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Vietnam
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Ho Chi MinhHo Chi Minh was born in Vietnam in 1890. His
father, Nguyen Sinh Huy was a teacheremployed by the French.
His birth name was Nguyen Tat Thanh. He
changed it to Ho Chi Minh which means he
who enlightens.
Neither he nor his father chose to learn French,
the language of the government of Indochina.
This was in opposition to French rule there.
The French had ruled Indochina since the late
1800s. Many Vietnamese were unhappy withthis arrangement and wanted Vietnam to be
independent. These people were Nationalists.
He traveled widely in his youth and read Karl
Marx and was inspired by the Russian
Revolution.
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Ho Chi Minh
Ho went to live for a time in China andorganized the Nationalists of Vietnam while
living there.
The Germans invaded France in 1940 so the
French decided to give in to the Japanese in
Vietnam not long after. The Japanese hadinvaded Vietnam earlier.
At this time, the Vietnamese Nationalists
decided this was a good opportunity to return to
Vietnam and fight the Japanese using guerilla
warfare tactics. This group was now called theVietminh.
The Vietminh received help at this time not only
from the U.S. but the Soviet Union as well. In
addition they received weapons and learned to
fight against a larger enemy.
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VietnamIn 1945 after the defeat of the Japanese,
Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh were in a
good position to take over Vietnam. Heeven declared its independence on Sept.
2, 1945.
Earlier at the Potsdam Conference
following World War II in Berlin, the
Allies decided to partition Vietnam.
China would get the northern half while
Britain would control the southern half.
In Jan. 1946 Britain left Vietnam and
China agreed to give up its rights to it aslong as France didnt try to regain its
Colonial control.
France refused to recognize the
government of the Nationalists and
fighting broke out.
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Gen. Vo
Nguyen Giap
Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap led the Vietminh
against the French but had difficulty with
their superior weapons and fighting.
By 1953 the French controlled large
areas of South Vietnam and installed
former Emperor Bao Dai as Chief of
State. The Vietminh controlled much of
the north.
It quickly became clear that the war
would be a long one and the French tried
to offer the Vietminh peace terms. TheVietminh didnt trust them and continued
to fight.
In Dec. 1953, Gen. Navarre of France
decided to get Gen. Giap to surrender at
Dien Bien Phu.The tables were turned, Giap surrounded
the French and had 70,000 men, many
more than the French.
Navarre tried to get help from the U.S.
but help did not come. Giap starts hisown offensive on March 13, 1954. Bao Dai,former emperor
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The Geneva AccordsMay 7, 1954, the French surrendered after Dien Bien Phu fell to the Vietminh.
The following day the French agreed to leave Vietnam.
A meeting was held in Geneva to see if peaceful solutions could be worked out
in both Korea and Vietnam. The U.S., France, Great Britain and the Soviet
Union attended.
After much negotiation the following was agreed:
(1) Vietnam would be divided at the 17th parallel.
(2) North Vietnam would be ruled by Ho Chi Minh.
(3) South Vietnam would be ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem, a strong opponent
of communism.
(4) French troops would withdraw from Vietnam.
(5) the Vietminh would withdraw from South Vietnam.
(6) the Vietnamese could freely choose to live in the North or the South.
(7) a General Election for the whole of Vietnam would be held beforeJuly, 1956, under the supervision of an international commission.
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Ngo Dinh Diem
The U.S. was worried that if the elections were held right
away that 80% of the Vietnamese would vote for
Communism.
The Vietminh was worried that the elections might never
happen as promised.
Ngo Dinh Diem is installed as the new leader of South
Vietnam.
He is a Catholic. He had been a provincial governor
during French rule. The French and the Vietminh
considered him not only incapable but mad.
There is an election in South Vietnam between Diem andBao Dai. It is fixed and Diem receives over 98% of the
vote. Those supporting Bao Dai were roughed up and
threatened.
Diem refuses to allow the national elections to move
forward. Over 100,000 people are imprisoned. Some
start to form armed groups that leave South Vietnam.
