Moving Toward Conflict

Chapter 22Section 1

America supports France in Vietnam

• 2 reasons why:– To strengthen its relationship with France– Stop the spread of communism

Ho Chi Minh

• Leader of the Indochinese Communist Party and the North Vietnamese Army

• Formed the Vietminh• Led the Vietnamese Nationalists

to victory over France in 1954

Vietminh

• Organization whose goal was to win Vietnam’s independence from foreign rule

Domino Theory

• Explained by president Eisenhower during a news conference in 1953

• The idea that if a nation falls under communist control, nearby nations will also fall under communist control

Geneva Accords - 1954

• Temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel

• North Vietnam was communist & South Vietnam was anti-communist

• Elections would be held in 1956 to unify Vietnam into one country

• United States supported the South

Ngo Dinh Diem

• South Vietnam’s president• Refused to run in the 1956

elections mainly because of Ho Chi Minh’s popularity and his fear of losing

• Regime was unpopular because of the corruption, repressive tactics, and persecution of the Buddhist religion

Vietcong

• A communist opposition group that grew in South Vietnam

• Fought against the Southern Vietnamese troops and eventually the U.S. troops as well

• Support by Ho Chi Minh and the North Vietnamese Army

1956 elections are cancelled:

• The United States supported this because it appeared that Ho Chi Minh would win the election and possible unify Vietnam under communism

• Diem proved to be inept– Was Catholic and opposed

Buddhists (Majority)• Americans became more

frustrated with Diem• 1963 – Without explicit American

approval, Diem and the South Vietnamese government is overthrown and Diem executed.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution• Resolution adopted by Congress in

1964 giving the President (at this point Johnson) broad powers to wage war in Vietnam

• Ultimately, this gave President Johnson the power to increase America’s role in the Vietnam War

• Increased American presence– 1963 - 16,000 American “advisors”– 1965 – 184,000 American Troops– 1966 – 385,000 American Troops– 1967 – 542,000 American Troops

U.S. Involvement and Escalation

Chapter 22 Section 2

Johnson Increases U.S. Involvement

• By the end of 1965 – 185,000 U.S. ground troops in Vietnam

• Led by General William Westmoreland– Began to request more

troops– Not impressed with ARVN

(Army of the Republic of Vietnam – South Vietnamese Army)

Fighting in the Jungle

• Entered the war thinking our superior weaponry would lead to easy victory of Vietcong

• Enemy was hard to find– Often was not in uniform

• Vietcong used the jungles and tunnel system to use hit and run tactics to kill Americans

War of Attrition

• Westmoreland’s strategy was to destroy the morale of the Vietcong– Constant attacks and gradually wear down the

enemy

• U.S. viewed the war as strictly military struggle and Vietcong saw it as a battle for their existence– Paid any price for victory

Hearts and Minds

• U.S. tried to win over the “hearts and minds” of South Vietnamese people– No place for the Communists to hide

Agent Orange and Napalm• Agent Orange – leaf

killing toxic chemical. – Used by the U.S. to

destroy the forests– Years later, would be

blamed for high cancer numbers

• Napalm – gasoline based bomb– Dropped from

American planes, quickly burned up the jungles and exposed tunnel systems

Search and Destroy

• Missions conducted by American troops

• Sought to find people who supported Vietcong– Soldiers killed livestock,

and burned villages• These tactics pushed

the South Vietnamese towards the Vietcong

Early War At Home

• Johnson Administration thought the war would be over quickly

• As war drug on, money to pay for the war had to be taken away from Great Society programs

• Inflation climbed from 2% in early 60’s to over 5.5% in 1969

• Johnson asked for a tax increase, and received it, but had to cut $6 billion from Great Society programs

The Living Room War• Vietnam became

America’s first televised war

• Video footage from the war was on the news every night– Footage contradicted

what the Government was telling the people

• Gen. Westmoreland claimed that a Vietcong surrender was imminent

• Defense Sec. McNamara said he “could see the light at the end of the tunnel”

Television War• Images of American soldiers in

body bags told a different story• Between 1961-1967 – 16,000

Americans had died in Vietnam• Critics of the war claimed a

“credibility gap” – a difference in what Johnson said, and what was REALLY happening

• By 1967 Americans began to change their opinion of the war– America’s youth began to openly

protest the war– Their voice will only get louder

A Nation Divided

Chapter 22 Section 3

The Draft• Vietnam was becoming an

unpopular war, and unlike WWI and WWII, few men volunteered for service

• All men between 18 & 26 years old were eligible for the draft

• Thousands of men tried to find ways around the draft– Moved to Canada– Medical exemptions– Religious Reasons (Muhammad Ali)– College Deferment

