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Vietnam Overview – USAP
Read Ch. 29 in Out of Many and use this outline as a supplement
“The United States will take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack
against armed forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.”
(Lyndon Johnson, August 7, 1964)
Vietnam – Prior to U.S. Involvement
1. Part of the French Colonial Empire.
2. Oppressive French rule – primarily in the North due to the abundance of natural
resources ( Rubber).
3. Occupied by Japan during WWII.
4. France tried to reassert control after WWII and met heavy resistance from the
Communists led by Ho Chi Minh.
5. In 1954, after a defeat at the battle of Dien Bien Phu, an agreement was reached at
Geneva, Switzerland ( The Geneva Accords ). It divided Vietnam into North and South
along the 17th Parallel (similar to Germany and Korea ). This created a Communist
(North) and Democratic (South) Vietnam.
The Beginning of U.S. Involvement
1. Threatened by Communist expansion in Asia the U.S. initiated the creation of SEATO
(Southeast Asia Treaty Organization). It included: the U.S., Great Britain, France,
Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Pakistan.
2. An attack on one was considered an attack on all (similar to NATO).
3. An unstable government in South Vietnam committed Pres. Kennedy to the policy of
containment.
4. Following Dien Bien Phu, Eisenhower began sending advisors to help the
government of South Vietnam and train the South Vietnamese army. Pres. Kennedy
continued this policy and increased U.S. troops to 16,000, while privately stating his
desire to withdraw. The enemy from the North was known as the Vietcong.
5. The government of South Vietnam became increasingly unpopular - jailing Buddhist
Monks and destroying ancestral temples.
6. In August 1964, it was reported that the American Destroyer Maddox had been
attacked by the North Vietnamese. This was claimed to be in retaliation for previous
attacks against the North by the Maddox.
7. On August 7th Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. It stated that the
President could take whatever actions he saw fit to protect American lives. This became
the justification for the massive troop build up during the Johnson administration.
The War
1. It became known as “the television or living room war.”
2. The “Air War” dropped more tons of bombs on North Vietnam during 1967 than were
dropped on Germany during all of WWII. It did little to persuade the North to negotiate.
3. As part of the “Ground War,” soldiers participated in Search and Destroy missions.
Using these tactics soldiers burned entire villages to the ground, creating huge amounts of
refugees ( 20% of the population), and resentment towards Americans.
4. Defoliants such as “Agent Orange” were used to kill vegetation for better visibility.
These caused birth defects and cancer among the Vietnamese and Americans.
5. The Tet Offensive ( January 30th, 1968) was a major turning point in the war. Over
100 towns and bases were simultaneously attacked on the eve of the Vietnamese New
Year’s celebration known as “Tet.” Though a military failure for the North
Vietnamese, many Americans now believed the war was unwinnable.
6. March 31st 1968 – President Johnson announces that he will not run for reelection
citing “a division in the American house.”
7. January 25th 1969 – The Paris Peace talks begin.
Nixon and Vietnam
1. When President Nixon took office in January 1969 he began a policy known as
“Vietnamization.” A process in which American troops would gradually withdraw
and leave the South Vietnamese to do their own fighting. By August 1969, 25,000
troops had come home.
2. At the same time, he secretly ordered American planes to bomb neighboring Laos
and Cambodia. It wan an attempt to stop Vietcong forces from using these two
nations as sanctuaries (safe areas). This actually escalated the war.
3. April 30th 1970 – President Nixon ordered U.S. troops to invade Cambodia without
consulting Congress. It set off a mass of protests and strikes at home. The troops
were withdrawn in June 1970.
4. After a number of military setbacks Pres. Nixon agreed to a formal withdrawal of
troops. After a series of complex negotiations and pressure from home, the U.S. and
North Vietnam signed a formal cease-fire in January 1973. By the end of March the
last combat troops had left Vietnam.
5. April 1973 – U.S. POW’s were released.
Vietnam after the U.S. Withdrawal
1. After the U.S. troops had left, both sides violated the cease-fire agreement.
2. March 1975 – A major North Vietnamese offensive occurred, sweeping through
South Vietnam.
3. The South Vietnamese army collapsed. April 30th 1975 the North Vietnamese army
invades Saigon.
4. A mass helicopter evacuation took place at the American embassy. American officials
and “friendly” Vietnamese were airlifted off the embassy roof to waiting U.S. ships in
the South China Sea. This was the end of the Vietnam War.
5. 21 Years after it had been divided by the Geneva accords in 1954, it was reunited into
one nation. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
The Anti War Movement
1. The “living room war” brought the destruction and body count into every American
home, every day.
2. Supporters of the war effort were called “War Hawks,” while anti-war supporters
were called “Doves.”
3. Incidents like the My Lai massacre, Search and Destroy missions and the Tet
Offensive turned many Americans, particularly students, against the war.
4. Sit-Ins, Demonstrations, Draft Card Burnings, and defections of Draftees to Canada
took place.
5. The Dove’s point of view:
a. Vietnam was basically a Civil War and we should not interfere.
b. We should not police the world.
c. By trying to save Vietnam from Communism we were actually
destroying Vietnam and its’ people.
d. Tens of thousands of Americans were being killed.
e. The war was costing about $25 billion a year, serious inflation,
and draining money from Johnson’s “Great Society.”
f. Congress had never issued a formal declaration of war,
therefore this was an illegal action.
6. The Hawk’s point of view:
a. Vietnam was vital to American security.
b. Containing communism was more important than casualties
or cost.
c. By fighting in South Vietnam the U.S. was really protecting
itself.
d. They professed the “Domino Theory.” The idea that if
Vietnam became Communist, the rest of Southeast Asia would
fall to communism like dominos.
7. Sen. Eugene McCarthy and Senator Robert Kennedy ( both Democrats and Doves)
challenged Pres. Johnson for the for the 1968 nomination. Both were supported by
thousands of college students. This led to Johnson’s withdrawal from the race.
8. November 1969 – 250,000 anti-war protesters marched in Washington carrying cards
with the names of soldiers who had died. Pres. Nixon ignored the demonstrators.
9. In response to the Cambodia invasion a general student strike was called. It involved
1.5 million students and shut down 1,200 campuses nationwide.
10. May 4, 1970 – The Kent State Massacre: 4 students were killed and 9 wounded when
National Guard soldiers fired into a crowd of anti-war demonstrators who were hurling
rocks. On May 9-10 100,000 students protested the killings at the White House. Pres.
Nixon called them “bums.”
11. May 8th 1970 – A riot developed between anti-war demonstrators and construction
workers in NYC . 70 protestors and 4 policemen were injured.
12. Doves claimed that “Checks and Balances” as outlined in the Constitution had been
destroyed and that Nixon was waging “his” war.
The War Powers Act
1973 -As a result of the Vietnam War Congress passed the War Powers Act.
It was an attempt to limit the President’s ability to wage an undeclared
war. The major provisions are:
a. After the President sends troops to a foreign country he has 48 hours to
notify Congress and explain his actions.
b. Congress can approve or disapprove of his actions.
c. Congress can order that the troops be withdrawn within 60 days.