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Ch. 17- The Vietnam War
Ch. 17- The Vietnam War
Bell Work…
Listen to the following songs:
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son”
Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?”
Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind”
Watch the following movie clip:
Letters Home from Vietnam
Focus Question: What did the United States
lose in Vietnam?
Your Task…
In your groups, read pages 9-14 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
Using the questions and charts provided, answer the questions. When finished, cut and glue the charts into your notebook.
Bell Work…
Copy and answer the following question into your notebook:
How did Southeast Asia’s colonial history produce increased tensions in Vietnam?
Vietminh- group that resisted the Japanese occupation in Vietnam
Domino Theory- belief that if Vietnam fell to Communists, other countries of SE Asia would follow
Dien Bien Phu- site of a battle between the French and the Vietminh in 1954; the French lost the battle and control of Vietnam
Geneva Conference- international meeting in Geneva, Switzerland to restore peace in Indochina
CAUSES OF THE VIETNAM WAR
▪ Vietnam’s desire for freedom from colonial rule
France reclaimed Vietnam as a colony after WWII.
The Communist-led Vietminh fought against French rule.
▪ US fears of the spread of communism (the domino theory)
Fearing that communism would spread throughout SE Asia if Communists took over
Vietnam, the US supported France. Despite US aid, French rule of Vietnam ended in
1954.
▪ South Vietnam’s failure to comply with the Geneva Accords
After the French surrender, Vietnam was temporarily divided.
North Vietnam was controlled by the Vietminh. Under the Geneva Accords, elections
to unify the country under one government were set for 1956, but South Vietnam’s
leader refused to hold them.
▪ Efforts by North Vietnam to reunite the nation under Communist rule
By 1959 North Vietnam began sending weapons to Vietminh in South Vietnam with
the goal of unifying the country under a Communist government.
▪ US support for the anti-Communist government of South Vietnam
The US supported South Vietnam with military advisers and later with troops.
Your Task…
In your groups, read pages 17-20 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
Complete the Why fight the Vietnam War? chart. When finished, cut and glue the chart into your notebook.
Bell Work…
Using your notebook, complete the Origins of the Vietnam War Quiz.
Then, copy and answer the following question into your notebook:
Why did the United States fight the Vietnam War?
Vietcong- military forces of the National Liberation Front, a group that wanted to overthrow the gov’t in Vietnam
Increasing US Involvement
1. President Kennedy decided to increase the number of military advisers and Green Berets in South Vietnam
2. Diem’s gov’t grew unpopular and Buddhist leaders opposed his rule
3. US leaders secretly began to support a plot within the South Vietnamese army to overthrow Diem
4. South Vietnamese gov’t was on the brink of collapse; by 1964 the Vietcong controlled about 40% of S. Vietnam
5. President Johnson announced that North Vietnamese gunboats fired on American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin
6. Tonkin Gulf Resolution- congressional resolution that authorized military action in SE Asia
“Repeated acts of violence against the Armed Forces of the United States must be met not only with alert defense, but with positive reply. That reply is being given as I speak to you tonight. Air action is now in execution against gunboats and certain supporting facilities in North Vietnam which have been used in these hostile operations.”
-Lyndon B. John, speech on August 4, 1964
Your Task…
In your groups, read page 22 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
Next, listen to the audio recordings of the phone conversations between President Johnson and Defense Secretary McNamara. You may follow the transcript on pages 23-26 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB132/tapes.htm
Your Task…
Discuss the following questions as a group:
1. What did McNamara and Johnson want Congress and the public to know about what happened in the Gulf of Tonkin on August 2?
2. Why do you think Johnson and McNamara were so worried about controlling what the public heard about the incident?
Your Task…
Read pages 26-27 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
Next, listen to the audio recording of President Johnson’s report on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Follow along on page 26 found in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3998
Your Task…Discuss the following questions as a group:
1. What actually happened in the Gulf of Tonkin on August 2? On August 4?
2. What does LBJ say happened in the Gulf? Is this report accurate? Why or why not?
3. Consider Johnson’s argument that military action will promote peace and freedom in SE Asia. Why does Johnson use this language and what does that reasoning have to do with American efforts to contain communism?
