The Vietnam War

U.S. History II

Ho Chi Minh (1890 – 1969)

As college student, attended Paris Peace Conference in 1919 & asked for self-determination for his people

Formed Viet Minh (National Liberation Front) in 1941 to fight Japanese occupation in collaboration with the Allies

Declared independence Sept. 2, 1945, with American OSS agents present

Decolonization After World War II

U.S. helped European countries regain control of colonies after WWII for Cold War reasons Necessary to rebuild economies of Western Europe Necessary to rebuild Japanese economy

Decolonization took place anyway Africans & Asians were determined to be

independent European countries could no longer afford to

maintain large armies overseas

Map: Decolonization

Advisory Phase (1950 – 1963)Truman Administration began giving aid to French in Indochina in May 1950 – prior to Korean WarFrench withdrew after disastrous defeat at Dien Bien Phu (1954)Geneva Accords (1954) divided Vietnam at 17th parallel & called for unifying elections in 1956 North: Communist regime under Ho Chi Minh South: corrupt regime under Ngo Dinh Diem

SEATO formed to contain Communism in Southeast Asia U.S. gave $1 billion to Diem regime, 1955-61Kennedy’s Project Beef-Up (1961-63) sent more than 16,000 “advisors”

Two Assassinations

Diem assassinated Nov. 2, 1963 with U.S. Ambassador Lodge’s & Pres. Kennedy’s approvalNew military gov’t no betterKennedy assassinated Nov. 22, 1963 No connection to Vietnam Dallas speech text said, “Our

assistance to . . . nations can be painful, risky and costly, as is true in Southeast Asia. But we dare not weary of the task.”

War Phase (1964 – 1973)USS Maddox fired upon in Aug. 1964 while providing support for S. Vietnamese commando raids

Congress overwhelmingly approved Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Authorized Pres. Johnson to “take all necessary

measures” Congress never declared war, however

U.S. quickly escalated troop strength – peaked at 543,400 in 1968-69

Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand & South Korea contributed several thousand troops

The Horrors of War

Unable to distinguish friend from foe

Viet Cong used terrorist & guerrilla tactics

U.S. committed atrocities like My Lai Massacre (March 1968)

By 1971, drug abuse, AWOL & fragging rampant

The Beginning of the EndTet Offensive (Jan. 30, 1968) was turning point in the war Convinced U.S. they could not win Turned media, & hence public opinion,

against the war Johnson began peace talks & dropped

reelection bid

Nixon began “Vietnamization” in 1969 Withdrew U.S. ground forces, but stepped

up aerial bombing Secretly invaded Laos & Cambodia to shut

off “Ho Chi Minh Trail”

Pentagon Papers (June 1971) revealed systematic lying by U.S. officials

The End of the War

Cease-fire signed June 1973 N. Vietnam promised not to

conquer S. Vietnam U.S. promised to protect S.

Vietnam if necessary

Costs: 58,000 Americans killed 1.5 million Vietnamese killed $170 billion

North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam April 1975

Effects & Consequences

Supporters & Opponents: Supporters tended to be young,

white, male & middle-class Opponents tended to be older,

black, female & lower-class Support among college educated

people fell steadily

Americans more interested in foreign affairs, but more skeptical of governmentPaved way for Nixon’s policy of détente & recognition of Communist Chinese gov’t

Effects & Consequences (Cont.)

War Powers Act (1973) set 60-day time limit on president sending troops into hostile situation without Congressional approval Every president has said it’s unconstitutional Never tested

Lessons learned vary: Military leaders insisted lesson was to use overwhelming force

to achieve quick victory & then withdraw Conservatives said lesson was not to abandon allies Liberals said lesson was not to get involved in civil wars in

countries where the U.S. has no vital strategic interests