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The Vietnam War Years
• The United States
becomes locked in a
military stalemate
in Southeast Asia.
U.S. forces withdraw
after a decade of
heavy war
casualties abroad
and assassinations
and antiwar
demonstrations at
home.
A U.S. Marine in Vietnam
(1968).
Section 1 – Moving Toward Conflict
• To stop the spread
of communism in
Southeast Asia, the
United States uses
its military to
support South
Vietnam.
America Supports France in Vietnam
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French Rule in Vietnam
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Late 1800s–WW II, France rules most of
Indochina
After World War II, the United States
aided France in its efforts to keep control
of Vietnam.
Containing the spread of communism
was the United States’ main goal in
Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh—leader of Vietnamese
independence movement
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helps create Indochinese Communist
Party
Ho Chi Minh led the Indochinese
Communist Party and fought French,
Japanese, and U.S. forces for the
independence of Vietnam.
1940, Japanese take control of Vietnam
Vietminh—organization that aims to rid
Vietnam of foreign rule
Vietminh was formed by Vietnamese
Communists and other nationalist
groups in 1941 they declared
independence from foreign rule as its
single goal.
The Vietminh was a political organization
whose goal was to win Vietnam’s
independence from foreign rule.
Sept. 1945, Ho Chi Minh declares
Vietnam an independent nation
Ho Chi Minh (1950’s)
America Supports France in Vietnam
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France Battles the Vietminh
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French troops move into Vietnam;
French fight, regain cities, South
1950, U.S. begins economic aid to France
to stop communism
The Vietminh Drive Out the French
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Domino theory—countries can fall to
communism like row of dominoes
The domino theory was based on the
idea that countries on the brink of
communism were waiting to fall to
communism one after the other.
A statement that best defines the domino
theory is if one country falls to
communism, others in the region will fall,
too.
1954, Vietminh overrun French at Dien
Bien Phu; France surrenders
When Dien Bien Phu fell to Vietnamese
forces in 1959, the French began to leave
Vietnam.
Geneva Accords divide Vietnam at 17th
parallel; Communists get north
Geneva Accords temporarily divided
Vietnam along the 17th parallel.
Election to unify country called for in
1956
The United States Steps In
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Diem Cancels Elections
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Ho has brutal, repressive regime but is
popular for land distribution
S. Vietnam’s anti-Communist president Ngo
Dinh Diem refuses election
Ngo Dinh Diem was the anti-communist South
Vietnamese president who canceled elections
that were supposed to unify Vietnam.
U.S. promises military aid for stable, reform
government in South
Diem corrupt, stifles opposition, restricts
Buddhism
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Vietcong (Communist opposition group in
South) kills officials
The Vietcong were South Vietnamese citizens
who fought against the South Vietnamese
government and American forces.
The Vietcong were the South Vietnamese
opposition group that carried out thousands
of assassinations of South Vietnamese
government officials.
Ho sends arms to Vietcong along Ho Chi Minh
Trail
The Ho Chi Minh Trail enabled North
Vietnamese to send troops to South Vietnam.
The Ho Chi Minh Trail allowed Communists in
North Vietnam to supply military arms to the
government opposition group in South
Vietnam.
The United States Steps In
•
Kennedy and Vietnam
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Like Eisenhower, JFK backs
Diem financially; sends military
advisers
Diem’s popularity plummets
from corruption, lack of land
reform
Diem starts strategic hamlet
program to fight Vietcong
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villagers resent being moved
from ancestral homes
The Strategic hamlet program
was the South Vietnamese
policy that was intended to
combat the growing popularity
and presence of an antigovernment group in the
South’s countryside.
Diem presses attacks on
Buddhism; monks burn
themselves in protest
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U.S.-supported military coup
topples government; Diem
assassinated
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President Johnson Expands the
Conflict
The South Grows More Unstable
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Succession of military leaders rule S.
