CHAPTER 17 THE VIETNAM WAR. A DIFFERENT WAR No compelling US interest other than containing communism New Technology - very one sided at the beginning.

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THEVIETNAMWAR

A DIFFERENT WAR

• No compelling US interest other than containing communism

• New Technology - very one sided at the beginning

• Age of soldiers

• No “FRONT LINES” or area of retreat/relaxation

• U.S. soldiers were never sure who was an ally/enemy

• Guerilla Warfare used VERY WELL

• Unpopular War – both in Vietnam and in United States

• TV War – 1st war broadcast into homes of people in the US

• Political War – battle decisions made by politicians not generals/military

GOING TO WAR IN VIETNAM

American Involvement in VietnamThe Growth of Vietnamese Nationalism

* Decades of foreign occupation

* Nationalism meant wanting to control their own future/destiny

* 1930’s – new leader, Ho Chi Minh (communist), will lead peoples’ uprising

* After WW2 – hoped French would stay away and let Vietnam run itself

America Aids the French

* French troops return, Ho Chi Minh leads peoples’ uprising

* As fighting (& costs) increases, France asked US for aid/help

* China’s and North Korea’s fall to communism pushed US involvement

* DOMINO THEORY – Eisenhower feared communist gains in Asia

Defeat at Diem Bien Phu

* Guerrilla victory at Diem Bien Phu (cost & casualties high) forced France to make peace

* Soon France leaves Vietnam – America left to stop the spread of communism

GENEVA ACCORDS

Negotiations to end the conflict were held in Geneva, Switzerland

OUTCOME:

* Temporary division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel

** Ho Chi Minh would control the North – operate communist government

** Ngo Dinh Diem would control the South – operate democratic government

** US became protector of Diem’s South Vietnamese government

* Elections to be held in 1956 – allow the Vietnam people decide which leader

and type of government they wanted

** Country would reunite under whichever leader/government people chose

** Fearing Ho Chi Minh would win, Diem refused to hold elections

** US (Eisenhower) backed Diem and sent in more troops

AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT DEEPENS

After Diem cancelled elections, Ho Chi Mihn began armed struggle to reunite Vietnam

Kennedy Takes Over – JFK continued to support S.V, believing it essential to fight communism

* Number of US troops goes from 2,000 to 15, 000

Overthrow of Diem – Diem hugely unpopular in S.V. (discrimination against Buddhism, corruption)

* Buddhist monk protest – self immolation

* US learned SV generals planning coup – US supported – Diem overthrown/executed

Johnson & Vietnam – didn’t want to be the president who lost to communism

* Gulf of Tonkin – attack reported – Congress authorizes JBL to do whatever necessary to win

* After attack on US advisors, LBJ authorized bombing of North Vietnam

* 1st ground troops sent into Vietnam

A BLOODY STALEMATE

* By the end of 1965 – 180,000 US combat troops on the ground in Vietnam

* By the end of 1966 – More than 360,000 troops fighting in the Vietnam War

• The Viet Cong, Viet Minh and North Vietnamese Army used GUERILLA WARFARE• Ambushes, booby traps, tunnels, Ho Chi Minh Trail

• US frustrated because the North’s fighters could blend in with the people of S.V.

• SEARCH AND DESTROY – US troops countered by bombing positions, destroying supply lines within Vietnam• Used AGENT ORANGE and NAPALM to clear out lush forests• US underestimated the strength of their opposition

HO CHI MINH TRAIL

* Used by NVC, NVA, VM to move troops, supplies

to points of battle in South Vietnam

* NVC, NVA, VM received aid, weapons from the

USSR and China

* Trail went thru Laos and Cambodia

* US troops not allowed to enter other countries

* Political limitations meant US troops could not go

on the attack. It became a war of attrition

* Bombing by American planes will kill 1,000’s of

Vietnamese, becomes very unpopular

* The hope of a quick victory was long gone

* People back home began to question U.S.’s

involvement in the war

ANTI WAR MOVEMENT EMERGES

* Early on, most Americans approved of US policy in Vietnam (66%)

• Support will decrease as war drags on• MEDIA• CREDIBILITY GAP• CONGRESSIONAL RESISTANCE

• Teach-Ins begin• University professors/students• National Teach-In Day

• Reasons for opposition varied• Vietnam’s Civil War – none of our business• Diem’s gov’t was corrupt/immoral – US should not support

ANGER AT THE DRAFT

DRAFT – involuntary conscription into the military (most who served in Vietnam were volunteers)

Unpopular – many young men DID NOT want to go to fight in this war

* not good enough reason

* protests – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) 20,000 march on DC

Unfair – method of drafting was questioned

* College deferment (favored the wealthy)

* Draftees were more likely to be assigned to combat units (higher death rate)

Disproportionately working class/poor, minorities went to war

* Minorities were more likely to be placed in combat units (higher death rate)

ANGER AT THE DRAFT

Martin Luther King Jr spoke out against war because he believed the poor were paying the price for the unpopular government policy

As the war escalated, more soldiers needed, bigger draft calls

* 500,000 will refuse to go when drafted (“draft dodgers”)

