Today’s Objective We will analyze the major issues and events of the Vietnam War, such as the Tet Offensive and the escalation of forces.

U.S. gets involved in Vietnam SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization) created SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization) created U.S. joins an Asian alliance in 1954 to stop spread of communism Domino Theory Domino Theory The belief that if one country falls to communism, others around will Gulf of Tonkin Incident Gulf of Tonkin Incident In Aug. 1964, North Vietnam accused of firing on two U.S. warships In Aug. 1964, North Vietnam accused of firing on two U.S. warships Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Congress gives the President the power to use force without a declaration of war to protect American interests Guerrilla Warfare Guerrilla Warfare Type of warfare using sabotage and ambushes by armed civilians Vietcong Vietcong Civilian guerrilla army that used hit-and-run tactics against the U.S.

THE VIETNAM WAR SEs: 2B, 8E, 8F, 20A, 21A

Today’s Objective We will analyze the major issues and events of the Vietnam War, such as the Tet Offensive and the escalation of forces.

State Standards 8E (s)Analyze the major issues and events of the Vietnam War such as the Tet Offensive, the escalation of forces, Vietnamization, and the fall of Saigon. 8F (r)Describe the responses to the Vietnam War such as the draft, the 26th Amendment, the role of the media, the credibility gap, the silent majority, and the anti- war movement.

LBJ Escalates U.S. Involvement By 1965, LBJ began to greatly increase the U.S. troop involvement in the Vietnam conflict.

From the beginning of 1965 to the beginning of 1968, the amount of U.S. troops in Vietnam increased from 35,000 to 486,000.

A False Sense of Security As the war escalated, U.S. leaders like General William Westmoreland and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara gave Americans a false sense that the U.S. was on the verge of winning the war.

Tet – The Lunar New Year In January, Vietnamese celebrated Tet – the Lunar New Year – which was supposed to be marked by a cease fire.

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was the event during the Vietnam War in Jan when the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong launched a surprise attack on the South.

Tet Offensive During the Tet Offensive, the Vietcong struck at over 100 towns and cities in South Vietnam, including the capital city of Saigon and the U.S. embassy there.

Tet Offensive January 30 – June 8, 1968 The Tet Offensive was vital for three reasons: It showed Americans that the war was far from over It showed Americans that the war was far from over It showed the Vietcong could attack anywhere It showed the Vietcong could attack anywhere It was a turning point in the Vietnam conflict It was a turning point in the Vietnam conflict

Tet Offensive While the Vietcong suffered heavy losses, it was a major political victory for the enemy.

Impact of the Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was the turning point in the war and turned many people in the United States against the war in Vietnam.

Impact of the Tet Offensive After the Tet Offensive, many Americans began to question whether we should be in Vietnam and many Americans felt the nation had been deceived by the government, creating what was known as…

Typical Battles A typical occurrence during the war was to take a piece of land (often a hill) and then, once the enemy had withdrawn, the U.S. would give up the hill.

Hamburger Hill Although the heavily fortified Hamburger Hill was of little strategic value, U.S. command ordered its capture, only to abandon it soon thereafter. The action caused an outrage both in the American military and public.. May 1969

Napalm One weapon that was used extensively during the war was napalm, a gasoline gel that explodes into flames on contact.

LBJ Drops Out of Race "I shall not seek, nor will I accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President." March 31, 1968 President Johnson refuses to run for re-election in the Election of 1968 re-election in the Election of 1968

RFK Assassinated With LBJ dropping out of the race, many considered Bobby Kennedy to be the front- runner in the 1968 presidential election.

RFK Assassinated But on June 6, 1968, Kennedy was assassinated shortly after being declared the winner of the California primary for the Democratic nomination.

1968: Turbulent Year Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassin- ated in April of 1968 Robert F. Kennedy assassin- ated in June of 1968 Tet Offensive shows that the U.S. is nowhere close to winning the war in Vietnam Riots occurred at the Democratic National Convention in August of 1968

Small group purposeful talk Compare and contrast the United States’ involvement in Vietnam with the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. How were they alike? How were they different? Record you answers on a note card.

Independent Practice Create a multi-flow map that analyzes the events leading to and the impact of the Tet Offensive.