Vietnam Troop EscalationAdministration Date Military Forces, Total
Kennedy (Democrat) 1961 3,200
Kennedy 1962 11,300
Kennedy 1963 16,300
Johnson (Democrat) 1964 23,300
Johnson 1965 184,300
Johnson 1966 385,300
Johnson 1967 485,600
Johnson 1968 536,100
Nixon (Republican) 1969 475,200
Nixon 1970 334,600
Nixon 1971 156,800
Nixon 1972 24,200
Your Task…
In your groups, create a presentation that answers the following question:
Who was most responsible for the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War?
Refer to pages 30-31 in the Blueprint History: The Vietnam War packet for details and the grading rubric.
Bell Work…
Copy and answer the following question into your notebook:
Do you believe that Eisenhower’s decision to send US troops to Vietnam was wise? Why or why not?
Operation Rolling Thunder- a US bombing campaign in North Vietnam in March 1965
Ho Chi Minh Trail- network of paths from North Vietnam to South Vietnam
Pacification- US troops would move South Vietnamese from their villages and burn the villages down
Your Task…
Write paraphrases of the following quotes about the war by Rostow, McGovern, and King.
Write the quote, then your group’s paraphrase on the paper. Then, write a paragraph in which they explain which person they believe makes the strongest case for or against the war and why.
Walt W. Rostow, 1967
National Security Adviser Walt W. Rostow believed that communism must be halted– by force if necessary.
“We are honoring a treaty which committed us to ‘act to meet the common danger’ in the face of ‘aggression by means of armed attack’… And we are answering…the questions: Are the word and commitment of the United States reliable?”
George McGovern, 1967
Outspoken and plain-talking Senator George McGovern opposed US involvement in Vietnam.
“We seem bent upon saving the Vietnamese from Ho Chi Minh, even if we have to kill them and demolish their country to do it… I do not intend to remain silent in the face of what I regard as a policy of madness which, sooner or later, will envelop my son and American youth by the millions for years to come.”
Martin Luther King Jr., 1967
Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., delivered a sermon opposing the Vietnam War.
“I watched the [antipoverty] program broken and eviscerated [gutted] as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic, destructive suction tube.”
Your Assignment…
Read pages 32-36 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
As you read, make a list of examples of non-traditional fighting methods that made the war difficult, time-consuming, and costly.
Bell Work…
Copy and answer the following question into your notebook:
What non-traditional fighting methods during the Vietnam War made the war difficult, time-consuming, and costly?
Public Opinion Shifts
1. Most Americans supported US involvement in the Vietnam War at first
2. Reporters and TV crews accompanied soldiers on patrol
3. Living Room War- Vietnam War nickname given because TV coverage of firefights and burning villages
4. TV coverage contradicted government reports on the progress of the war
5. Doves- people opposed to a war
6. Hawks- people who are supportive of a war’s goals
The Tet Offensive1. Tet Offensive- series of major attacks launched by
Communist forces in South Vietnam in 1968
2. Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops took advantage of the Vietnamese New Year to launch the offensive
3. 84,000 Communist soldiers attacked 12 US military bases and 100+ cities across South Vietnam
4. Shattered the belief that Communist forces were weakening and that the US would win the war
5. President Johnson’s support for reelection was at 25%
6. Johnson attempted to seek a peace agreement with Vietnam to end the war before his presidency ended
The Election of 1968
1. Hubert Humphrey (D) defended the administration’s war policies
2. Robert Kennedy (D) called for a quick end to the war, but is assassinated after winning the CA primary
3. Richard Nixon (R) promised to win the war with honor
4. George Wallace (I) denounced war protesters and strongly opposed the civil rights movement
5. Nixon won by a small margin in the popular vote, but a large margin in the electoral college
Your Task…Read pages 37-38 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
Then, answer the questions that follow:
▪ In this address, to whom do you think Cronkite was talking?
▪ According to Cronkite, who won the recent battles during the Tet Offensive? Why was there uncertainty surrounding it?
▪ How does Cronkite think the war will end? Why?
▪ What did Cronkite mean when he said “mired in a stalemate?”
▪ In general, what impact do you think television can have on the public’s perception of war? What role do journalists play in public opinion?
Your Task…
Using the note sheet provided, complete the Vietnam War Stations Lesson.
Bell Work…
Copy and answer the following question into your notebook:
How and why did television affect public opinion about the Vietnam War?
