Download Student notes sheet for Korean and Vietnam Wars

Name ____________________________________________ Period _______ Date ____________
Cold War: Korean and Vietnam Wars
Korean War
 American involvement in the ________________ _________ in the early 1950s reflected the
American policy of ___________________ of _____________________
• Containment  “American policy of ________________ the_____________________
of communism around the world”
 War lasted 1950-1953
Background
 Japan had _______________ the Korean peninsula before WWI; Japanese defeated in
WWII
 1945  Allies agreed on a __________________ solution = temporary division of
Korea at the 38th ___________________
o
_____________-occupied _______________________ zone
o
____________________-occupied _______________________ zone
 Soon a _______-_________________ government formed in ____________Korea and
a ________________________ regime was established in _________________ Korea.
War breaks out in Korea
 Koreans on ______________ sides of the dividing line wanted to ____________ their nation
 _____________ 1950: the Korean War broke out when ___________ _______________
troops _________________South Korea over the 38th parallel border  they were
determined to reunite Korea ______ _______________
U.S. response
1) Pres. __________________ brought the issue of North Korean aggression to the
______________ _________________
2) Truman ordered American __________ and _________________ support + ________________
troops to aid the South Koreans.
3) Truman did _______ go to _________________________ for an official declaration of war (as
required by the ___________________________)
- Article 1, Section 8: Congress maintains the power to _________________ ________
UN Police Action
 The U.S. chose Gen. Douglas __________________ to be the _______________________ of
the UN forces
 Americans made up roughly 80% of ______________ ___________________ in Korea
• Police action: a ______________________ military action without declaration of war
Waging the War
 American military forces led a United Nations ___________________________ that drove
deep into ___________ _______________ itself.
 Communist ________________________ forces came into the war on the side of North Korea
to ____________ ______________ UN forces
 _______________________ developed between the two sides
 ____________________ signed in 1953 left Korea ___________________ at almost the exact
same place as before the war  near the 38th ___________________
Effects of Korean War
1) Enormous _______________________ in United States  54,000 dead, 103,000 wounded for
______________________ results
2) ________________________ of Communist forces, containment ________________ nuclear war
3) ______________________ of ______________ in armed forces
4) Huge ________________________ in _______________________ _______________________
5) Development of powerful _______________________-__________________________ complex
6) Permanent __________________________________ of troops
Vietnam War
 American involvement in the __________________ _________ also reflected the Cold War
policy of ____________________________ of communism
Background
 “__________________ theory”: refers to the fear that if one ______________________
________________ nation fell to the Communists, the others would also fall
 Because of its _____________________ location, a Communist ______________________
of Vietnam posed a __________________ to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand
Increasing U.S. Involvement
 Beginning in the 1950s and continuing into the early 1960s, the
_____________________________ government of ____________________ Vietnam
attempted to install a communist government in ___________________ Vietnam ____
______________
 The _____________ ______________________ helped South Vietnam
___________________
 The American military ______________________ in Vietnam began under Pres.
_____________________________ and Pres. John F. _________________________
 After Kennedy’s ________________________________ in 1963, the military buildup was
______________________________ under Pres. Lyndon __________________________
Gulf of Tonkin
 August 1964: Johnson announced that North Vietnamese _________________________ had
attacked U.S. destroyers in the _____________ ______ ____________________
(___________________________ waters)
 Johnson asked ______________________ for authority to take ____________________
against North Vietnam  Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin _________________________
Fighting the War
 Nearly 3
_________________America
ns served in the Vietnam War
 Battlefield conditions were
_________________:
• Viet Cong (Communist
guerillas in South
Korea) were familiar
with
_______________
• South Vietnamese
seemed
_______________
• Couldn’t
Ground War
 Viet Cong lacked
sophisticated equipment, so
they used
____________________war
fare tactics
• Worked in small
groups to launch
___________ attacks
• Hid in elaborate
underground
______________
• Set ____________
traps like
camouflaged
Air War
 __________________ bo
huge B-52 American bom
dropped thousands of ton
____________________
areas
 Chemical weapons:
• _______________
destructive
_______________
and burned uncont
when dropped from
including on huma
_______________
 ____________ ________
_______________any
one
• Intense ________,
jungle climate
__________ and
________
______________
 __________________
leaves and undergrowth
Viet Cong hiding places;
______________ and ca
_______________ probl
 Despite the ______________ United States presence in South Vietnam (536,000 by end of
1968), Communist forces _________________________ their efforts
 Tet Offensive
• Major offensive launched by ______ ________________ and
_____________________ Vietnamese on January 30, 1968
• Communists were extremely _____________________, killing anyone they labeled an
enemy
• Viet Cong won _______________________________ victory
Massacre at My Lai
 March 1968: U.S. infantry company entered ______ _____________ (small village that was
supposedly sheltering Viet Cong)
 U.S. soldiers found only __________________, _______________________, and _______
___________ in the village  the U.S. soldiers massacred these civilians
 More than 400 INNOCENT Vietnamese died until a U.S. _________________________ crew
stepped in to halt the slaughter
Political Divisions
 The country became ________________ _______________________ over the Vietnam War.
 Some Americans _______________________________ the American military and the war
effort, hoped for military victory
 Other Americans believed the war was ___________________ _________________, urged
immediate withdrawal
Student Activism
 Active opposition to the war occurred especially on _______________________ campuses
 Students were among the first to speak out against the Vietnam War:
• “__________________________”
• ___________ ________________________
• _____________________________
Nixon and “Vietnamization”
 After Johnson declined to seek re-election, President __________________________ was
elected on his pledge to bring the war to an _________________________ _________.
 He instituted the policy of “_____________________________” 
___________________________ American troops and replacing them with South Vietnamese
soldiers, while maintaining military aid to the South Vietnamese
End of the War
 January 1973: U.S., South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and Viet Cong signed _______________
________________ ______________________
 Nixon ____________________ out of office by the ________________________ scandal
(1972-1974)
• Break-in at Democratic National Convention headquarters
• Nixon part of illegal cover-up
• Nixon impeached, then resigned
 Ultimately “Vietnamization” ________________________ when South Vietnamese troops
were ___________________________ to resist_________________________ by the Sovietsupplied North Vietnamese Army
 April 30, 1975  North Vietnam completed its ____________________________ of South
Vietnam
 North and South Vietnam _________________________ under communist control
Impact of Vietnam War
 More than 58,000 Americans dead
 300,000 Americans wounded
 More than 2,500 MIA (_______________ _____ ___________________) and POWs
(________________________ ________ ______________________)
 _______________________ and _________________successful war in American history
 United States spent at least $150 billion on the Vietnam War
 ________________________ bombs dropped on Vietnam than on all the Axis powers in WWII
 __________________________ the nation more than any other war besides the Civil War