Download Vietnamization

Korean Conflict (War)
1950 – 1953
Korea was divided after WWII – the U.S. in the
South & the Soviets in the North
June 1950 – Communist North Korea invaded South
Korea
The U.N. sent troops to defend the South
(See more on the U.N. at the next station)
90% of the troops were from the U.S.
Fighting reached a stalemate; in 1953 a “temporary”
armistice line (38th parallel) was created
It still exists today
33,651 American deaths
Korean Conflict (War)
• American diplomats actually referred to the events in
Korea as “police action” and not “war” to appeal to
public perception
– Hence the official terminology of a “conflict” and not a
“war”
• American involvement in Korea reflected the US’s
deep commitment to containment
• The conflict was further complicated when Chinese
communist forces (China had just experienced a communist revolution)
came to the aid of the North Koreans
The United Nations
The United Nations (U.N.) was established right after
WWII (1945) as an organization designed to regulate
international law and peacekeeping throughout much
of the world. It replaced the largely ineffective League
of Nations.
Unlike the League of Nations, the U.N. has a security
force with the power to enforce the organization’s
policy
The United States is a member. The USSR was a member,
as well.
General Douglas MacArthur: Commanding U.S
general
-Same general that
famously said he’d
“be back” in the
Philippines in WW2
after being defeated
by the Japanese
-MacArthur was
“relieved of his
command” (aka
fired) by Truman due
to their differing
opinions on how to
deal with the Korea
conflict
History of Vietnam
Originally a French colony (French Indo-China)
 Under leadership of Ho Chi Minh,Vietnamese
defeated French in 1954
 Vietnam was divided in two
1.Communist North Vietnam
2.Non-Communist South Vietnam
Domino Theory
If one country in Southeast Asia falls to
communism, other might too, setting up a sort of
chain reaction (like dominos falling)
Laos
Cambodia
Controversy Over Vietnam
• The Vietnam War was extremely controversial at
home in the United States
– Americans were bitterly divided: (approximately) half in
favor; half against
– College campuses were filled with active opposition
– Listen to the songs playing: “War, what is it good for?!?” or
“Some folks are born to wave the flag... It ain’t me, I ain’t no
Senator’s son”
• President Johnson decided not to run for re-election
in the 1960s because his administration had been so
badly tainted by Vietnam related policy
Controversy and Vietnamization
• President Nixon succeeded President Johnson and
instituted the policy of “Vietnamization”
• Vietnamization = withdrawing American troops and
replacing them with South Vietnamese forces
– Americans would continue to provide some military
aid, however
• Can you think of another conflict in which Americans
engaged in a similar withdrawal strategy?
• By the War’s end, close to 60,000 American troops had
been killed and many, many more seriously injured
In this very famous photo, a South Vietnamese official executes a Viet Cong
(Northern Vietnamese guerilla fighter) member.
In this Pulitzer Prize winning photo, a young South Vietnamese girl runs
naked through the streets after a napalm attack by the South Vietnamese.
The South Vietnamese were trying to attack the Northern Vietnamese
(Viet Cong) but innocent children were severely burned. Incidences such
as this occurred often during this war.
Korean War Memorial in DC
(If you haven’t been, check it out. Coolest
memorial on the Mall!)
U.S. troops left Vietnam in 1973
South Vietnam was defeated in 1975
Saigon falls to communism– 1975
American embassy being evacuated
Only Vietnam, North Korea, China, Laos and Cuba
are communist countries today