Increasing Protests1. April 30, 1970- Nixon ordered US troops into Cambodia;
antiwar protests intensified around the country
2. Antiwar demonstrators at Kent State University set fired to the ROTC building
3. Moratorium Day- October 15, 1970; nationwide day of protest calling for a halt to the war
4. The Weathermen radically protested the war by setting off bombs in gov’t buildings and attempted to shut down Chicago
5. My Lai Massacre- massacre of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians by American soldiers
6. Pentagon Papers- revealed that gov’t officials had been misleading the American people about the progress of the Vietnam War for many years
Your Assignment…
Read pages 41-44 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
Then, complete the What Happened at My Lai? chart.
WHAT HAPPENED AT MY LAI?
Source- Citation (Title, author, date, audience)
How is this source related to the My Lai massacre?
What is this source’s perspective about the My Lai
massacre?
What information from this source is most important?
How does it help you understand what happened at My
Lai?
“The Massacre at My Lai,” Life Magazine,
December 6, 1969, available online here:
http://life.time.com/history/my-lai-remembering-
an-american-atrocity-in-vietnam-march-1968/#3
(Photos by Ronald Haeberle, former US Army
photographer)
Lt. William Calley Military Court-Martial
Transcript, 1970.
Lewis Puller Autobiography Fortunate Son (1991)
Nguyen Hieu Testimony Peers Commission, 1970
Peers Commission Report “Summary of Findings”
1970
What happened at My Lai?
Why is My Lai important?
Bell Work…
Copy and answer the following question into your notebook:
What happened at My Lai? Why is My Lai important?
Who Fought in Vietnam?1. Pretend it is 1969 and you were born between 1944 and
1950. Find your birthday on the chart found on page 46 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet. Would you have been drafted? (Not sure? If your birthday is March 7, in 1969 your draft lottery number would have been 122 and since numbers 1-195 were called up for the draft, you would have been selected).
2. If you had been selected for the draft in 1969, what would you have done? Would you have willingly served? Would you have pursued deferment? If so, what would you claim as the reason for your deferment?
3. If you did not get drafted, because your number wasn’t selected, you were a woman, or you were granted deferment, would you have volunteered to serve in a non-combat role? Would you have participated in the anti-war movement? Why or why not?
Your Task…Read pages 47-53 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
Complete the Source Analysis Chart for each primary source document.
Then, discuss the following questions:
▪ Why did some Americans oppose the Vietnam War?
▪ What methods did protestors use to oppose the war?
▪ What impact, if any, did protests have upon American leadership?
Bell Work…
Copy and answer the following questions into your notebook:
Why did some Americans oppose the Vietnam War? What methods did protestors use to oppose the war?
Vietnamization- plan to end the Vietnam War that involved turning over the fighting to the South Vietnamese while US troops gradually pulled out
Silent Majority- phrase used by President Nixon to describe people who supported the gov’ts Vietnam policies but did not express their opinions publicly
26th Amendment- lowered the legal voting age from 21 to 18
Khmer Rouge- Communists who took over Cambodia in 1975
War Powers Act- set a 60 day limit on the presidential commitment of US troops to foreign conflicts
Your Task…
Follow along with the transcript of President Nixon’s Silent Majority speech, found on pages 54- 56 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
Vietnamization and the Silent Majority1. What was Vietnamization?
2. Who was “the silent majority?”
3. Why did President Nixon believe that Vietnamization was the best plan for the nation in 1969?
4. How did President Nixon answer critics who he anticipated would oppose his plan?
5. Based on what you have learned about the war in Vietnam and the broader Cold War, do you think Nixon’s plan for Vietnamization was a continuation of the governmental policy of containment or something totally different? Explain.
Your Task…
Review pages 57-61 in the History Blueprint: The Vietnam War packet.
Then, discuss the following questions for each source:
▪What is most interesting, puzzling, or important about this source?
▪What does this source tell you about the legacy, or long-term impact of the Vietnam War?
Discussion: The Vietnam Legacy▪Why did the United States fight in Vietnam?
▪What was the war like before the United States entered it? How did we change it?
▪How did the war change the United States?
▪Why did an antiwar movement become so strong in the United States? What were its criticisms of the war in Vietnam? Were they right?
▪Why did the United States lose the war?
▪What lesson(s) should we take from the experience?
