The War in Vietnam

Chapter 30

Vietnam

• A colony of France until after World War II

• 1954- War for Independence led by Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh

The Geneva Accords

• The Geneva Accords divided the country into North and South Vietnam

• In 1956 a general election designed to unite the whole country would end the division

• The United States was allowed to intervene in creating a new government for Vietnam

North and South Vietnam

• North

– Communist, aided by the Soviet Union

– Led by Ho Chi Minh

• South

– Free, aided by the United States

– Led by Ngo Dinh Diem

Ngo Dinh Diem • Some people from the South joined the National Liberation Front (Vietcong)- guerilla fighters who joined with the Communist North to fight against Diem

• On November 1, 1963, a group of South Vietnamese army officers staged a coup and assassinated Diem

The Domino Theory

• Americans were worried that if the Communists took South Vietnam, the surrounding countries of Southeast Asia would fall to communism

Special Forces

• President Kennedy sent special forces- the Green Berets- to train and advise South Vietnamese troops

Robert McNamara

• Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara reported that South Vietnam couldn’t resist the Vietcong without more U.S. assistance

The Gulf of Tonkin Incident

• August 1964

• Reports surfaced that North Vietnamese patrol boats had attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• Congress allowed the president to use “all necessary measures” to stop aggression and prevent further aggression in Vietnam

• President Johnson used this broad authority to escalate the use of American forces in Vietnam

Operation Rolling Thunder

• An intense bombing campaign to attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail

• By the end of 1968, American planes had dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than they had dropped on Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII

The Ho Chi Minh Trail

• Ho Chi Minh Trail- a network of roads, paths, and bridges that wound from North Vietnam through Cambodia and Laos into South Vietnam

• Used by North Vietnamese troops to bring equipment to the South

Fighting Conditions

• Dense jungles, muddy trails, and swampy rice paddies

• Long rainy seasons

• The enemy (Vietcong) was difficult to identify- they blended in with the villagers!

• Often necessary to recapture places where they had already fought

Dense Jungles

Muddy Trails and Swamps

Long Rainy Seasons

Vietcong

New Fighting Tactics

• American troops used search and destroy missions to seek out and destroy Vietcong or North Vietnamese units and destroy them

New Fighting Tactics

• Napalm- an explosive that burned and destroyed jungle growth

• Agent Orange- a chemical herbicide sprayed to clear out forests and tall grasses

Effect of Agent Orange

1968 – A Year of Crisis

• On January 23, North Korean boats seized the USS Pueblo, a navy spy ship, off the coast of Korea

The Tet Offensive • Began on January 31, 1968- The Vietnamese New

Year, Tet

• A series of surprise attacks that targeted American military bases in major South Vietnamese cities

• The U.S. Embassy in Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was attacked

• THE TURNING POINT OF THE WAR

• Americans become upset about this and want to leave Vietnam

The Tet Offensive

Tet: Vietnamese New Year

• Lasts for three days, but many celebrations occur before and after these days

• People bring special food to people they want to impress

• Follow the lunar calendar for Tet, but follow the solar calendar the rest of the year

• A person is considered one year older on this day

• A strong emphasis on ancestors

• New clothes, houses painted

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hoa_mai.jpg

Assassinations of 1968

• Robert Kennedy Martin Luther King, Jr.

Election of 1968

• Richard M. Nixon is elected in 1968, and promises to bring an end to the war in Vietnam

• He appealed to the “Silent Majority”

America’s Reaction

The Media

• The Vietnam war was much more publicized than any war had ever been.

• For the first time, cameras were allowed in the midst of the action.

• Photographs and video images from the war in Vietnam had a strong influence on the opinions of the American public.

