Power PresentationsCHAPTER 30

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America in the World

You are a young person in 1969. Your country is at war to stop Communists from taking over South Vietnam. College students have organized huge protests against the war and the draft. Many people think such protests are unpatriotic and an insult to the soldiers who are fighting.

Would you support the war?

• Should the United States try to stop the spread of communism in Vietnam?

• Why are so many people against the war?

• Is it unpatriotic to criticize the government?

To World1973 U.S. involvement in war ends.

1970 Nixon orders invasion of Cambodia. Four students are killed during an antiwar protest at Kent State University.

1969 President Nixon begins troop withdrawals from Vietnam.

1968 Richard M. Nixon is elected president.

1965 First U.S. ground troops go to Vietnam.

1964 Johnson is reelected president. Tonkin Gulf Resolution is passed.

1963 Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president after Kennedy’s assassination.

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1960 John F. Kennedy is elected president.

1954 United States gives economic aid to South Vietnam.

Back to Home Back to U.S.

1975 South Vietnam surrenders to Communists.

1968 Viet Cong launch Tet offensive. Soviets invade Czechoslavakia to stop reforms.

1966 Communist leader Mao Zedong begins Cultural Revolution in China.

1962 Soviet Union places nuclear missiles in Cuba.

1960 National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) organizes in South Vietnam.

1954 Vietnam is divided into North and South.

Main Idea

Why It Matters Now

The United States entered the Vietnam War to stop the spread of Communism.

The United States still becomes involved in foreign struggles for political reasons.

1963

1960

1954

1950

1946

1945

1940

1930 Indochinese Communist Party forms

Japan takes over Indochina

Vietnam declares independence

Viet Minh and France at war

U.S. offers military aid to France

France surrenders, Vietnam divides

Viet Cong organizes

Diem overthrown

What important events shaped relations between the United States and Vietnam?

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• What were Ho Chi Minh’s goals for Vietnam?

• How did the Cold War affect American decisions regarding Vietnam?

• What level of involvement did the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy administrations have in Vietnam?

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Evaluating

How did U.S. support of the Diem government involve a conflict of values?

Think About

• American beliefs in democracy and individual rights

• the actions of the Diem government

Main Idea

Why It Matters Now

America sent ground troops to Vietnam expecting victory, but soldiers soon grew frustrated.

The Vietnam War taught Americans that superior military strength does not always ensure victory.

How did the Vietnam War affect Vietnamese villagers and U.S. soldiers?

ImageVillagers U.S. Soldiers

harmed by chemicals that destroyed landscape and food supplies

frustrated by limits on their attacks and by Viet Cong dedication

vulnerable to surprise attacks and booby traps

left homeless

demoralized by difficult physical conditions

killed by soldiers

• How did President Johnson escalate U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War?

• What made fighting the war so frustrating forAmerican soldiers?

• How was the Tet offensive a turning point in the war?

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Analyzing Points of View

Were the Viet Cong right to see the Americans “merely as successors to the French”?

Think About

• the goals of the French in Vietnam

• the goals of the Americans in Vietnam• the actions of the French and the Americans

Main Idea

Why It Matters Now

The Vietnam War divided Americans and had lasting effects in the United States and Southeast Asia.

Lessons of the Vietnam War still influence the United States whenever it gets involved in a foreign conflict.

What groups were involved in the antiwar movement? Why did they protest the war? What did they do to show their beliefs?

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religious leaders

civil rights leaders

teachers and college students

journalists

it was a civil war

it was immoral

the costs were too high

it took money away from social programs

demonstrations

draft card burnings

speeches

editorials

Groups Reasons Events

• Why did more and more Americans oppose the war after 1968?

• How did the Vietnam War end?

• In what major ways did the war affect Southeast Asia and the United States?

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Forming and Supporting Opinions

What is your opinion of the way the United States ended its involvement in the Vietnam War?

Think About

• what happened to South Vietnam

• what options the United States had

REVIEW QUESTIONS

ANSWERS: READ AND TAKE NOTES

1 Why did the United States decide to support France in its fight against the Viet Minh?

2 What decisions about Vietnam were laid out in the 1954 Geneva Accords?

3 What Cold War crises made President Kennedy continue to aid Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam?

4 How was President Johnson’s Vietnam policy different than President Kennedy’s?

5 What kept U.S. troops from defeating the Viet Cong quickly?

6 How did American war tactics affect Vietnamese villagers?

7 How was the Tet offensive both a defeat and a victory for the Communists?

8 Why did many Americans protest against the war?

9 What policies did President Nixon pursue in Vietnam?

10 What long-term political effects did the Vietnam War have on the United States?

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REASONS FOR INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM

REASONS AGAINST INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM

French alliance: If the United States does not

aid France, France may not aid in opposing the Soviets in Europe.Domino theory: If South Vietnam falls to communism, other Asian countries may fall as well.

Nation-building: The United States can help South Vietnam establish a democratic government.

U.S. interests: The war is a civil war that does not directly threaten the United States.

Draft: The draft to select soldiers is unfair.

Social programs: The war takes away money from social programs.

Analyzing Points of View

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REASONS FOR INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM

REASONS AGAINST INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM

Cold War crises: The United States fears the growth of communist power.

U.S. weaponry: Superior U.S. weaponry can easily defeat the Viet Cong.

Vietnamese civilians: The war harms Vietnamese civilians.

Domestic unrest: The war causes too much domestic unrest.

Analyzing Points of View

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