Download Unit 11 Vietnam War notes 2017

Cornell Notes
Topic/Objective: UNIT 11 1960s and Vietnam
Name:
Vietnam War
Class/Period:
Terms: 15-23, 31, 41
Date:
Guided Question: Why did the “Vietnam War” erupt and how did America become involved—was it worth it?
Questions/VOCAB/
Main Ideas:
Notes:
I.
JFK and LBJ
1. Presidents ____________ and ________________shared a vision for a better world in which
America would emerge victorious from its Cold War struggle against _______________
____________________.
a. As part of this strategic and ideological battle, the United States established a new line of
defense against __________________ in Vietnam.
b. The conflict in Southeast Asia would grow to be one of the most ___________ wars in
American history.
II.
Vietnam War Roots
2. In the 1800s, France controlled Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in what was called French
_________________
a. French colonial officials ruled Vietnam with an iron fist.
b. They transplanted French laws into Vietnam and imposed ____________ ___________.
c. French business people acquired large rice and rubber plantations and controlled the
_____________ _______________ of the country.
Ho Chi Minh
3. Some Vietnamese rebelled against __________________exploitative rule.
4. _____ ______ _________ became the most important voice demanding
_____________________ for Vietnam.
a. Ho became involved in anti-French organizations as a young man and fled Vietnam in 1912.
b. Ho embraced __________________________, and eventually Soviet communists rallied to
his cause.
5. Ho Chi ____________ was a __________________ supporter who formed the
___________________ to overthrow Japanese forces that took control during WWII
a. Being enemies of Japan, the ________________ sent military aid to the
___________________
b. When Japan lost WWII, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam _________________________
6. _________________troops invade to drive out the Vietminh and return Vietnam to
_____________ control.
7. France appealed to the _____________ for help, but the U.S. was torn
a. The United States faced a difficult decision. On the one hand, it supported
________________________. On the other hand, America wanted France as an ally in its
Cold War effort to contain the spread of ____________________________.
8. With China falling to communism and the start of the Korean War the U.S. (under President
Truman) decides to give ____________________ military aid
a. By 1954 the U.S. is paying for ___________ of France’s war costs.
9. When President Dwight D. ____________________ took office in early 1953, he continued
Truman’s policies toward Vietnam.
10. What theory did we use to justify our involvement in Vietnam???
11. In 1954, however, the ___________ ________________ their eight-year struggle to regain
Vietnam.
Geneva Accords
12. According to the Geneva Accords, France granted ___________________ to
________________ , _______________, and __________________________.
13. Vietnam is also divided in __________ at the _____________parallel
a. North led by Ho Chi ______________
b. South led by Ngo Dinh ______________ (with U.S. as protectorate)
14. The accords also called for free elections in 1956 to ___________ _____________________.
a. ________________refused to allow elections in 1956 because Minh was sure to win
b. Vietnam heads for a ____________ _____________ with the U.S. caught in the middle
III.
Vietcong—Resistance in South Vietnam
15. By 1957, a communist rebel group in the South, known as the __________________
__________________ ________________ (NLF), had committed itself to:
a. undermining the _____________ government
b. and uniting Vietnam under a _______________ flag.
16. NLF guerrilla fighters, called ____________________, launched an insurgency in which they
assassinated government officials and destroyed roads and bridges.
a. Supplied by _________________s in North Vietnam, the Vietcong employed surprise hitand-run tactics to weaken Diem’s hold on South Vietnam
IV.
Diem’s Downfall
17. Diem’s own policies also weakened his position in _____________ __________________.
a. Diem was a ___________________ __________________ in an overwhelmingly
_____________________ nation
a. He signed __________--__________________ legislation and refused to enact significant land
reforms.
18. His lack of popular support hurt him in the civil war against _______________Vietnam.
a. Only the support of the _________________ _____________________ kept the unpopular
leader in power.
