The End of the Vietnam WarThe End of the Vietnam War

Why does America lose the Vietnam War?

The Pentagon Papers

• New York Times finds out about leaked Vietnam memo• Memo showed LBJ planned to escalate war as he was

promising no expansion of War• No plans for ending the war as long as N. Vietnam exists• VQ1) Who did Ellsberg leak a memo to?• VQ2) What was LBJ’s secret request? VQ3) What did Tet

do?• http://dev.history.com/videos/pentagon-papers-reveal-secret-

war#pentagon-papers-reveal-secret-war

Vietnamization of the War• 1969: Ho Chi Minh dies but N. Vietnam continues the war• Nixon and Ntl Security Advisor Henry Kissinger devise a plan

known as Vietnamization• US will pull out combat troops and turn over ground fighting to

ARVN, but will increase bombing w/ Operation Linebacker

My Lai Massacre

• New York Times reports a massacre committed by U.S. soldiers in village of My Lai

• While searching for VC rebels, Lt. William Calley orders troops to open fire on 100s of Vietnamese villagers

• 25 officers charged, only Calley is sent to prison

US Invades Cambodia

• 1970: Nixon announces US troops have invaded Cambodia

• Nixon says he must stop VC supply lines from the North (many supplies given to NV by Soviets & China)

• College students around the country burst into protests

Kent State & Jackson State Massacres• National Guard opens fire into a crowd at Kent State University in Ohio, of protestors killing 4 people

• Happens again ten days later at Jackson State (Mississippi)

• Hawks say its justified, Doves say its murder! Protest movement moves away from peace & love to violent resistance

Weather Underground (aka Weathermen)• 1969: A faction of student group SDS, called the Weather Collective

calls for a violent overthrow of the US govt

• Allegedly brainwash Hearst into robbing bank in San Francisco

• 1970s: Group goes underground and begins bombing campaign against government agencies

• Movement dies in 1973 after several members are arrested

Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)• 1973-75 Militant group that demanded changes to help the poor• Became famous for kidnapping Patty Hearst

Fall of Saigon • 1973: Nixon sends Henry Kissinger to negotiate an end to the war

• US, N, Vietnam & S. Vietnam sign a treaty, Paris Peace Accords

• 1974-75: North Vietnam invades South Vietnam

• Congress passes War Powers Act – limiting President’s ability to wage war without Congressional Approval

• President asks Congress to help and the Congress refuses.

• Saigon, the South Vietnamese capital falls in April of 1975. North & South Vietnam are unified. Saigon becomes Ho Chi Minh City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mfndf1fQe8