Self-Immolation of Buddhist Monk, June 11, 1963.

Self-Immolation of Buddhist Monk, June 11, 1963Self-Immolation of Buddhist Monk, June 11, 1963

America’s most unpopular warCost LBJ his second term to Richard Nixon

America’s longest and most expensive war

Divided America on the homefrontThe best technical war money could buyAmerica hardly ever lost a tactical battle

A war America did not winA war America did not winToday, we are living with the “ghosts of Vietnam”.

Today, we are living with the “ghosts of Vietnam”.

grunts

grunts

tet

dead soldiers

bombing

bombing

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8VB2QEVAc0

Domino Theory-

• If one area falls to communism, areas near it will fall, like dominoes.

• This is taking Containment to the next level.

Domino Theory- In Asia

Communist Expansion“CONTAINMENT”

Communist Expansion“CONTAINMENT”

China1949

Soviet Union1918

Korean War1950 to 1953

Eastern Europe

1946

CONTAINMENT•Marshall Plan•Berlin Airlift

•NATO•Korean War

•Cuban Missile Crisis

•Alliance for Progress

•Peace Corps

Berlin Blockade

1947-8XX

Vietnam War1946 to 1975

US Involvement1965 to 1975

Cuban Missile Crisis *

XX

XX

*Cuba would

remain and still is a

communist country.

Vietnam-1954

• Communist Ho Chi Minh leads a revolution.

• Colonial power France is kicked out of Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh

“You can kill 10 of my men for every one I

kill of yours, yet even at those odds, you will lose and I

will win”

Early Protests of Diem’s Government

Early Protests of Diem’s Government

Self-Emulation by a Buddhist Monk protesting against the brutality of Diem’s government

U.S. Troop Deployments in

Vietnam

U.S. Troop Deployments in

Vietnam

Vietnam-1954

• Very Similar to Korea.

• North Vietnam –Communist (USSR)

• South Vietnam-non Communist(USA)

Vietnam 1960

• 15,000 American troops are put into South Vietnam

•Why are we in South Vietnam? We are there

because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American

President has offered to support the people of

South Vietnam.

•We have helped to build and we have helped to

defend. Thus, over many years, we have made a national pledge to help

South Vietnam defend its independence.

•Why are we in South Vietnam? We are there

because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American

President has offered to support the people of

South Vietnam.

•We have helped to build and we have helped to

defend. Thus, over many years, we have made a national pledge to help

South Vietnam defend its independence.

Lyndon Johnson, Speech at Johns

Hopkins University, "Why are we in South

Vietnam"

Lyndon Johnson, Speech at Johns

Hopkins University, "Why are we in South

Vietnam"

vietnam collage

•I intend to keep our promise. To dishonor that pledge, to abandon this

small and brave nation to its enemy and to the

terror that must follow would be an unforgivable

wrong.

•We are there to strengthen world order.

•I intend to keep our promise. To dishonor that pledge, to abandon this

small and brave nation to its enemy and to the

terror that must follow would be an unforgivable

wrong.

•We are there to strengthen world order.

Lyndon Johnson, Speech at Johns

Hopkins University, "Why are we in South

Vietnam"

Lyndon Johnson, Speech at Johns

Hopkins University, "Why are we in South

Vietnam"

Vietnam 1960

Johnson Sends Ground ForcesJohnson Sends Ground Forces

Remembers Truman’s “loss” of China --> Domino TheoryDomino Theory revived

I’m not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.

Vietnam 1964-Gulf of Tonkin Bombing

• Gulf of Tonkin• American Ships are

bombed by North Vietnam.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: CONTAINMENT LEADS TO VIETNAM

• Gulf of Tonkin Incident

• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: CONTAINMENT LEADS TO VIETNAM

• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Congress charged that the North Vietnamese had Congress charged that the North Vietnamese had deliberately and repeatedly attacked US naval vessels deliberately and repeatedly attacked US naval vessels operating lawfully in international watersoperating lawfully in international waters

this was part of systematic campaign of aggression being this was part of systematic campaign of aggression being waged by North Vietnam against its neighbors. waged by North Vietnam against its neighbors.

Congress gave the president sweeping powers to “take all Congress gave the president sweeping powers to “take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its Collective Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its freedom.” freedom.”

The resolution was to expire when the president had The resolution was to expire when the president had determined that “the peace and security of the area is determined that “the peace and security of the area is reasonably assured." reasonably assured."

Vietnam 1964-Gulf of Tonkin bombing

• President Johnson increases troop levels

Vietnam 1964

• American troops were not trained properly to fight in the Jungle.

Troop Deployments

1964Gulf of Tonkin Incident

The Vietnam War, The Vietnam War, 1964 to 19751964 to 1975

Who Is the Enemy?Who Is the Enemy? VietcongVietcong: founded in South Vietnam who were

communists—supported by N. Vietnam. Farmers by day; guerillas at night. Very patient people willing to accept many

casualties. The US grossly underestimated their resolve

and their resourcefulness. ““Charlies”Charlies” to American Troops that will later

fight them.