America’s Reaction • Hawks- supporters of the war

• Doves- Oppose the war; anti-war protests (usually on college campuses)

American Culture Begins to Change

• Counterculture- a movement that rejected traditional American values

• Sometimes called “Hippies”- experimented with clothing and music

The Draft

• The Selective Service System

• The law required all men to register for the draft at age eighteen

• Deferments- issued by draft boards to excuse certain people from military service

• Full-time college students received deferments

Opposition to the Draft

• Conscientious objectors- claimed their moral or religious beliefs kept them from fighting in the war

• Burning of draft cards

Dove/Hawk Day!!

Tuesday, April 30th

Come dressed up!

You may choose to dress up as either a Dove or a Hawk.

America’s Reaction

• The Vietnam War seemed to split America

• Antiwar demonstrators (known as doves) called President Johnson and his supporters “killers”

• Supporters of the war (known as hawks) called the protesters “traitors”

America’s Reaction cont’d • As U.S. involvement in the

war increased, so did opposition to the war

• Some believed that the conflict in Vietnam was a civil war and shouldn’t involve the U.S.

• Others felt that the U.S. financial commitment to Vietnam was hurting domestic programs

• All condemned the devastation to the Vietnam countryside and the loss of life throughout the war

America’s Reaction cont’d

• Many who opposed the war were a part of the emerging counterculture-a movement that rejected traditional American values

• Common symbols included torn jeans and men with long hair and rejecting customary social roles of study, work, and family

America’s Reaction cont’d

• Student protests often targeted the draft (selective service system)

• The law required all men to register for the draft at age 18

America’s Reaction cont’d

• Two main draft opposers: 1. Those who were against American involvement in Vietnam, and believed that by stopping the draft then they could stop the supply of soldiers sent there 2. Draft boards had the power to grant deferments from the draft for various reasons, including full time enrollment in college. Therefore, many believed the deferment system discriminated against the poor and was unfair

America’s Reaction cont’d

• Some protestors became conscientious objectors, claiming their moral or religious beliefs kept them from fighting in the war

• Other protestors burned their draft cards , to which Congress responded by making the burning of draft cards against the law

Dove vs. Hawk Dove Hawk

Nixon’s Plan

• “Peace with honor”

– Reform of the Selective Service System

– “Vietnamization”- giving more responsibility to South Vietnam for fighting the war

– Expanding the bombing campaign

Peace Talks Begin • Henry Kissinger, President

Nixon’s national security adviser, represented the U.S. in the Paris peace talks

• Rather than accepting the peace terms, North Vietnam adopted a “wait-and-see” attitude with the renewed bombing campaign, believing the anti-war movement in the U.S. would force us to withdraw

The War Goes On

• Nixon orders the bombing of Cambodia in April 1970

• North Vietnamese were using Cambodian trails to transport supplies, soldiers, and weapons

• Critics believed that Nixon had invaded a neutral country and taken advantage of his presidential authority

• Nixon begins to slowly bring troops home

College Protests

• Kent State University- four students were killed and nine were wounded by National Guardsmen during an anti-war protest

• Jackson State University- following a night of campus violence, two students were shot and killed by police

“Peace is at Hand” • In 1972, Henry Kissinger was sent back to Paris

to negotiate a peace agreement, but the South Vietnamese President did not agree to the terms

• Paris Peace Accords- signed on January 27, 1973; ended American involvement in Vietnam

–U.S. agreed to withdraw remaining troops

–North Vietnamese would release all P.O.W.’s

After the Peace Talks

• The Paris Peace Accords did not end the conflict

• 1975- a final major offensive was launched; the South Vietnamese army collapsed

• April 30, 1975- Fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam

The War’s Legacy

• 58,000 Americans die in Vietnam; over one million Vietnamese die

• More than $150 billion spent by the U.S. on the war in Vietnam

• The war lasted 13 years!

• Caused division in America

• Changed American culture

• Vietnam calls the war “The American War”

Vietnam Soldiers Come Home

• When they came home, the soldiers did not receive a hero’s welcome

• Many Americans wanted to forget the war

• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was constructed in Washington, D.C., in 1982