US soldiers believe there is justice in halting the spread of communism
Fight courageously

14. The Early War at home The Great Society Suffers The Living Room War
The war grows more costly as troops numbers increase
LBJ gets a tax increase to help pay for the war & check inflation
He must accept a $6 billion funding cut for his Great Society programs
The Living Room War
Combat footage on nightly TV news shows the stark picture of war
Critics talk of a credibility gap between the administration’s reports and events on the ground
Senator J. William Fulbright’s hearings add to doubts about the war

15. The Early War at home

16. The Working Class goes to war
A “Manipulatable” Draft
The Selective Service System, draft, calls men to military service
Thousands look for ways to avoid the draft
Many – mostly white & affluent – get college deferments
80% of US soldiers come from lower economic levels

17. The working class goes to war
African Americans in Vietnam
African Americans serve in disproportionate numbers in ground combat
The Defense Department corrects the problem by instituting the draft lottery in 1969
Racial tensions were high in many platoons – added to low troop morale
Women Join the Ranks
More than 10,000 women volunteer to serve in Vietnam – mostly as military nurses

18. The roots of opposition
The New Left
New Left: Youth movement of the 1960s
Includes the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) & the Free Speech Movement (FSM)
Critical of big business & government
Want greater individual freedoms
Campus Activism
New Left ideas are popular on college campuses
Students protest a variety of issues, including the Vietnam War

19. The protest movement emerges
The Movement Grows
1965: Protest marches & rallies draw tens of thousands
1966: Student deferments require good academic standing
SDS calls for civil disobedience
Small numbers of returning veterans protest
Protest songs
From Protest to Resistance
Antiwar demonstrations & protests increase – some become violent
Some men burn their draft cards & refuse to serve, some flee to Canada

20. The protest movement emerges

21. The protest movement emerges
War Divides the Nation
Doves: Strongly oppose the war, believe the US should withdraw
Hawks: Favor sending greater forces to win the war
1967: The majority of Americans support the war & consider the protesters to be disloyal
Johnson Remains Determined
LBJ slow escalation of the war is criticized by both hawks & doves
Combat stalemate leads Defense Secretary McNamara to resign

22. The tet offensive A surprise Attack
1968: Villagers go to the cities to celebrate Tet – Vietnamese new year
The Vietcong hide among the crowds & attack over 100 towns & 12 US air bases
The Tet Offensive lasts 1 month before the US & South Vietnam regain control
General Westmoreland announces that the attacks are a military defeat for the Vietcong

23. The tet Offensive Public Opinion Changes
After the Tet Offensive, fewer Americans support the war
The mainstream media begins to openly criticize the war
LBJ appoints Clifford Clark as the new Secretary of Defense
Concludes the war is unwinnable
LBJ’s popularity drops – 60% disapprove of his handling of the war

24. Days of loss & rage Election of 1968 Violence & Protest
Senator Eugene McCarthy runs for the Democratic nomination as a dove
Senator Robert Kennedy enters the race after LBJ’s poor showing in New Hampshire
March: LBJ announces that he will not seek reelection
Violence & Protest
April: Riots rock over 100 cities after Martin Luther King’s assassination
June: Kennedy is fatally shot after winning the CA primary

25. A Turbulent Race Turmoil in Chicago
Vice president Hubert Humphrey wins the Democratic nomination
Over 100,000 demonstrators go to Chicago
Mayor Richard Daley mobilizes the police & the National Guard
Protestors try to march to the convention – beaten by the police – riots
Convention delegates divided over the Party’s antiwar plank

26. A Turbulent Race

27. A turbulent race Nixon Triumphs
Former vice president Richard Nixon wins the Republican nomination
Promises to restore law & order & to end the war in Vietnam
Governor George Wallace runs as an independent candidate
Champions segregation & states’ rights
Nixon wins the presidency

28. A Turbulent Race

29. Nixon & Vietnamization
The Pullout Begins
President Richard Nixon is disappointed in the negotiations over Vietnam
National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger works on a new plan
Vietnamization – US troops withdraw while South Vietnamese troops take over
“Peace with Honor”
Nixon calls for “peace with honor” to maintain US dignity
Orders the bombing of North Vietnam & Vietcong hideouts in Laos & Cambodia

30. Trouble on the home front
Mainstream America
Silent majority: Moderate, mainstream people who support the war
The My Lai Massacre
News breaks that a US platoon massacred civilians in My Lai village
Lt. William Calley, Jr. is convicted & imprisoned
The Invasion of Cambodia
1970: US troops invade Cambodia to clear out enemy supply centers
1.5 million protesting college students close down 1,200 campuses

31. Trouble on the home front
Violence on Campus
1970: US National Guard kills 4 in a confrontation at Kent State University in Ohio
1970: Guardsmen kill 2 during a confrontation at Jackson State in Mississippi
The Pentagon Papers
Nixon invades Cambodia – Congress repeals the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Pentagon Papers reveal that the government had not been honest about its intentions regarding war
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan: Prohibits prior restraint

32. Trouble on the home front

33. The war ends “Peace is at Hand” The Final Push The Fall of Saigon
1971: 60% think the US should withdraw from Vietnam by the end of the year
1972: US attacks North Vietnam
Kissinger agrees to a complete withdrawal of US troops – “Peace is at hand”
The Final Push
South Vietnam rejects Kissinger’s plan – talks break off & bombing resumes
Congress calls for an end to war – peace is signed in January 1973
The Fall of Saigon
Cease-fire breaks down – South surrenders after the North invades in 1975

34. The war ends

35. A painful legacy American Veterans Cope Further Turmoil in Asia
58,000 Americans & over 2 million Vietnamese die in the war
Returning veterans face indifference & hostility at home
About 15% develop post-traumatic stress disorder
Further Turmoil in Asia
Communists put 400,000 South Vietnamese in labor camps
1.5 million flee the country
Civil war erupts in Cambodia – Khmer Rouge seize power
Hope to establish a peasant society
Kill at least 1 million people

36. A painful legacy The Legacy of Vietnam
US government abolishes the military draft
1973: Congress passes the War Powers Act
President must inform Congress with 48 hours of deploying troops
Congress must approve within 90 days
The war contributes to US cynicism about government & political leaders