The guerilla wins if he does not lose, the conventional army loses if it does not win. -- Mao ZedongMao Zedong

The Ground War1965-1968

The Ground War1965-1968

General WestmorelandGeneral Westmoreland, late 1967: “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel’”

•Wearing down to weaken or destroy; "a war of attrition"

The Air War:A Napalm

Attack

The Air War:A Napalm

Attack

Helicopter deploying American troops in the Vietnam War

American soldiers on a search and destroy mission, 1967

American soldiers on patrol in Vietnam

Logistics in a Guerrilla War

1964Gulf of Tonkin Incident

1965First sustained bombing of North Vietnam

1966U.S. air raids over Hanoi, 1966 to 1968

1968Tet Offensive, Jan. 30 to Feb. 24

The Vietnam War, The Vietnam War, 1964 to 19751964 to 1975

The Tet Offensive, January 1968The Tet Offensive, January 1968

N. Vietnamese Army + Viet Cong attack South simultaneously

80,000 attack 100 cities, bases and the US embassy in Saigon

Take every major southern city U.S. + ARVN beat back the offensive

Viet Cong destroyed N. Vietnamese army debilitated

The Tet OffensiveThe Tet Offensive

US troops defending the American Embassy in Saigon

The Tet Offensive: A Turning Point

• On January 30, 1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnam launched a major offensive. This series of attacks was called the Tet Offensive since it occurred during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year.

• During and after the Tet Offensive, both sides were guilty of brutal atrocities. Communists slaughtered anyone they 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.

The Tet Offensive: Results: A Turning Point

• Although the USA won….

• 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.

Vietnam 1965-1973

Vietnam 1965-1973

Impact of the Tet Offensive

Impact of the Tet Offensive Domestic U.S. Reaction: Disbelief, Anger, Distrust of

Johnson Administration

Hey, Hey LBJ! How Hey, Hey LBJ! How many kids did you many kids did you

kill today?kill today?

The War at Home

GUIDING QUESTIONHow did the war in Vietnam affect American society and its political and social beliefs?

C. FOREIGN AFFAIRS: CONTAINMENT LEADS TO VIETNAM

• teach-ins• Deferments• Protests• draft resisters• ‘guns and butter”

University of California, Berkeley

students during free speech sit

in, 1964

Anti war protesters, 1967

Military police guard an entrance to the Pentagon during 1967 anti-war protest

Antiwar Demonstrators Burn Draft Cards on the Steps of the

Pentagon, May 22, 1972

Anti-war demonstration at Pentagon Oct 1967

Anti-war movements

Anti-WarDemonstration

s

Anti-WarDemonstration

s

Columbia University, 1967

Vietnam 1965-1973

• The protest movement gains momentum

• Hippies Rejoice.

Vietnam 1965-1973

Vietnam 1965-1973-flower-power

DEEP DIVISIONS AT HOME: Election of 1968

• Eugene McCarthy• LBJ• Robert Kennedy• Hubert Humphrey• Democratic Convention - Chicago• Richard M. Nixon – “silent majority”

Robert KennedyRobert Kennedy Hubert H. HumphreyHubert H. Humphrey Richard NixonRichard NixonPresident JohnsonPresident Johnson

Presidential Election of 1968

Ending Vietnam

Vietnam- 1973

• A cease fire agreement is signed

• Communists overtake south Vietnam and Cambodia within 2 years

• 50,000 Americans die in Vietnam

B. FOREIGN AFFAIRS IN A MULTI-POLAR WORLD

• Henry Kissinger

• “Vietnamization”• Cambodian invasion (1970)

• Kent State University

• Daniel Ellsberg– The Pentagon Papers

• Paris Peace Accords (1973)

• Fall of Saigon (April 1975)

U.S. U.S. Troop Troop and and CasualtCasualty y Levels Levels in in VietnaVietnam m 1960-1960-19721972

The Fall of SaigonThe Fall of Saigon

America Abandons Its Embassy

April 30, 1975

The Fall of SaigonThe Fall of Saigon

North Vietnamese at the Presidential Palace

The CostsThe Costs 3,000,000 Vietnamese killed

58,000 Americans killed 300,000 wounded

Of those that died 11,465 were teenagers 10,000 dead from accidents

153,000 hospitalized & survive 2,590,000 Americans in Vietnam.

Great Society programsGreat Society programs underfunded $150,000,000,000 in U.S. spending

U.S. morale, self-confidence, trust of government decimated

1,200 airplanes crash 6,727,084 tons of bombs were dropped.

3,750 fixed wing aircraft 4,865 helicopters were lost.

500,000 acres of Vietnam were sprayed with defoliants, Agent Orange

The effects of Agent Orange may last up to 100 years.

The CostsThe Costs