Vietnam War

Vietnam WarChapter 30

Moving Toward ConflictSection 30*1pp. 936-941

US Supports France in Vietnam

•Nationalist Movements▫Protest French colonial

rule ▫Protest Japanese rule

during WWII Ho Chi Minh formed

Vietminh Organization dedicated to

Vietnamese independence Declared independence

when Japan was defeated

US Supports France in Vietnam •French Indochina

War (1946-1954) ▫France retook

control of South ▫Vietminh

controlled North ▫US Supported

France

•Domino Theory ▫Eisenhower’s justification to fight in

Vietnam▫If one nation falls to Communism, others

will

US Supports France in Vietnam

US Supports France in Vietnam

•Vietminh take Dien Bien Phu in 1954

•Geneva Accords divide Vietnam

Communist North and Nationalist South Two capitals, Hanoi

and Saigon Call for elections in

1956

The US Steps In •Ngo Dinh Diem (South)

▫Refused to hold elections▫Supported by US ▫Corrupt regime

•Vietcong Form in Resistance to Diem▫Communist opposition group ▫Supplied along Ho Chi Minh Trail ▫Make Southern Vietnam unstable Ho Chi

MinhNorth

Ngo Dinh DiemSouth

The US Steps In•JFK and Vietnam

▫Supported Diem to fight Communism ▫Diem government unstable and corrupt▫US removed Diem in 1963

South grows unstable Increased influence of Vietcong

LBJ Expands the Conflict•Tonkin Gulf

Resolution ▫Response to

incident in Gulf of Tonkin North Vietnamese

ships fired on US ship

LBJ responded by bombing Vietnam

LBJ Expands the Conflict▫Resolution

Provisions Gave LBJ broad

military powers Launched Operation

Rolling Thunder

US Involvement and EscalationSection 30*2pp. 942-947

LBJ Increased US Involvement •LBJ sends troops to Vietnam in 1965

▫Determined to defeat Communism▫This is initially supported by U.S. Congress

and public

Fighting in the Jungle •An Elusive Enemy

▫Vietcong guerilla tactics▫Elaborate tunnels▫Booby-trapped terrain▫Jungle conditions

Fighting in the Jungle•War of Attrition

▫Goal: Wear out the enemy

▫Vietcong remained determined Aided by USSR and

China Fighting to preserve

way of life

Fighting in the Jungle•Peasants Don’t

Support U.S. ▫Napalm ▫Agent Orange▫Search-and-destroy

missions

•Sinking Morale▫Frustrated by

Guerilla warfare Jungle conditions Stalemate

▫Began to self-medicate

Fighting in the Jungle

The Early War at Home •The Great Society Suffers

▫War costs led to inflation and tax increase▫$6b reduction in Great Society programs

•Living-Room War▫Daily reports of events and body count ▫LBJ’s credibility questioned

A Nation DividedSection 30*3pp. 948-953

The Working Class War •The Draft

▫Most Vietnam soldiers were drafted ▫Many tried to manipulate the system

Medical Excuses Joined Coast Guard or National Guard College Deferment

▫80% of soldiers from lower economic class

The Working Class War •African

Americans in Vietnam ▫Disproportionately

used as ground troops

▫MLK: “Cruel Irony”

▫Racism presents challenge in platoons

The Roots of Opposition •The New Left

▫Growing youth movement of 1960’s▫Called for changes in American society ▫Students for a Democratic Society ▫Free Speech Movement

•Doves Oppose the War▫Change in college deferments causes SDS to

call for civil disobedience ▫Criticisms of War

It was a civil war It drained US strength It was immoral

•From Protest to Resistance ▫200,000 draft violations during war

4,000 imprisoned 10,000 flee to Canada

Protest Movement Emerges

Protest Movement Emerges•War Divides the Nation

▫In 1967, a majority of Americans remained committed to the war

▫70% thought protests were disloyal

•LBJ Remains Determined ▫Continued policy of slow escalation

The End of the War and Its LegacySection 30*5pp. 960-967

The Tet Offensive •Vietcong attack on

January 30, 1968▫Attack 100 towns

and 12 air bases▫5 Americans killed

during attack on US embassy in Saigon

▫US defeated Vietcong after a month

The Tet Offensive •Vietcong attack on January 30, 1968

•Consequences▫Shocked American public▫Widened LBJ’s credibility gap

•Change in Public Opinion▫Media openly criticizes war ▫Sec. of Defense calls war “un-winnable” ▫LBJ’s approval falls to 40%

Nixon and Vietnamization •“Peace With

Honor” ▫Vietnamization:

Gradual pullout of US troops

▫Nixon ordered massive bombing of Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam

Trouble Continues on the Home Front

•My Lai Massacre▫U.S. troops killed

200 women, children, and elderly men in My Lai

▫Turned public opinion against US Army

Trouble Continues on the Home Front• Invasion of

Cambodia (1970)▫ Try to destroy

Vietcong supply centers

▫ Nationwide college protests

• Violence on Campus▫ Kent State: National

Guard kill 4 protestors

•Pentagon Papers▫Revealed Truman, Eisenhower, JFK,LBJ,

and the US Army had been leading covert operations in Vietnam that increased US involvement in Vietnam Confirmed gov’t was dishonest about war Led Congress to repeal the Tonkin Gulf

Resolution in 1970 Increased public distrust of the gov’t

Trouble Continues on the Home Front

Longest War Ends•Final Push

▫January 1973: Peace Agreement Reached NV troops remain in SV Nixon promises US will defend treaty

▫March 1973: Last troops leave

Longest War Ends•Fall of Saigon

▫March 1975: NV launch attack vs. SV

▫US doesn’t send military support

▫April 30, 1975: Saigon falls to NV

The War’s Legacy•58,000 Americans died•303,000 Americans wounded •Instability in SE Asia •Mistrust of government•War Powers Act

▫Prevented president from committing troops to a foreign conflict without approval from Congress