Vietnam; country unstable
LBJ thinks U.S. can lose international
prestige if communists win
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution
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Alleged attack in Gulf of Tonkin; LBJ
asks for power to repel enemy
1964 Tonkin Gulf Resolution gives him
broad military powers
President Lyndon B. Johnson used the
Tonkin Gulf incident as an excuse to
deepen U.S. involvement in the Vietnam
War.
President Lyndon B. Johnson asked
Congress for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution granted the
U.S. president broad military powers in
Vietnam.
1965 8 Americans killed, LBJ orders
sustained bombing of North
U.S. combat troops sent to S. Vietnam to
battle Vietcong
The name of the first extensive U.S.
bombing of North Vietnam was called
Operation Rolling Thunder
Section 1
Moving Toward Conflict
Vietminh – an organization of Vietnamese Communists and other
nationalist groups that between 1946 and 1954 fought for
Vietnamese independence from the French.
Domino theory – the idea that if a nation falls under communist
control, nearby nations will also fall under communist control.
Geneva Accords – a 1954 peace agreement that divided Vietnam
into Communist-controlled North Vietnam and non-Communist
South Vietnam until unification elections could be held in 1956.
Vietcong – the South Vietnamese Communists who, with North
Vietnamese support, fought against the government of South
Vietnam in the Vietnam War.
Ho Chi Minh Trail – a network of paths used by North Vietnam to
transport supplies to the Vietcong in South Vietnam.
Tonkin Gulf Resolution – a resolution adopted by Congress in
1964, giving the president broad powers to wage war in
Section 2 - U.S. Involvement
and Escalation
• The United States
sends troops to
fight in Vietnam, but
the war quickly
turns into a
stalemate.
Johnson Increases U.S. Involvement
•
Strong Support for
Containment
– LBJ hesitates breaking
promise to keep troops out;
works with:
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Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara, Secretary of State
Dean Rusk
As Secretary of defense
Robert McNamara, admitted
he “would have thought
differently at the start” of the
conflict in Vietnam if he had
been aware of the Vietcong’s
resilience.
As Secretary of state Dean
Rusk, argued for U.S.
escalation in Vietnam,
claiming that abandoning the
South Vietnamese would
cause “disaster to peace.”
– Congress, majority of public
support sending troops
November 1965(R-L) Dean Rusk,
Robert McNamara, and Bill Moyers
at a press conference.
Johnson Increases U.S. Involvement
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The Troop Buildup Accelerates
– General William
Westmoreland—U.S.
commander in South Vietnam
– William Westmoreland served
as the commander of U.S.
troops in Vietnam.
– As the U.S. commander in
South Vietnam, general William
Westmoreland introduced the
concept of the body count in
the belief that as the number of
Vietcong casualties rose, the
Vietcong would eventually
surrender.
– Thinks southern Army of the
Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
ineffective
– The Vietnamese forces that
were supported by American
troops was the Army of the
Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).
– Requests increasing numbers;
by 1967 500,000 U.S. troops
– The ARVN fought against North
Vietnam.
Fighting in the Jungle
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An Elusive Enemy
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Vietcong use hit-and-run, ambush
tactics, move among civilians
Tunnels help withstand airstrikes,
launch attacks, connect villages
Terrain laced with booby traps, land
mines laid by U.S., Vietcong
A Frustrating War of Attrition
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Westmoreland tries to destroy
Vietcong morale through attrition
The main purpose of introducing
the “body count” was to persuade
Americans that a Vietcong
surrender was imminent.
Vietcong receive supplies from
China, U.S.S.R.; remain defiant
U.S. sees war as military struggle;
Vietcong as battle for survival
Tunnels of the Vietcong
Fighting in the Jungle
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The Battle for “Hearts and Minds”
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U.S. wants to stop Vietcong from
winning support of rural population
Weapons for exposing tunnels
often wound civilians, destroy
villages
• napalm: gasoline-based bomb
that sets fire to jungle
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To expose Vietcong tunnels and
hideouts, U.S. planes dropped
Napalm a gasoline-based bomb
that set fire to the jungles of
Vietnam.
