The War Winds Down

The Vietnam War

• Nixon appoints Henry Kissinger as special assistant for national security affairs.

• Linkage: improving relations with the Soviet Union and China, so he could persuade them to cut back on their aid.

• This failed and eventually, the US and South Vietnam would begin negotiating peace.

• North Vietnam’s negotiator: Le Duc Tho

Nixon Moves to End the War

Massacre at My Lai• Massacred possibly more than 200 unarmed South

Vietnamese civilians in the hamlet of My Lai.

• Most soldiers acted responsibly and honorably throughout the war.

Turmoil at Home Continues

The Pentagon Papers• Daniel Ellsberg, leaked what was known as the

Pentagon Papers to the New York Times. The documents revealed that many government officials during the Johnson administration privately questioned the war while publicity defending it.

• After the invasion of Cambodia congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Turmoil at Home Continues

The Two Sides Reach Peace• The Nixon administration began the most destructive air

raids of the entire war. • In the wake of the bombing campaign, the United States

and North Vietnam returned to the bargaining table.• Nguyen Van Thieu: South Vietnam’s President and peace

negotiator for South Vietnam.

The United States Pulls Out of Vietnam

South Vietnam Falls• The United States had barely pulled out its last troops from

Vietnam when the peace agreement collapsed.• They then renamed Saigon Ho Chi Minh City.

The United States Pulls Out of Vietnam

The War’s Human Toll• The United States paid a heavy price for its involvements in

Vietnam.• Relatives and friends were classified as missing in action or

solider who’s fate was undetermined.

The Legacy of Vietnam

The War’s Impact on the Nation• The war left its mark on the nation as a whole.• In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act as a way to

reestablished some limits on executive power.• The Vietnam War increased American’s suspicion about their

government.

The Legacy of Vietnam