22 - 5 the End ofhjf the War and Its Legacy

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The End of the War and Its Legacy

Chapter 22 Section 5

Nixon and Vietnam

1969 Nixon announced the first U.S troop removal from Vietnam.

One of the nightmares is war without end

As Nixon pulled troops out he continued the war.

The war without end continued for several more years.

Vietcongs Proposal

The North had no intention of giving into these demands.

They demanded that US troops withdraw from Vietnam.

And that the Thieu government steps down and allows a coalition of Vietcong to replace it.

Negotiations Begins

As Nixon settled into the white house peace talks were going nowhere.

The US and south Vietnam insisted that all North Vietnamese withdraw from the south.

Along with this the North must agree too let the South current government, Nguyen Van Thieu remain in power.

Henry Kissinger and Vietnamization

Henry Kissinger was the National Security Advisor under Nixon.

Kissinger was a German emigrant, earned three degrees from Harvard,

and was an expert on international relations.

Nixon relied heavily on Kissinger opinion to end the war.

Together they developed a plan known as vietnamization.

This called for the gradual removal of US troops from South Vietnam

Encourage the South Vietnam soldiers to take a more active role in the war.

Peace With Honor

Another part of Vietnamization was peace with honor

Nixon secretly ordered massive bombing raids against supply routes and bases in North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Nixon intended to keep the dignity of the US while withdrawing from the war.

He wanted to uphold the US power at the negotiations as well.

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Trouble at Home

Nixon sought to win support for his war policies, he appealed to the silent majority.

Moderate and mainstream Americans who quietly supported US efforts in Vietnam.

Many Americans already supported the president but events in the war continued to divide the country.

The My Lai massacre did not help.

MY LAI Massacre

November of 1969 New York Times printed the story that shocked the country.

March 16, 1968 a US platoon under command of Lt. William Calley Jr. had massacred the civilians of My Lai village.

They were searching for Vietcong rebels. Finding none they rounded up the villagers and killed 200

innocent Vietnamese. The troops insisted they were only following Calleys orders. When the Lt. was asked directly he said he was to Kill

anything that breathed. Calley was convicted and imprisoned for this heinous crime.

Cambodia

Despite the news of the My Lai massacre the country seem to be unhindered in 1970.

On April 30, 1970 Nixon announced that US troops invaded Cambodia to wipe out Vietcong supply centers.

Hearing this the countries youth struck up in protest.

Over 1.5 million students went on strike and shut down over 1,200 campuses.

This became the first general student strike in the nations history.

Nixon Loses Support

Nixon and Kissingers Cambodia policy cost the president significant support.

By attacking Cambodia without even notifying congress Nixon sparked anger on Capitol Hill.

December 31, 1970 congress revoked the Tonkin Gulf Act.

This act gave the president near independence in the Vietnam conflict.

It became worst when former Defense apartment work leaked what became known as the pentagon papers.

The Pentagon Papers

A 7000-page document, written for Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, revealed that the government planned to enter war even as LBJ promised not send troops to Vietnam.

It also revealed no plan to end the war as long as North Vietnam persisted.

For many this concluded that the government was not honest about the war true intentions.

The War Comes to a Close

1972 North Vietnam launched its largest assault since the Tet offensive in 1968.

Nixon responded by ordering massive bomber raids on North Vietnamese cities.

He also ordered mines to be placed in Haiphong harbor, where Soviet and Chinese brought supplies.

The assault ended but the warring nations were still in a bitter stalemate.

After this the Nixon Administration began the final steps to end Americas involvement in Vietnam.

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Kent State University

Kent State was one of the hundreds of campus shut down by student protest.

But this one took on a violent nature when the ROTC building was burned down.

In response the mayor called the National guard to quell the protest.

On May 4, 1970 Guards fired live ammo into a crowd.

Wounding 9 people and killed 4.

10 days later at Jackson State 12 students were injured and 2 killed.

In polls taken following these events, Americans actually supported the National Guard.

Nixon Moves for Peace

By 1972 60% of the American public wanted to withdraw from war by the end of the year.

With the upcoming election the Nixon Administration changed its negotiation policies.

Kissinger was the top negotiator for the United States, and had been secretly meeting with Le Duc Tho, North Vietnams chief negotiator, since 1969.

Kissinger dropped his proposal that North Vietnam should withdraw before the US did.

Days before the election Kissinger announced that peace is at hand.

Elusive Peace

Nixon won reelection but peace was nowhere to be seen.

South Vietnam refused Kissingers proposal, that north Vietnam troops would still be stationed in south Vietnam.

Talks broke off on December 16, two days later the president ordered brutal bombing raids on Hanoi and Haiphong.

This became known as the Christmas bombings, 11 days of consistent bombing pausing only on Christmas day.

Nations Seek Peace

After the Christmas bombings everyone wanted this war to end.

From Moscow, Beijing, to the halls of Congress they have grown weary of war.

Talks began again and on January 27, 1973 a peace agreement was made in Paris.

March 29,1973 the last US troops left Vietnam soil.

The War Continues

Within months of the US departure the cease fire agreement between North and South Vietnam shattered.

In March of 1975 North Vietnam launched a full assault.

Thieu begged the US for aid. The US agreed to send economic aid but refused to send troops.

On April 30, 1975 North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon and the South surrendered.

A Painful Legacy

The war cost a terrible price from its participants.

58,000 troops were killed and 303,000 wounded.

North and South Vietnamese deaths topped 2 million.

The war left Southwest Asia highly unstable and lead to future war in Cambodia.

It also cost many Americans to have a cautious outlook on foreign affairs and a more skeptical outlook towards the government.

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Veterans Cope With Home

Families welcomed their sons and husbands home with open arms, but the nation as a whole had little sympathy for the veterans.

There were no welcoming parties, no parades, no support. Only indifference.

Some even experienced hostility from other Americans.

Post-Traumatic Stress

Many veterans were able to readjust to normal life, but about 15% of them developed post-traumatic stress.

Some had reoccurring nightmares of their war experiences, suffered from severe headaches, and memory lapses.

Many turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with this disorder.

Thousands even committed suicide.

Hoping to honor the men and women of the war the government unveiled the Vietnam Memorial.

Many found a trip to this memorial mentally and spiritually healing.

Vietnams Legacy

Ever since the war ended it remained a great controversy for Americans.

Many hawks thought it could have been won with more military power.

Others believed that increased military force would only continue the stalemate. And might have prompted the Soviets and Chinese to enter.

Turmoil in Southeast Asia

In unifying Vietnam the communist of North Vietnam held a hand out to South Vietnam saying they had nothing to fear.

But they soon imprisoned 400,000 South Vietnamese in reeducation camps.

As Communist spread their influence 1.5 million people fled Vietnam.

From civilian supporters of the US to business men they fled in droves.

Along with them large groups of the poor, known as boat people, fled on freighters, barges, and large row boats.

Many of these boat people meant in tragedy.

Cambodia also entered into a deadly civil war in which the communist power, under Pol Pot, gained power in 1975.

U.S. Policy Changes

The war caused several major changes to US policy.

First the government abolished the draft that caused antiwar sentiment.

They also started making steps to lessen the presidents war making powers.

November 1973 congress passed the War Powers Act.

The president must in form Congress within 48 hours of sending forces into hostile areas without a declaration of war, and those forces can only stay for 90 days without Congress approval.

It also changed the view on foreign affairs. What is known as Vietnam Syndrome Americans now paused and looked at possible risk to their own interests.

Finally many Americans lost their trust for the government that persist today.