Download vietnam unit packet

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VIETNAM UNIT PACKET
NAME:__________________
VIETNAM UNIT PACKET
TERM
Viet Minh
DEFINITION
the Vietnamese movement led by Ho Chi Minh against foreign occupation, first
against the Japanese during World War II and then against the French occupation
First
Indochina
War
Domino
Theory
the war between the Viet Minh and the French from 1946 to 1954
the belief that if Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of Southeast Asia would fall
like "a row of dominoes"
Geneva
Accords
the 1954 agreement between France and the Viet Minh to split Vietnam along the
17th parallel and to schedule national elections in 1956 to reunify Vietnam
Military
Advisers
Vietcong
Insurgency
Escalate
Gulf of
Tonkin
Resolution
a noncombat specialist who trains and equips another nation's soldiers
communist insurgents in South Vietnam
rebellion
increase, as in to increase military involvement
the resolution passed by Congress in 1964 giving President Lyndon Johnson broad
powers to expand the U.S. role in Vietnam
1. Identify two opposing American views of the First Indochina War. Which view won out?
 INDOCHINA: Region between India and China
 FRENCH INDOCHINA: French colony from 1887-1954 including Vietnam, Laos and
Cambodia
 PRO WAR IN VIETNAM: Cold War, Containment, Truman Doctrine, Domino Theory, Aid
their ally France
 CON WAR IN VIETNAM: Anti-Imperialism, Anti-colonialism, Allow for Vietnamese selfdetermination, Not USA’s business
2. What steps were taken by presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy that increasingly
involved the United States in Vietnam?
 TRUMAN:
o Truman Doctrine
o Containment > Vietnamese Nationalism
o Provide financial aid to French to avoid a conflict like Korean War
 EISENHOWER:
o Domino Theory
o Separate nations much like Korea
o Military Advisers
 KENNEDY:
o Original opponent in Congress but then favored containment
o Sent more military and economic support to South but no American troops
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VIETNAM UNIT PACKET
o
Supported along with the CIA a coup and assassination against South
Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem
3. What three points would “hawks” make in favor of escalating the war during the foreign
policy debates of the Johnson administration?
 DOMINO THEORY: If Vietnam fell so too would the rest of SE Asia
 APPEASEMENT: Withdrawing from Vietnam would make us look like enabling
cowards
 CREDIBILITY: America was the leader of the free world and thus needed to prove our
strength and power
4. What three points would “doves” make against escalation?
 NO ESCALATION: Getting further involved in a war doesn’t make it more successful, see
Korean War
 NOT THE USA’s PROBLEM: Questioned the US’s involvement in a civil war and the
overall value or strategic need to support Vietnam
 COLD WAR: Fear that USSR/China would become involved causing WWIII and nuclear
weapons
5. How did LBJ escalate the war in 1965? How did this escalation ultimately Americanize the
war?
 GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION: (1964) Gave LBJ ultimate authority over Congress in
war effort
 DRAFT: Used the draft to help bolster the number of combat troops sent to Vietnam
 US TAKES OVER: American troops replaced South Vietnamese troops as primary
combatants and the US used search and destroy missions to locate the enemy
TERM
Agent
Orange
DEFINITION
an herbicide used by the U.S. military in Vietnam to kill foliage in an effort to deny
cover to the enemy
ARVN
Credibility
Gap
(Army of the Republic of Vietnam) the army of the government of South Vietnam
the difference between the reality of the Vietnam War and the Johnson
administration's positive portrayal of it
Land
Mine
an explosive device buried just below the ground, designed to blow up when stepped
on
Napalm
jellied gasoline dropped from U.S. planes during the Vietnam War as an incendiary
bomb designed to burn forests and destroy enemy installations
NVA
(North Vietnamese Army) the army of communist North Vietnam, which supported
the Viet Cong in South Vietnam with troops and supplies
Pacification
Tet
Offensive
a U.S. policy designed to promote security and stability in South Vietnam
a major offensive in 1968 by Viet Cong and NVA soldiers that resulted in growing
opposition among Americans to the war
TwentySixth
the constitutional change ratified in 1971 lowering the voting age to 18
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Amendment
War
Of Attrition
a military campaign designed to wear down the enemy's strength
1. What were some of the factors that made it difficult for the United States to fight the War in
Vietnam?
 PERSONNEL: Fighting with non-professional soldiers, Apathy
 GEOGRAPHY: Heat, humidity, insects, disease, mountains, jungle, rainforest
 ELUSIVE ENEMY: Guerrilla Warfare, unconventional tactics, tunnel network, hiding in
plain sight, landmines, traps
 LIMITED WARFARE: War of attrition, fear of Cold War, Vietnamese were more motivated
and underestimated
2. What were the United State’s goals of pacification in South Vietnam?
 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO SOUTH VIETNAM: Supported rural Vietnam by
providing food, supplies, schools, bridges and infrastructure to win the “hearts and minds” of
the people through this and propaganda
 UNDERMINE COMMUNIST INSURGENCY: Created strategic hamlets and fortifications
to try to prevent the influence of the Viet Cong
3. Who were the Viet Cong and what made them so effective against the United States?
 NLF: National Liberation Front
 Communist insurgents in the South
 Extremely elusive
 Champions of the people
 Used brutal tactics like traps and kidnapping local leaders to ensure power
4. What factors led to the War in Vietnam becoming unpopular in the United States?
 George Kennan, father of the containment foreign policy, disagreed with the war
 TELEVISION MEDIA: Senators criticized LBJ, media portrayal of failures, up-close
first-hand gruesome details
 COSTS: Spent over $30 billion in 1968
 DOVES: Credibility gap, peace movement popularized, campus protests, Tinker v. Des
Moines, draft inequities, 26th amendment
 1968: Tet Offensive, MLK/RFK assassination, LBJ will not run, DNC protests
5. What forms of protest against the War in Vietnam were used by Americans?
 DRAFT CARD BURNING: Young men broke the law by burning their draft cards
 TINKER V. DES MOINES: Student protest using black armbands to symbolically protest
the war were banned
 VILLIFYING LBJ: “HEY HEY LBJ, HOW MANY KIDS DID YOU KILL TODAY?”
LBJ=Babykiller,
 1968 DNC: Chicago hosted the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Yippies and other
protesters clashed with police for over 15 minutes on live TV
 1968: Tet Offensive, MLK/RFK assassination, LBJ will not run, DNC protests
NAME:__________________
VIETNAM UNIT PACKET
VOCABULARY
Vietnamization
DEFINITION
President Richard Nixon's policy of having the government of South Vietnam
gradually take over the conduct of the war, especially ground combat
My
Lai
Massacre
Kent
State
Shootings
Pentagon
Papers
a massacre of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in 1968; reports of the killings
shocked Americans and increased opposition to the war
the killing of four protesters at Kent State University in 1970 by National Guard
troops; reports of the shootings led to increased antiwar protests
a top-secret Pentagon study of the U.S. role in Vietnam that was leaked to the
press in 1971, revealing that previous administrations had deceived Congress
and the public about the war
War
Powers
Resolution
Boat
People
1.