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Agent Orange: leaf-killing,
toxic chemical
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The U.S. military used planes to
spray Agent Orange a leaf-killing
toxic chemical which devastated
the landscape of Vietnam.
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Search-and-destroy missions
move civilian suspects,
destroy property
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Search-and-destroy missions were
conducted by U.S. soldiers, that
resulted in the uprooting of
Vietnamese villagers with
suspected ties to the Vietcong, the
killing of their livestock, and the
burning of their villages.
Villagers go to cities, refugee
camps; 1967, over 3 million
refugees
Vietnamese women and children huddling
together as U.S. soldiers enter their village
(1967).
Fighting in the Jungle
• Sinking Morale
– Guerrilla warfare, jungle
conditions, lack of
progress lower morale
– Many soldiers turn to
alcohol, drugs; some kill
superior officers
– Government corruption,
instability lead S. Vietnam
to demonstrate
• Fulfilling a Duty
– Most U.S. soldiers believe
in justice of halting
communism
– Fight courageously, take
patriotic pride in fulfilling
their duty
The Early War at Home
•
The Great Society Suffers
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War grows more costly with
more troops; inflation rate
rising
LBJ gets tax increase to pay for
war, check inflation
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has to accept $6 billion funding cut
for Great Society
The Living-Room War
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Combat footage on nightly TV
news shows stark picture of
war
Critics say credibility gap
between administration reports
and events
Senator J. William Fulbright’s
hearings add to doubts about
war
Television, the worsening state
of the U.S. economy, and the
Fulbright hearings helped
increase what Credibility gap.
Critics of Johnson’s policies in Secretary of State Dean Rusk (left center) defends the
Vietnam used the Credibility
U.S. Vietnam policy before the Senate Foreign
gap to describe their distrust of
Relations Committee (1966).
what Johnson’s administration
reported to the public about the
war.
Section 2
U.S. Involvement and Escalation
Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) – the southern
Vietnamese soldiers with whom U.S. troops fought against
communism and forces in the North during the Vietnam War.
Napalm – a gasoline-based substance used in bombs that U.S.
planes dropped in Vietnam in order to burn away jungle and
expose Vietcong hideouts.
Agent Orange – a toxic leaf-killing chemical sprayed by U.S.
planes in Vietnam to expose Vietcong hideouts.
Search-and-destroy mission – a U.S. military raid on a South
Vietnamese village, intended to root out villagers with ties to
the Vietcong but often resulting in the destruction of the
village and the displacement of its inhabitants.
Credibility gap – a public distrust of statements made by the
government.
Section 3 - A Nation Divided
An antiwar movement
in the U.S. pits
supporters of the
government’s war
policy against those
who oppose it.
The Working Class Goes to War
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A “Manipulatable” Draft
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Selective Service
System, draft, calls men
18–26 to military service
Most U.S. soldiers who
fought in Vietnam were
drafted.
Thousands look for ways
to avoid the draft
Many—mostly white,
affluent—get college
deferment
In the early years of the
war, a young man could
automatically be deferred
from the draft by
enrolling in college.
80% of U.S. soldiers
come from lower
economic levels
The Working Class Goes to War
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African Americans in Vietnam
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African Americans serve in
disproportionate numbers in
ground combat
Defense Dept. corrects problem
by instituting draft lottery in 1969
Racial tensions high in many
platoons; add to low troop morale
The statement that best
summarizes the opinion of Martin
Luther King, Jr., about AfricanAmerican troops in the Vietnam
War is that he believed it was
unfair that they were fighting for
a country that treated them
unfairly at home.
Women Join the Ranks
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10,000 women serve, mostly as
military nurses
Thousands volunteer: American
Red Cross, United Services
Organization
The Roots of Opposition
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The New Left
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New Left—youth movement of
1960s, demand sweeping changes
The growing youth movement of the
1960’s became known as the New
Left, a term that encompassed
many different activist groups and
organizations.