19. “Strategic Hamlets”: Diem with urging from the _____________ established strategic hamlets
a. Basically _______________________ camps to keep S. Vietnamese in and safe; and from
helping the Vietcong
20. Diem continued to alienate _____________ Vietnamese citizens.
a. By late 1963, his regime was in shambles.
b. ___________________ protested his restrictive policies, occasionally by setting themselves
on fire.
21. Working behind the scenes, Americans plotted with anti-Diem generals to
______________________ Diem’s government.
a. On November 1, 1963, Diem was removed from power; he was _______________________
the following day.
22. However unpopular Diem had been he was also a strong political leader
a. Without Diem _________________ _______________________ collapses
23. U.S. must get _______________ involved
V.
LBJ Inherits a War
24. Johnson didn’t want a bigger war, but had to be strong against ______________________
25. Gulf of Tonkin: August 2, 1964
a. Sonar technicians claim North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on an American destroyer as
it patrolled the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam
b. Johnson claims the attack was _____________________
c. Johnson fails to mention that the U.S. ships had been ___________________ on the
Vietcong
26. RESULTS: Congress gave Johnson the ability to send troops into Vietnam without declaring
____________
a. Congress created the ____________ of ________________ ______________________
VI.
Strategy
27. Vietcong Strategy
a. They traveled light, often carrying just a rifle and a few handfuls of rice.
b. They hid in ______________ during the day and emerged at night to ambush American
patrols.
c. They _________________ American bases and set off explosives.
d. They set _____________ ___________ that maimed and crippled American troops.
e. Their strategy was to______________ the Americans down.
1. The leaders of North Vietnam and the Vietcong remained convinced that if they
could just avoid ___________ the war, the Americans would eventually leave.
2. _____________ blended in with civilians, American soldiers could not tell enemy
from friend
28. U.S. Strategy
a. In February 1965, President ______________________ dramatically altered the U.S. role in
the Vietnam War
1. Johnson ordered the start of Operation _______________ _________________, the
first sustained __________________ campaign against North Vietnam.
b. LBJ’s change in strategy in 1965 stemmed primarily from the counsel of Secretary of Defense
Robert ___________________ and General William ___________________________, the
American commander in South Vietnam.
1. Between 1965 and 1973, American pilots dropped more than _____
________________ tons of bombs on enemy positions—almost three times the
tonnage dropped by all the combatants during World War II.
c. Search and _______________________ missions
d. When the enemy retreats to the jungle, U.S. forces would drop _____________, a jellied
gasoline that exploded on impact, covering large areas in _________________.
e. ________________ __________________ is an _________________ meant to kill plant life.
1. U.S. forces used it to ___________________ forest areas that might conceal enemy
fighters and to disrupt the enemy’s food supply.
2. Almost half of __________________ ________________________ forested areas
were sprayed at least once, and the ecological impact was devastating.
3. There also may have been a hidden human cost, as many scientists believe that Agent
Orange causes ____________________ and other physical problems.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
VII.
Tet Offensive
In November 1967, Westmoreland said that the Vietcong were ________________ in strength
and could no longer mount a major offensive.
As Westmoreland made his claims, however, the North Vietnamese and Vietcong were planning
just such an attack.
January 21 ,1968 the North Vietnamese Army hit Khe Sanh in northwest ____________
________________.
Ten days later, the communists expanded their attack by hitting U.S. and ARVN positions
throughout ________________ ___________________.
The _____________ __________________—named after the Vietnamese lunar new year—was
a coordinated assault on ________ provincial capitals and _____ major cities, as well as the
__________ ________________ in Saigon.
a. The communists planned to take and hold the cities until the urban population took
up arms in their support.
b. They thought the Tet Offensive had a good chance of ______________ the war.
34. Even though the U.S. won, the Tet Offensive was a ________________ ________________ to
the Americans.
35. It demonstrated that the communists had not lost the _______or the ___________ to fight on.
VIII.