* Gov’t will prosecute 3,000

* Many protested, many fled

* Draft changed to a “Lottery System”

26th Amendment - ratified in 1971

* If young men were old enough to draft , they were old enough to vote

* Voting age lowered to 18

HAWKS AND DOVES

There was a struggle within the US government over the Vietnam policy

* President Johnson remained determined to win in Vietnam

(he did not want to be the president that lost to communism)

* LBJ called his critics “selfish men who want to advance their own interests

* LBJ frowned upon the college protesters

HAWKS: people who believed the US needed to continue to fight in Vietnam and against communism

DOVES: people who wanted the US to leave Vietnam

Many debates over policy as the war went on

1968 - A PIVOTAL YEAR

• Tet Offensive – January - VC, NVA launched a massive surprise attack• Guerrilla fighters hit most American bases in SV and most major cities• VC blasted its way into the American Embassy in Saigon• US/SV pushed back to Saigon, held their ground, then began to push back• American people were shocked that the US military could be caught to off

guard and be on the verge of defeat• For the first time, the idea the US could lose became a reality

• Johnson Leaves the Race - March - • Both Johnson and the war were hugely unpopular in ‘68• Anti-War candidates Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy ran against LBJ• Democratic Party deeply divided• In March of ‘68, Johnson announced he would not run for President again

1968

• A Season of Violence• April 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr assassinated in Memphis, TN• June 5, 1968 - Robert Kennedy assassinated in CA• Protests against the war had begun to turn violet• August 1968 – Democratic Convention in Chicago turned violent

• Nixon Wins the Presidency• Hubert Humphrey ran against Richard Nixon in 1968 Pres. Election• George Wallace, a segregationist, also ran as a third party• Nixon’s campaign was end the war (peace with honor), law and

order• Humphrey’s strong anti-war stance won him many supporters• Nixon won a close election of the people (won big in electoral

college)

NIXON MOVES TO END THE WAR

• Nixon appoint Henry Kissinger. Plan was to improve relations with China and the USSR, wanted to persuade them to decrease their support of North Vietnam and the war (LINKAGE)

• Kissinger also began meeting secretly with a representative of North Vietnam

• Nixon’s policy in Vietnam became known as VIETNAMIZATION• Gradually replacing US troops with well trained SV troops

• At the same time, Nixon increased bombing and secretly began bombing Cambodia (HO CHI MINH TRAIL)

TURMOIL AT HOME

• My Lai Massacre – US platoon (Lt. Calley) – civilians massacred in village thought to be meeting place of VM, VC, NVA• Media discovered village before military could cover it up• Calley eventually went to prison for his role in event

• April ‘70 – Nixon announce US troops in Cambodia

• Kent State – protests at most college campuses• May 70 – Protest at Kent State turned violent• After ROTC buildings had been burned on other campuses,

National Guard called out• As student surged, National Guard fired tear gas and then

shot bullets into the crowds of students, killing 4• Days later, 2 students killed on the campus of Jackson State

in Miss.

TURMOIL AT HOME

• Congress, angry about the violence both at home and in Vietnam acted• December 1970 – repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution• Tried to set laws/rules for campus engagements

• Pentagon Papers – ’71• Defense Department employee leaked story to the New York Times• U.S. Government went to court to try to block publication “National Security”• Documents showed decisions to expand the war and that the

casualty reports were grossly underreported• Americans, once again, realized their government was trying to

deceive them, level of trust at an all time low

THE UNITED STATES PULLS OUT

• As 1972’s elections approached, Americans wanted out of Vietnam

• Nixon faced George McGovern (anti-war) in presidential election

• Just before election, Kissinger announced peace deal “Peace is at hand”

• Nixon won in a landslide (WATERGATE)

• Negotiations broke down shortly after the elections, US resumed bombing

• 11 straight days of heavy bombing – North Vietnam resumed negotiations

• Jan ‘73 – Agreement signed to end the conflict• US promised to withdraw troops• Both sides agreed to exchange prisoners of war• “Peace with Honor”

THE DOMINO EFFECT

• Peace did not last

• 1975• Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge (communist – tyrannical

dictatorship)• North Vietnam invaded the South • Congress refused funds to aid the South Vietnamese

government/people• April ‘75 – Vietnam falls to communism (Saigon renamed Ho

Chi Minh City)• Communists take over Laos after fall of Saigon• As predicted – the domino theory came true

LEGACY OF VIETNAM

• Human Toll• $173 BILLION in direct costs• 58,000+ Americans died, more than 300,000 injured• 1 MILLION North and South Vietnamese soldiers killed• 1 MILLION civilians killed in the crossfire• Often, returning soldiers had great difficulty adjusting to life in at home• US treated returning soldiers poorly, soldiers not recognized for service• POW/MIA’s (over 2,000) families wanted answers, got none• 1982 – US Vietnam Memorial opens in Washington DC

• Toll on our nation•War Powers Act – Congressional control over Presidential use of

force• President CAN commit troops but must inform Congress within 48 hours• Must either withdraw troops or ask Congress permission within 90 days

• America’s cynicism about their government still exists today