Students for a Democratic Society
(SDS), Free Speech Movement
(FSM):
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criticize big business, government;
want greater individual freedom
Founded by Tom Hayden and Al
Haber in 1959, Students for a
Democratic Society called for a
return to “participatory democracy”
and greater individual freedom.
Students for a Democratic Society,
founded by Tom Hayden and Al
Haber, charged that corporations
and large government institutions
had taken over America.
Campus Activism
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New Left ideas spread across
colleges
Students protest campus issues,
Vietnam war
The Protest Movement Emerges
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The Movement Grows
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In 1965, protest marches, rallies
draw tens of thousands
1966, student deferments require
good academic standing
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SDS calls for civil disobedience;
counsels students to go abroad
Small numbers of returning
veterans protest; protest songs
popular
Founded in 1964 at the University
of California at Berkeley, the Free
Speech Movement focused its
criticisms on what it called the
American “machine.”
The Free Speech Movement was
led by Mario Savio and focused
its criticism on the nation’s
faceless and powerful
institutions.
From Protest to Resistance
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Antiwar demonstrations, protests
increase, some become violent
Some men burn draft cards;
some refuse to serve; some flee
to Canada
Demonstrators burn draft cards at an
antiwar protest (1967).
The Protest Movement Emerges
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War Divides the Nation
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Doves strongly oppose war,
believe U.S. should withdraw
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Hawks favor sending greater
forces to win the war
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American who strongly
opposed the war and believed
that the United States should
withdraw from it were known as
Doves
Americans who supported
strong military efforts in
Vietnam were called Hawks.
American who strongly felt that
the Johnson administration
wasn’t doing enough to
escalate and win the war were
known as Hawks.
1967 majority of Americans
support war, consider
protesters disloyal
Johnson Remains Determined
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LBJ continues slow escalation,
is criticized by both hawks and
doves
Combat stalemate leads
Defense Secretary McNamara to
resign
Section 3
A Nation Divided
Draft – required enrollment in the armed services.
New Left – a youth-dominated political movement of the 1960s,
embodied in such organizations as Students for a Democratic
Society and the Free Speech Movement.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) – an antiestablishment
New Left group, founded in 1960, that called for greater
individual freedom and responsibility.
Free Speech Movement – an antiestablishment New Left
organization that originated in a 1964 clash between students
and administrators at the University of California at Berkeley.
Dove – a person who opposed the Vietnam War and believed that
the United States should withdraw from it.
Hawk – a person who supported U.S. involvement in the Vietnam
War and believed that the United States should use increased
military force to win it.
Section 4 - 1968: A Tumultuous Year
• An enemy attack in
Vietnam, two
assassinations, and
a chaotic political
convention make
1968 an explosive
year.
The Tet Offensive Turns the War
• A Surprise Attack
– 1968 villagers go to
cities to celebrate Tet
(Vietnamese new year)
– Vietcong among crowd
attack over 100 towns,
12 U.S. air bases
– Tet offensive lasts 1
month before U.S., S.
Vietnam regain control
– Westmoreland declares
attacks are military
defeat for Vietcong
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive Turns the War
• Tet Changes Public
Opinion
– Before Tet, most
Americans hawks; after
Tet, hawks, doves both
40%
– The Tet Offensive
was/were most
effective in convincing
the American public
that the war was not
winnable.
– Mainstream media
openly criticizes war
The Tet Offensive Turns the War
– LBJ appoints Clark Clifford
as new Secretary of Defense
– Clark Clifford was chosen to
replace Robert McNamara
as secretary of defense
– After studying situation,
Clifford concludes war is
unwinnable
– LBJ’s popularity drops; 60%
disapprove his handling of
the war
Days of Loss and Rage
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Johnson Withdraws
– Eugene McCarthy gained popularity
in the weeks following Tet and
received 42 percent of the vote in
the 1968 New Hampshire
Democratic primary
– Senator Eugene McCarthy runs for
Democratic nomination as dove
– Senator Robert Kennedy enters
race after LBJ’s poor showing in
NH
– Lyndon B. Johnson slim margin of
victory in the 1968 New Hampshire
Democratic primary was viewed as
a defeat.