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Ngo Dinh DiemRoman Catholics make up 10% of the population of
Vietnam then. Buddhists were about 70%. The Catholic
Church held a privileged position in Vietnam underFrench rule.
There had been anti-Buddhist laws in Vietnam under
the French. Diem refused to repeal those laws.
In May of 1963 thousands of Buddhists came to Saigon
to celebrate Buddhas 2527th birthday. The Diem
government wanted to disperse the crowds so fired on
them. One woman and 8 children were killed.
In protest in June of that year, a Buddhist Monk named
Thich Quang Due set himself on fire. Several others
eventually did the same thing.
The governments response was to round up Buddhist
monks and many of them were never heard from again.
Pres. Kennedy had always supported Diem but lost
interest in him after these events. He got the CIA to
stage a coup and overthrew Diem who was assassinatedin Nov. 1963.
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Nguyen Van Thieu
He is the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of SouthVietnam. He replaces Diem as leader.
He was a Buddhist but converted to Catholicism when
he got married.
Thieu remained in power until South Vietnam fell to the
Communists in 1975.
He received support from the U.S. until Ford became
president and then the U.S. was no longer interested in
supporting this war.
Thieu lived for a time in England, Taiwan and the U.S.He died in Boston on Sept. 29, 2001.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nguyen_van_thieu.jpg7/29/2019 Vietnam Pp
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National Liberation FrontThe purpose of this organization was to supply the South Vietnamese with
weapons to fight against both Diem and Thieu.
It was formed in 1960 and made up of a dozen different political and
religious groups.
This group was known as the Vietcong to the U.S.
The NLF promised to give back the land of the rich French to the peasants.The Diem government wanted the peasants to pay for it and they were not
able to do that.
They used guerrilla tactics learned from Chairman Mao and the Chinese
Communists. They also brought supplies through Laos and Cambodia on
the Ho Chi Minh trail.
The Strategic Hamlet Program was introduced by the Diem government in
1962. It placed peasants in protected camps so that they wouldnt be
influenced by the NLF.
Vietnamese peasants had often accepted their lot in life since they felt theywere being punished for the crimes of their ancestors.
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National Liberation FrontThe NLF promised land to the peasants if they
would provide them with information on the
whereabouts of South Vietnamese, and providefood and shelter for them when they needed it.
The peasants were motivated mostly by fear
and gratitude.
When the U.S. Marines came and took over avillage, or if the ARVN (Army of the Republic
of Vietnam) came, the peasants would be
punished by the NLF later by having their land
confiscated, being beaten or tortured.
The NLF was not to go into combat. It was toavoid it unless it definitely outnumbered the
enemy.
At first the NLF had spears, daggers and
swords. By 1964, 90% of its weapons were
taken from the U.S. or ARVN.
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National Liberation FrontThe NLF used a variety of mines to catch the
enemy, both for individuals and tanks.Most of the explosives used by the NLF were
from unexploded bombs dropped on Vietnam.
It is estimated that 800 tons of bombs dropped
on Vietnam every month failed to explode.
It was difficult for the U.S.soldiers there to
determine who was VC (NLF) and who was a
friend. Gen. Westmoreland demanded a
search and destroy mission. Find and kill
VC.
The VC built tunnels to move their supplies
and since the Americans were much bigger it
was difficult to infiltrate them.
The VC wanted to involve the enemy in a
long, drawn out war to wear down the enemy.
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JFK and LBJ
Many believe that JFK wanted to
get out of Vietnam. He died beforehe had a chance to make that
happen.
LBJ escalates the war and asks
Congress for the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution.Aug. 2, 1964 a destroyer named
the USS Maddox was patrolling
the Gulf of Tonkin of the coast of
North Vietnam. It was fired on by
a torpedo. We returned fire and
inflicted heavy damage on it.
Two days later the Maddox reports more torpedoes although the crew heard nothing.
