AMERICA DIVIDEDThe Vietnam War
WHAT DO I DO? Use the slides and video clips provided
in the slide show to fill in the blanks on your coursepack worksheets entitled “Hot Events in the Cold War”
Key words are in red for your convenience!
ANOTHER COLD WAR DIVISION Like Korea and
Germany, Vietnam was divided in two following World War 2
North Korea was given a communist government supported by China
South Korea was given a democratic government supported by France
VIETNAM’S LEADERS
Ho Chi Minh of Nguyen Van Thieu of North Vietnam South Vietnam
FRENCH WITHDRAWAL From 1950 France
and USA worked together to keep South Vietnam free from attack from the North
French forces withdrew in 1957 and American troops replaced them
GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION In 1964 North
Korea bombed the US naval destroyer, the Maddox
US President Lyndon B. Johnson responded with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to increase US action in Vietnam
The war was ON!
Beginnings of the Vietnam War
US AIR STRIKES ON VIETNAM
DEADLY NAPALM
U.S. napalm bomb strike in South Vietnam, 1966. The USA dropped more than 338,000 tons of napalm (jellied gasoline) on Vietnam and killed more than 2 million Vietnamese during eight years of war.
CARPET BOMBING
NAPALM STRIKE 1972
South Vietnamese children burned by napalm accidentally dropped by South Vietnamese planes. Kim Phuc’s clothes were burned off her body.
THE WAR WORSENS By 1966 there were over 500 000 US soldiers
in Vietnam Many South Vietnamese were secretly
working to support the communist North They were the National Liberation Front,
known as Viet Cong They launched some major attacks on the
American troops from within the South including the Tet Offensive
Tet Offensive Video Clip
MY LAI MASSACRE 1968 The Viet Cong made many US soldiers
angry and distrusting of all Vietnamese people, as a result, some vicious atrocities ensued
American troops attacked the village of My Lai, an alleged Viet Cong stronghold, where they raped and killed over 500 civilians
Change your handout to read 500 civilians, not 150
A mother shelters her 13-year-old daughter from molestation by American soldiers just moments before they were slain
THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL The infamous Ho
Chi Minh Trail served as the supply route from North Vietnam to soldiers and Viet Cong in the South
Both sides were forbidden from entering Laos and Cambodia, but both sides did anyways
THE AMERICAN PUBLIC PROTESTS The Vietnam War was the first war
where the US government did not receive 100% full support from the American people
Many men refused to be conscripted, publicly burned draft cards, and many hid in Canada
Anti-war protests were common Washington Anti-War Protest 1969
PEACE TALKS… FINALLY Under much public pressure and after suffering
great loss in Vietnam, the peace talks began in 1972 and US troops withdrew by 1973
Despite the ceasefire, both sides continued to fight
In 1975 North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam for the last time and in 1976 the two halves were united under one communist government
Vietnam remains united today
Watch a scene or two from the movie Platoon; the DVD is available in the History Office
THE END