– LBJ announces will seek peace
talks, will not run for reelection
– Lyndon B. Johnson voluntarily
dropped out of the race before the
national convention took place.
– Robert Kennedy decided to join the
Democratic race for the presidency
after seeing the surprising results
of the 1968 New Hampshire
primary.
Days of Loss
and Rage
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Violence and Protest
Grip the Nation
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Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. assassination was
followed by violent riots
in 130 U.S. cities.
Riots rock over 100
cities after Martin Luther
King, Jr. is killed
Kennedy wins CA
primary; is fatally shot
for supporting Israel
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Robert Kennedy was a
1968 Democratic
presidential candidate
that was assassinated.
Major demonstrations
on over 100 college
campuses
A Turbulent Race for President
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Turmoil in Chicago
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Hubert Humphrey was a 1968
presidential candidate that had
the support of Lyndon B.
Johnson.
Vice-president Hubert Humphrey
wins Democratic nomination
Over 10,000 demonstrators go to
Chicago
Mayor Richard J. Daley mobilizes
police, National Guard
Protesters try to march to
convention; police beat them;
rioting
Delegates to convention bitterly
debate antiwar plank
Hubert Humphrey was nominated
for president at the 1968
Democratic National Convention.
Hubert Humphrey was
guaranteed the party’s
nomination before the national
convention took place.
summarizes the Democratic
candidates for president in the
1968 election.
Demonstrators struggling with police outside
the Federal Building in Chicago during the
trial of eight people accused of conspiring
to promote riots during the 1968
Democratic National Convention (1969).
A Turbulent Race for President
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Governor George Wallace is
third-party candidate
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George Wallace ran in the 1968
presidential election as an
independent on a platform
supporting states’ rights and
segregation.
Champions segregation,
states’ rights; attracts protestweary whites
Nixon Triumphs
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Nixon works for party for
years, wins 1968 Republican
nomination
Richard M. Nixon was the
Republican candidate for
president in the 1968 election.
Campaign promises: restore
law and order, end war in
Vietnam
Richard M. Nixon won the 1968
presidential election.
Section 4
1968: A Tumultuous Year
Tet offensive – a massive
surprise attack by the
Vietcong on South
Vietnamese towns and
cities early in 1968.
Section 5 - The End of the War
and Its Legacy
• President Nixon
institutes his
Vietnamization
policy, and
America’s
longest war
finally comes to
an end.
President Nixon and Vietnamization
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The Pullout Begins
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New president Richard Nixon finds
negotiations not progressing
National Security Adviser Henry
Kissinger works on new plan
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Henry Kissinger served as the top
U.S. negotiator in Vietnam.
Vietnamization—U.S. troops
withdraw, S. Vietnam troops take
over
“Peace with Honor”
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Nixon calls for “peace with honor”
to maintain U.S. dignity
The Vietnamization of the war
President Nixon said would bring
about “peace with honor” in
Vietnam.
Vietnamization called for a gradual
withdrawal of U.S. troops in
Vietnam.
President Richard Nixon was
responsible for the Vietnamization
of the war.
Orders bombing of N. Vietnam,
Vietcong hideouts in Laos,
Cambodia
Trouble Continues on the Home
Front
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Mainstream America
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Silent majority—moderate,
mainstream people who
support war
In an attempt to win support
for his war policies, made a
special appeal to the silent
majority
The My Lai Massacre
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News breaks that U.S. platoon
massacred civilians in My Lai
village
The My Lai massacre was the
murder of more than 200
innocent Vietnamese villagers
by U.S. troops shocked
Americans when it was finally
revealed to the public.
Lt. William Calley, Jr., in
command, is convicted,
imprisoned
A rally supporting U.S.
troops in Vietnam (1967).