a resolution passed by Congress in 1973 placing strict limits on a president's
powers to use armed forces in hostilities without congressional approval
Refugees from Southeast Asia after the war in Vietnam who took to the sea
What was President Nixon’s impact on the War in Vietnam?
“Peace with Honor”
“Carrot and Stick” approach
Carrot= Vietnamization
Stick= Bombing Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia
This caused outrage at home after new came that the US was expanding the war into two
neutral nations
2. What was the American public’s response to the bombings of Laos and Cambodia and the My
Lai Massacre?
 Public outcry over the expansion of the war
 My Lai Massacre was covered up as it was a failed search/destroy mission that left over 500
people dead
 Public outcry after witnessing the horrific media portrayal of the massacres
3.




How did the War in Vietnam come to an end?
January 27, 1973= cease-fire
Cease-fire led to official withdrawal of the US from the war
P.O.W. exchange between the North and US
All troops were returned home by March 29, 1973
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VIETNAM UNIT PACKET

Saigon fell on April 30, 1975 officially ending the war
4. What happened in Southeast Asia in the aftermath of the war?
 NORTH VIETNAM: Defeated the South and took over the capital of Saigon and reunited
Vietnam
 SOUTH VIETNAM: Lost to the North following the US withdrawal and was reunited
 LAOS: Communist regime took over
 CAMBODIA: Communist Khmer Rouge takes over and leads a genocide of over 2 million
people
 DOMINO THEORY: Came true, to a degree, but never to the extent that the US feared
5. What are some of the legacies of the War in Vietnam?
 VETERANS: Many vets returned with PTSD, illness from Agent Orange exposure and were
generally shunned by society
 DRAFT: Never has been used since
 MEDIA: Media has not been allowed to have such unfettered access
 DISTRUST: Americans distrust of the government and our leaders has risen ever since
 AMERICA’S ROLE: Redefined America’s role in the world and in foreign affairs
 VIETNAM SYNDROME: Caused the US to look at every conflict through the lens of
Vietnam
Writing: Select one of the quotes and write a paragraph in which you explain the meaning and
significance of it. 5pts.
A. "No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported
then, and it is misremembered now. Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much.
Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic."
Richard Nixon, 1985
B. “We misjudged then — and we have since — the geopolitical intentions of our adversaries …
and we exaggerated the dangers to the United States of their actions... Our misjudgments of
friend and foe, alike, reflected our profound ignorance of the history, culture, and politics of the
people in the area, and the personalities and habits of their leaders.”
Robert McNamara, 2003
C.
"It is the fight between tiger and elephant. If the tiger stands his ground, the elephant will crush
him with its mass. But, if he conserves his mobility, he will finally vanquish the elephant, who
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VIETNAM UNIT PACKET
bleeds from a multitude of cuts. This will be the war of Indochina"
Ho Chi Minh, 1946