Download The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War
American Involvement Deepens
• A. After Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold national elections,
Ho Chi Minh and his followers created a new guerrilla army
known as the Vietcong. Their goal was to reunify North and
South Vietnam.
• B. The United States continued to send aid to South
Vietnam. The Vietcong’s power, however, continued to
grow because many Vietnamese opposed Diem’s
government.
• C. President Kennedy continued the nation’s policy of
support for South Vietnam, agreeing with past presidents
that Southeast Asia was important in the battle against
communism.
• D. The unpopularity of South Vietnam’s President
Diem increased because his government was
corrupt, he created strategic hamlets, and he
discriminated against Buddhism, one of the
country’s most widely practiced religions. Diem
was overthrown and later executed. This further
weakened South Vietnam’s government, forcing
the United States to become more involved.
• E. After Kennedy’s assassination, President
Lyndon Johnson inherited the problem of
Vietnam.
• Discussion Question
• Why were Diem’s strategic hamlets unpopular
with the peasants? (The peasants resented
being uprooted from their homes where they
had worked to build farms and where many of
their ancestors were buried.)
Johnson and Vietnam
• A. At first, President Johnson was cautious regarding
Vietnam, yet he was determined to prevent South Vietnam
from becoming Communist. Politically, Democrats needed
to keep South Vietnam from becoming Communist, or
Republicans would use it against them.
• B. On August 2, 1964, President Johnson announced that
North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on two American
destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. A similar attack reportedly
occurred two days later. The Senate and the House passed
the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on August 7, 1964,
authorizing the president to take all necessary measures to
repel any armed attack on U.S. forces. Congress had given
its war powers to the president.
• C. After the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed, the
Vietcong began attacking bases where American advisers
were stationed in South Vietnam. After an attack in
February 1965, Johnson sent aircrafts to strike in North
Vietnam.
• D. While the polls showed that Johnson’s approval rating
had increased, some dissenters in the White House warned
that if the United States became too involved, it would be
difficult to get out. In March 1965, however, Johnson
increased American involvement, and American soldiers
were fighting alongside the South Vietnamese troops
against the Vietcong.
• Discussion Question
• Why did President Johnson expand American
involvement in Vietnam in 1964? (Johnson
wanted to prevent South Vietnam from
becoming Communist. He did not want to
“lose” Vietnam, because he feared that the
Republicans would blame his administration
for losing Vietnam to communism.)
A Bloody Stalemate Emerges
• A. By 1965 some 180,000 American combat
troops were fighting in Vietnam, with the
number doubling by 1966. Many Americans
believed they could win in Vietnam.
• B. To take Vietcong’s hiding places away,
American planes dropped napalm, a jellied
gasoline that explodes on contact, and Agent
Orange, a chemical that strips leaves from trees
and shrubs. Farmlands and forests were turned
into wastelands.
• C. Americans underestimated the Vietcong’s strength,
stamina, and morale.
• D. Johnson refused to order a full invasion of North
Vietnam, fearing China would get involved in the war.
• E. President Johnson also refused to allow a full-scale
attack on the Vietcong’s supply line, known as the Ho
Chi Minh trail. This made winning difficult.
• F. As American casualties increased, many American
citizens began questioning the United States’
involvement in the war.
A Growing Credibility Gap
A. When American troops first entered the
Vietnam War, many Americans supported the
military effort.
B. As the war in Vietnam continued to drag on,
public support decreased. Americans began to
question the government and believed a
credibility gap had developed, making it
difficult to believe what the Johnson
administration said about the war.
• Discussion Question
• Why did Americans believe there was a “credibility
gap” in what the Johnson administration
said about the war in Vietnam? (The American
commander in South Vietnam, General William
Westmoreland, repeatedly reported that the enemy
was almost defeated. Less optimistic reports were
seen on television each night as the images of
wounded and killed American soldiers were aired on
the evening news.)
An Antiwar Movement Emerges
A. As the casualties increased, Americans,
especially college students, began to publicly
protest the war.
B. In March 1965, faculty and students at the
University of Michigan abandoned their
classes and formed a teach-in where they
informally discussed issues of the war and
why they opposed it. This triggered teach-ins
at many college campuses
• C. Young protestors focused their attention on
what they felt was an unfair draft system.
While college students could delay military
service until graduation, those with low
income and limited education were called to
serve. As a result, minorities, especially
African Americans, were called to war. Many
draftees refused to serve. Others moved
to Canada and other nations.
• D. By 1968 the nation seemed divided into
two camps—the doves and the hawks. The
doves wanted the United States to withdraw
from the war, and the hawks felt the United
States should stay and fight.
• Discussion Question
• Why is 1968 considered the most turbulent year of the chaotic
1960s? (On January 30,1968, during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year,
the Vietcong and North Vietnamese launched a surprise attack
known as the Tet offensive. In the attack, guerrilla fighters hit
American airbases in South Vietnam as well as the South’s major
cities and provincial capitals. The approval rating for the president
plummeted. Johnson withdrew from the presidential race,
announcing his decision
• in an address to the nation on March 31, 1968. In April Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., was assassinated. Two months later, Robert
Kennedy was also assassinated. A clash between protesters and
police at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August
added to the chaos.)
• D. By 1968 the nation seemed divided into two
camps—the doves and the hawks. The doves wanted
the United States to withdraw from the war, and the
hawks felt the United States should stay and fight.
Discussion Question
• Why did many Americans oppose the war? (Some felt
the conflict was a civil war in which the United States
had no business. Others saw South Vietnam as
corrupt, and defending the country as immoral.)
1968: The Pivotal Year
• A. On January 30, 1968, during Tet, the Vietnamese New
Year, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese launched a
surprised attack known as the Tet offensive. In the attack,
guerrilla fighters hit American airbases in South Vietnam
as well as the South’s major cities and provincial capitals.
B. Militarily, the Tet offensive was a disaster for the
Communists, but it was a political victory that shocked
Americans. As a result, the approval rating for the
president plummeted.
C. Eugene McCarthy and Senator Robert Kennedy entered the 1968
presidential race as “dove” candidates for the Democratic
nomination.
D. Johnson withdrew from the presidential race, announcing his
decision in an address to the nation on March 31, 1968.
E. In April Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated. Two months
later, Robert Kennedy was also assassinated. This violence, coupled
with a clash between protesters and police at the Democratic
National Convention in Chicago in August, left the nation in a state
of chaos.
F. The chaos benefited the Republican presidential
candidate, Richard Nixon, and an independent,
Governor George Wallace of Alabama. Nixon
promised to regain order and end the war in
Vietnam.
G. Although Johnson attempted to help the
Democratic campaign with a cease-fire, Democratic
presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey lost by more
than 100 electoral votes as well as the popular vote
by a slim margin. Richard Nixon became president.