The Invasion of Cambodia
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The Invasion of Cambodia
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1970, U.S. troops invade
Cambodia to clear out
enemy supply centers
Angry with Nixon’s secret
orders to bomb and
invade Cambodia,
Congress repealed the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
1.5 million protesting
college students close
down 1,200 campuses
Upon hearing of the
Invasion of Cambodia,
U.S. college students
went on the first general
student strike in the
nation’s history.
The Tet Offensive, the
assassination of Robert
Kennedy, and the
assassination of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
occurred in 1968.
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The invasion of
Cambodia set off the first
general student strike in
U.S. history.
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Trouble Continues on the Home
Front
Violence on Campus
– National Guard kills 4 in
confrontation at Kent State
University
– Guardsmen kill 2 during
confrontation at Jackson State in
MS
– 100,000 construction workers rally
in NYC to support government
The Pentagon Papers
– Nixon invades Cambodia;
Congress repeals Tonkin Gulf
Resolution
– Pentagon Papers show plans to
enter war under LBJ
– Confirm belief of many that
government not honest about
intentions
– Publication of the Pentagon Papers
revealed, among other things, that
the Johnson administration had
lied to the public about its
intentions in Vietnam.
– Lyndon B. Johnson’s
administration’s efforts to misled
the American people were revealed
by the publication of the Pentagon
Paper.
America’s Longest War Ends
• “Peace is at Hand”
– 1971, 60% think U.S. should withdraw from Vietnam by end of year
– 1972 N. Vietnamese attack; U.S. bombs cities, mines Haiphong harbor
– Kissinger agrees to complete withdrawal of U.S.: “Peace is at hand”
• The Final Push
– S. Vietnam rejects Kissinger plan; talks break off; bombing resumes
– Congress calls for end to war; peace signed January 1973
• The Fall of Saigon
– Cease-fire breaks down; South surrenders after North invades 1975
The War Leaves a Painful Legacy
•
American Veterans Cope Back
Home
– 58,000 Americans, over 2 million
North, South Vietnamese die in war
– Returning veterans face
indifference, hostility
at home
– About 15% develop post-traumatic
stress disorder
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Further Turmoil in Southeast Asia
– Communists put 400,000 S.
Vietnamese in labor camps; 1.5
million flee
– Civil war breaks out in Cambodia;
Khmer Rouge seize power
– Khmer Rouge Communist group
seized power in Cambodia after the
U.S. invasion of that country
unleashed a brutal civil war.
– Want to establish peasant society;
kill at least
1 million people
A Vietnamese woman and her child
aboard a refugee boat (1977).
The War Leaves a Painful Legacy
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The Legacy of Vietnam
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Government abolishes military
draft
1973 Congress passes War
Powers Act:
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War Powers Act requires a
president to inform Congress
within 48 hours if U.S. forces are
sent into a hostile area without a
declaration of war.
War Powers Act states that U.S.
troops are not to remain longer
than 90 days in a hostile area
without Congressional approval or
a declaration of war.
War contributes to cynicism about
government, political leaders
The main purpose of the War
Powers Act was to restrict the
power of the president
Congress passed the War Powers
Act to limit the president’s
authority to wage war.
Section 5
The End of the War and Its Legacy
Vietnamization – President Nixon’s strategy for ending U.S. involvement in
the Vietnam War, involving the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops and
their replacement with South Vietnamese forces.
Silent majority – a name given by President Richard Nixon to the
moderate, mainstream Americans who quietly supported his Vietnam
War policies.
My Lai – a village in northern South Vietnam where more than 200
unarmed civilians, including women and children, were massacred by
U.S. troops in May 1968.
Kent State University – an Ohio university where National Guardsmen
opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War on May 4, 1970,
wounding nine and killing four.
Pentagon Papers – a 7,000-page document— leaked to the press in 1971
by the former Defense Department worker Daniel Ellsberg—revealing
that the U.S. government had not been honest about its intentions in
the Vietnam War.
War Powers Act – a law enacted in 1973, limiting a president’s right to
send troops into battle without consulting Congress.