• Because only rich, white kids could afford college, 80% of draftees were from low economic classes

African-Americans in Vietnam

• African Americans accounted for 20% of all combat deaths but only accounted for 10% of population

• African Americans were still treated as 2nd class citizens in the US, but yet were fighting for the US to guarantee rights of people in SE Asia that they did not receive at home

Roots of Opposition• The New Left – a growing youth

movement of the 1960’s which called for sweeping changes in American society

• Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) – claimed that corporations and government institutions had taken over America, called for a restoration of “participatory democracy”

• College campuses became a breeding ground for the opposition movment

Protest Movement Emerges• 1965 and 1966 – SDS organized

several marches on Washington drawing upwards of 30,000 protesters

• By 1969 there were SDS chapter on 400 campuses nationwide

• Reasons for protesting war– Many saw it as a civil war between

North and South Vietnam and we needed to stay out

– South Vietnamese government was no better than communist North

– America shouldn’t police the world– Morally wrong

From Protest to Resistance• Between 1967 and early ‘70s

over 200,000 Americans were accused of draft offenses

• 4,000 were imprisoned• About 10,000 Americans fled

the country, most to Canada or Sweden

• October 1967 - 75,000 protesters met at the Lincoln Memorial, afterwards 30,000 marched to the Pentagon to disrupt the “war machine”

• Police used tear gas to stop them, 1,500 were injured and 700 arrested

War Divides the Nation• By 1967 Americans found themselves in one of two

groups– Hawks – People who felt the US should unleash more of its

military force and win the war– Doves – People who believed the US should withdraw

from the war

1968: A Tumultuous YearChapter 22 Section 4

Tet Offensive• Jan. 30th, 1968 – Equivalent of

New Year’s Eve, called Tet.– Both sides agreed to a week

long truce for the Tet holiday• There were funerals held for

the dead, and thousands flooded South Vietnamese cities– The coffins were loaded with

weapons and the villagers were Vietcong agents and spies

Tet Offensive Cont.• On the night of Jan. 30th, 1968 the

Vietcong launched an overwhelming attack on 100 towns and cities in South Vietnam and even the US Embassy in Saigon.

• Called the Tet Offensive, it continued for over a month until South Vietnam and US forces could gain control over the situation

• Militarily the US and South Vietnamese won, only 3,000 men were killed compared to 32,000 Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers

• Psychologically the Tet Offensive showed the American public that we were a long way from victory, and the credibility gab widened.

Change in Public Opinion • Before Tet Offensive – 28%

claimed to be Doves while 56% claimed to be Hawks

• Following Tet Offensive – 40% for both causes

• Media began to openly criticize the war, calling it “unwinnable” and a “sinkhole”

• LBJ’s popularity plummeted with 60% of Americans disapproving of his handling of the war

Johnson Withdraws• Robert F. Kennedy and Eugene

McCarthy declared their candidacy for the Democratic Nomination for President in 1968, both claiming to end the war in Vietnam

• March 31st, 1968 – LBJ addresses the nation– U.S. would seek negotiations to end

the war– Escalation of the war would end– Bombing would cease– Require more out of the South

Vietnamese to defend themselves– “I shall not seek, and I will not accept,

the nomination of my party for another term as your President”

Violence Grips the Nation• April 4th, 1968 – Martin Luther

King Jr. is assassinated outside a motel in Memphis, TN.– Violence ripped through over 100

cities– Rioters burned building and

destroyed neighborhoods• June 5th, 1968 – After winning

the California primary, Robert F. Kennedy gave a speech in a L.A. hotel, as he was leaving through the kitchen a young Palestinian immigrant, Sirhan Sirhan shot Kennedy dead

College Protests

• 1968 – Over 40,000 students on 100 campuses nationwide took part in over 200 demonstrations– Mostly protesting the

war– Others protesting

over campus and social issues

Race for the Presidency

• Democratic Primary pitted Eugene McCarthy against Vice President Hubert Humphrey.– Humphrey was the heavy favorite to win

• Thousands showed up in Chicago to protest outside the Democratic National Convention

• Chicago Mayor Daley used 12,000 Police officers and 5,000 national guard troops to keep peace

• On August 28th, violence erupted and police were forced to use mace and their nightsticks– All of this was captured on national TV– This greatly hurt the image of the

