THE VIETNAM WARChapter 31

The War Unfolds:Background of War• Vietnam – 2000 year old culture• Resisted China• Became French colony in 1800s• WWII, Ho Chi Minh fought for independence• Vietminh, League for Independent Vietnam• French created Republic of Vietnam• Lead by Emperor Bao Dai

Vietnam Divided • April 1954• French and Ho Chi Minh meet• Geneva Accords – divide the

country• 17th Parallel

US Involvement• US pledged to help aid country withstand communism• French asked for help• US sent officials to help the south• Domino Theory – fear that if one SE Asian country falls to

communism, they all will

Kennedy’s Vietnam Policy• Sent LBJ to assess need• New leader Diem said they needed troops• By 1963, US had 16,000 troops there

Diems Downfall• Tried “strategic hamlets”• Forced Buddhists to follow Catholic rule• Monks on fire as protest• US encouraged his overthrow• November 1963 – Diem killed

Communist Advances• Diem’s successors were bad• Top generals just bickered• Communist guerrillas = Viet Cong• Political Arm called National Liberation Front (NLF)• Tried to gain land and power in South

Expanding Presidential Power• August 1964• US boats attacked in Gulf of Tonkin• Johnson used attack to get vote in Congress• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Johnson complete power

over Vietnam• No official war vote• Considered a Police Action

Fighting the WarBattlefield Conditions• US had advanced weapons and supplies• Viet Cong knew the land• Soldiers were never sure of friend or foe• Southern Vietnamese didn’t seem to care• Women and children often spies for North

Ground War• No real battles• VC used guerrilla warfare• Used elaborate underground tunnel system• Confused and exhausted US troops• Used traps, land mines• Civilians often killed in confusion

Air War• US developed B-52 bomber• Saturation bombing of North• Used Fragmentation bombs• Agent Orange – herbicide to kill off jungles• Left no cover for VC• Napalm – constant burning jelly • Both caused problems for people after war

Course of War 65-68Intensifying the War• Escalation – expansion• Ho Chi Minh Trail – supplies from South to North• 1965, from 25,000 to 184,000 troops• War was a stalemate• Operation Rolling Thunder – relentless bombing• Viet Cong just moved to tunnels

Hawks and Doves• Hawks – for war• Doves – for peace• Many people we shouldn’t solve others problems• Massive protests all over the country

Turning Point• 1967 – Nguyen Van Thieu – President of South Vietnam• No real South Vietnamese Army to defend• The more US troops came, the more Communists sent

Tet Offensive• January 30, 1968• Series of surprise attacks by Viet Cong• Communists were relentless and brutal• Killed anyone they found• Round up people for “relocation”• Hue = mass graves of government employees

Massacre of My Lai• US also committed atrocities• Rumor: 250 commies in town of My Lai• Found women, children, old men• Commander told soldiers to round up• Changed mind, said to kill them all (no reason)• Helicopter crew saw, landed in-between gunfire• Evacuated those who left• Soldiers held accountable, jailed• Crew given commendations

Political DivisionsStudent Activism• College campuses full of anti-war activists• Generation gap between parents values and theirs• Used sit-ins and teach-ins• Worked for Civil Rights and against War

Draft Resistance• Selective Service Act – Government drafts 18-26 year olds• Few Conscientious objectors• 1965 – LBJ doubles number drafted, twice• Deferment – postpone draft by going to college• Many tried other ways to get out of the draft• Fake ailments, created disabilities, left country

Protests• Hundreds of protests held• Students took over campus buildings• Draft card burning sessions• Got bigger as war moved on

Election of 1968Democratic Convention• Johnson refused to run for 2nd term• At Chicago Convention, few options for runners• Violence erupts when a Peace Resolution is called for• All happened on TV• Riots, police brutality, vandalism• Hubert Humphrey finally nominated

Republicans Choose Nixon• 2nd time Nixon had been nominee• Lost to JFK in 1960• Said he had a “secret plan” to end war

Election Day• Nixon wins with 43.4% of the vote• Democrats kept both houses of Congress• Defined “Middle America”• Began a change in people’s values

The End of the WarNixon’s Vietnam Policy• Failed Paris Peace Talks in May 1968• June 1969 – Nixon announces Vietnamization• Remove US forces, replace with South Vietnamese troops• By 1972, US troops dropped to 24,000• Used secret bombing raids on targets

War Moves to Cambodia• 1970 – troops moved to Cambodia• Plan to quickly clean out communist camps• People in US were very angry• Cambodia fell in to Civil War

Law and Order in the USNixon’s Promise• Nixon had promised to restore America• Weathermen – violent protesters who wanted revolution• Dressed as construction workers• Went on rampage through Chicago• Random violence became new fear

Silent Majority• Most people not anti-war, counterculture, violent• Large group of silent Americans• Said he would not allow “vocal minority” to shape the

country• Wanted them to come forward and act

Kent State Riot• Anti-War vs. Law-and-order very tense• Invasion of Cambodia made it worse• Kent State

• Students broke windows, burned buildings• Gov. sent in troops • Rocks vs. tear gas• Troops turned to leave, then fired on students• 4 dead, 9 wounded

American Withdrawal• Peace talks dragged on • North Vietnam refused to take the original agreement• Began largest bombing campaign of war• November 1972 “Peace at Hand”• Agreement:

• US would leave in 2 months• All POWs released• Cambodia would be vacated• 17th Parallel would divide the country

AftermathSouth Vietnam Falls• US withdrew, South lost ground• Spring of 1975, North surrounded Saigon• US airlifted 7,000 to aircraft carries• April 30, 1975 – South falls to North

Southeast Asia After the War• Domino Theory didn’t work• Only Vietnam became communist• New Vietnam forced “re-education camps”• Millions fled the country• Many came to US• Cambodia was tragic

• April 1975 – Communist Pol Pot & Khmer Rouge• Killed anyone “tainted” with Western Ways• 1.5 million killed on “killing fields”

Legacy of the War• Counting the Costs

• 58,000 dead• 300,000 wounded• 2,500 POW/MIA• $150 billion spent• Vietnam lost millions of people• Country had been destroyed

• Vietnam Veterans Memorial• Built in 1982• Designed by college student Maya Lin