Great Society vs. The War Effort
36. The war __________________ government finances and LBJ’s _________________
________________ called for enormous ____________________ spending.
a. Although massive government spending lowered the unemployment rate, it also led to
rising prices and _______________________
b. The combination of heavy government spending, rising prices, and inflation forced Johnson
to ___________ ___________.
37. Ultimately, Johnson had to cut back on his ______________ __________________ reform
initiatives to help pay for the _________________.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
IX.
Growing Resistance at Home
After 1967, American troop commitments and battlefield deaths escalated rapidly.
a. 1965 : ___________________ U.S. troops in Vietnam and ________ deaths
b. 1968: _______________________ U.S. troops in Vietnam, and ____________ dead
Each year, the war claimed more American lives and cost more American dollars—by 1967 we
were stuck in a ______________________.
The earliest soldiers in Vietnam had been _____________________
By 1965 most American soldiers in Vietnam had been _____________________.
What started to happen to public opinion about the war?
Increased Anti-war Sentiment: My Lai Massacre
43. On March 16, 1968, American forces searching for enemy troops in an area with a strong
Vietcong presence came upon the village of _______ ________
a. By this point in the war, many American troops had been injured and killed by
______________ fighters posing as civilians.
b. Lieutenant William Calley’s unit began shooting and killing ______________________
_______________.
c. During the assault, U.S. soldiers killed between _______ -________ Vietnamese.
d. In 1971, Calley will go to trial for his role in the event.
44.
45.
46.
47.
X.
Nixon Increases the War Effort
In 1969 Nixon inherited two things from Lyndon Johnson:
a. an ________________ war
b. and ____________ American opposition to it.
The new President wanted “__________________ with _________________,” security for
America’s ally South Vietnam, and international respect for U.S. foreign policy.
Ho Chi Minh Trail: _________________Vietnam sent supplies to the Vietcong in the
____________________ through the Ho Chi Minh Trail
a. The trail went through the neighboring countries of ____________and
______________________.
Nixon felt the war had gone on long enough.
a. In 1970, he attempted to break the _________________ by ordering a ground attack on
North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong bases in ______________________.
b. Nixon also hoped to aid the pro-American Cambodian government in its fight against the
_______________ ________________,
1. ____________________ movement in Cambodia (under the leader Pol Pot) that was
supported by _______________ _______________________.
48. How did many college students respond to the war entering Cambodia?
a. Demonstrators at _________ _____________ University in Ohio threw rocks and bottles at
members of the National Guard.
b. When one guardsman thought he heard a ______________ ________, he fired his rifle.
c. The shot prompted other National Guardsmen to discharge a volley of gunfire into a group
of protesters, killing ________ youths.
d. The Kent State killings led to demonstrations on other campuses.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
Summary:
XI.
Pentagon Papers
The New York Times published the “________________ _____________” in 1971
a. The papers were a classified government history of America’s involvement in
_________________.
b. The study was leaked to The Times by one of its coauthors, ________________
____________________.
c. Nixon tried to block the full publication, but in ____________ _______________
________________ v. ____________________ ________________________, the Supreme
Court ruled against the Nixon.
The study revealed that American leaders involved the United States in Vietnam without
____________________ _________________________ the American people and occasionally
even _______________ to Congress.
a. The Pentagon Papers turned even more Americans against the ______________.
XII.
The Turning Point
U.S. underestimated the ____________________ strength and endurance
a. Vietcong were willing to suffer huge casualties
b. The ______________ ______________ and _______________ both aided N. Vietnam
U.S. was forced to fight a war of attrition
1969: U.S. begins to pulls out troops
a. Sign _____________ ______________ ___________________ with the North in 1973
b. The last helicopter out of S. Vietnam carrying U.S troops leaves on April 30, _________
The North invades the capitol of S. Vietnam, __________________, hours later
South Vietnam is taken over and becomes Communist; Saigon becomes Ho Chi Minh City
What was built in 1982 in response to the Vietnam War (found in Washington, DC)?