LBJ asks Congress to allow him powers to repel any further attacks on the U.S.
Aug. 7, 1964 Congress adopts the Tonkin Gulf Resolution which gave the president broad
military powers in Vietnam.
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LBJ
LBJ didnt tell Congress that the U.S. had been leading secret
raids against North Vietnam and that the USS Maddox was on aspy mission.
Johnson had prepared the resolution months in advance and
waited for the right opportunity to send it to Congress.
After 8 Americans were killed, LBJ issues Operation Rolling
Thunder. This allows him to have bombing raids over Vietnam.
By June 1965, more than 50,000 American troops are in
Vietnam.
Along with his Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and his
Secretary of State Dean Rusk, he sends more troops to Vietnam.
By 1967 there are 500,000 American troops there. Gen. WilliamWestmoreland continued to ask for more troops. He felt that
America should fight a War of Attrition.
The U.S. policy became to win over the hearts and minds of
the Vietnamese people. This way the Communist guerrillas
would have no place to hide.
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Instruments of War
Napalm andAgent
Orange
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Selective Service and the Draft
The Selective Service was put into effect in 1940.
From 1948 until 1973 there has been a draft.Some people are exempt due to illness or disability while others
during Vietnam could be temporarily exempt while attending
college.
Registration for the Selective Service was suspended in 1975
but brought back by Pres. Carter in 1980 when the Soviet Unioninvaded Afghanistan. It is now an all volunteer military
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Vietnam War protests
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
and the Vietnam WarMartin Luther King, Jr. at
first felt that he shouldnt
speak out against the war. He
thought it would take away
from the Civil Rightsstruggle.
In 1967 he spoke out saying
that it was ironic that Black
men were dying for a country
that didnt give them the same
rights as whites.
Blacks make up 10% of the
population here but 20% of
the deaths in Vietnam wereblack.
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Tet Offensive
Tet means New Year in Vietnamese. There
was to be a truce for a week during Jan. 30,
1968.
Vietnamese people could bury their dead
which usually was accompanied by
firecrackers.
Many VC used this time to put weapons in
coffins and attack various spots in S. Vietnam
including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.
32,000 VC die while 3000 ARVN die.
People start to doubt LBJ and whether were
winning. Prior to this he told the U.S. that
victory was imminent.
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1968, a terrible year
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Politics
Pres. Johnson
Sen. Eugene McCarthy
Richard M. Nixon
V.P. Hubert HumphreyGov. George Wallace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nixon.jpg7/29/2019 Vietnam Pp
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The beginning of the endVietnamization: Removing troops from Vietnam and letting the South
Vietnamese take over control of the war. In three years the number drops
from 500,000 to under 25,000 starting in 1969.
Peace with Honor: Nixon hopes to leave Vietnam honorably but at the same
time he is ordering bombs be dropped on Laos and Cambodia which are VC
strongholds. He wants them to believe he is capable of anything.
Silent Majority: Nixon hopes to appeal to the people who dont speak up butsupport the war. More and more people are not supporting the war at this
time.
My Lai Massacre: Lt. William Calley orders his men to fire on and kill
anything that breathes in the northern part of S. Vietnam. About 200 innocent
civilians were killed. Only Calley was convicted and imprisoned. The restclaimed to have only followed orders.
April 30, 1970 Nixon announces the invasion of Cambodia to clear out VC.
This brought college students out in protest.
Kent State University: Students protested there were fired on by the NationalGuard. Nine were injured and four were killed.
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The End
Pentagon Papers: Daniel Ellsberg leaked to the press that LBJ
and the government planned to go into Vietnam even when they
said they werent going to. It also showed that there was neverany plan to end the war as long as the North persisted.
Even into 1972 the U.S. is dropping more bombs on Vietnam
while the Nixon Administration is promising peace.
In 1973 the U.S. signed an agreement to send the rest of ourtroops home.
Saigon fell to the Communists in 1975 and the few Americans
left there had to escape from the embassy.
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