Democratic Party heading into the election in November

1968 Election• Democratic Nominee – Hubert H.

Humphrey• Republican Nominee- Richard M. Nixon• America Independent – George Wallace • George Wallace – A Democrat from

Alabama, ran on a campaign of segregation.– Helped Nixon win by splitting the

Democratic vote• Nixon wins 301 Electoral votes• Humphrey has 191 Electoral votes• Wallace has 46 Electoral Votes• Nixon wins the election and will end

America’s involvement in the war, but not before his policies lead to more uproar and protests

The End of The War & Its Legacy

Chapter 22 Section 5

President Nixon & The War• January 1969 – Nixon

announces the first US troop withdrawals from Vietnam

• Negotiations with North Vietnam were going nowhere– US & South Vietnam

demanded that all North Vietnam troops withdraw to the North and South Vietnamese government retains power

– North Vietnam demanded that US troops leave, and South Vietnamese government step aside

Kissinger & Vietnamization• Henry Kissinger – US National

Security Advisor• Conferred with Nixon, and

came up with a plan of Vietnamization – A gradual withdraw of US

forces– South Vietnam takes a more

direct roll in the fighting• In 1969 the first 25,000

troops come home and in 3 years the total number of US troops dropped from 500,000 to 25,000

“Peace With Honor”• Nixon wanted to

maintain US dignity and bargaining power at the negotiation table

• Nixon demanded that the South Vietnamese government stay intact

• Began a heavy bombing campaign in North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to “encourage” the North Vietnamese to surrender

Trouble on Home Front

• Silent Majority – group of Americans Nixon believed supported the war, but just remained silent

My Lai Massacre• March 16th, 1968 – A US

platoon entered the village of My Lai searching for members of the Vietcong

• After finding no evidence of the Vietcong, Lt. Calley ordered the villagers rounded up, and he then had 200 of them executed. Mostly women and children

• The US public finds out about the massacre in November of 1969, this incident shocked most Americans

• Lt. William Calley Jr. is charged with ordering the attack and is imprisoned

Invasion of Cambodia• April 30th, 1970 – Nixon

announces that the US has invaded Cambodia (neighbor of Vietnam) to search for Vietcong forces and to eliminate their supply lines

• Americans, particularly college students, begin a giant protest over the invasion of another country– 1.5 Million students on

1,200 campuses begin to protest the invasion

Kent State• In May of 1970, a

massive student protest broke out and being to burn the ROTC Building

• The local mayor called in the National Guard who fired live rounds into the crowd, killing 4 and injuring several more

• Ten days later, a similar incident broke out at Jackson State University, where 12 were wounded and 2 killed

The Pentagon Papers• June of 1971, the 7,000 page document

was leaked to the media and became known as the Pentagon Papers

• Written in 1967-68 for Robert McNamara– Detailed plans for entering the war

• Even though Johnson promised to stay out– Showed that there was never any plan to

withdraw from Vietnam as long as North Vietnam persisted• Even though the government told us

otherwise• Leaking of the Pentagon Papers gave

Americans even more reason to distrust our government

America’s Longest War Ends• By 1972, most Americans

agreed that the war needed to end

• Nixon sent Henry Kissinger to meet with North Vietnam and Nixon backed off his stance of allowing North Vietnamese troops in the South

• Jan. 27th, 1973 – US agrees to end the war and pursue peace in Vietnam

• March 29th, 1973 – Last American troops leave Vietnam and come home

The Fall of Saigon• Shortly after the US left, the

peace between North and South Vietnam failed

• The North launched a massive invasion of the South and the South appealed to the US for help– President Ford refuses to

send any more troops to Vietnam

• April 30th, 1975 – North Vietnamese tanks roll into Saigon and captured the city. Shortly after, South Vietnam surrenders

The Legacy of Vietnam• 58,000 Americans Died• 303,000 Americans wounded• Over 2 million North & South

Vietnamese killed• 15% of the 3.3 Million soldiers

who served in Vietnam suffered from PTSD

• Vietnam Veterans Memorial – built in 1982 in Washington DC. Contains the names of all Americans killed or missing in Vietnam War

Major Policy Changes

• Congress abolished the draft• November 1973 – passed the War Powers Act– Stipulated that a President must inform Congress

within 48 hours of sending forces into a hostile area without declaration of war

– Troops may only remain there 90 days unless Congress declares War

• Led to great cynicism among Americans about their government & political leaders