End and Impact of the Vietnam War 20.4

Nixon Starts the Withdrawal The American public knew that regardless of anything else, Nixon had pledged to end the war in Vietnam…

Peace Talks Stall Johnson started peace talks in May 1968 w/o success due to lack of compromise Nixon took office in January 1969 determined to break the gridlock but faced the difficult NV Americans + SV wanted all communist troops out of SV and a return of the POWs NV demanded immediate American withdrawal + Vietcong representation in SV gov’t Neither side would budge from its position

Vietnamization & Peace with Honor Nixon was committed to “peace with honor” and refused to pull out military entirely With the help of his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, he began Vietnamization: Gradual withdrawal of American troops w/ goal of shifting burden of the war to SV army (ARVN) Continued American aid behind the front lines of fighting

Ho Chi Minh Trail Kissinger placed a key role in the secret bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Cambodia Reduce # of NV communist supplies sent to Vietcong But widened the scale of the war into the neutral country

Troubles on the Homefront Intensify Kissinger and Nixon’s objectives: Peace with honor Security for American ally SV International respect for American foreign policy BUT Nixon inherited two forces pushing against these goals: Unpopularity of the war Vocal anti-war opposition

American Troops in Cambodia After 1+ years in office Nixon impatient w/ slow moving peace negotiations ∴ Nixon and Kissinger sent troops into Cambodia to attack the NV + Vietcong bases there to help the pro-American gov’t in Cambodia Nixon attacked the Khmer Rouge, communists in Cambodia supported by the NV that threated the gov’t April 30, 1970: Nixon addressed the nation informing them of his plans to preserve freedom around the world

Violence Erupts in Response to Cambodian Incursion The Cambodian campaign spurred MUCH criticism and protests. Police and National Guard were called out often to preserve order. Kent State University Jackson State Univeristy

Violence Erupts at Kent State 4 days after Nixon’s speech protestors at KSU threw rocks at the National Guard. One Guardsman though he heard a sniper shot and fired his rifle prompting the others to as well. Shots rang into the group of student protestors and killed 4 Gained immediate international attention! This led to mass protests at other campuses Jackson State University  two students killed by police during protest

Counter-Protests Against College Protests Americans that supported the president protests against the anti-war college students “All the Way USA” campaign in NYC Construction workers demonstrated in support of Nixon Attacked protestors whom they believed spit on the American flag Sparked a nonviolent pro-Nixon campaign throughout Manhattan

Nixon’s Hand is Pulled… 1971: Nixon pulled by two events to pull troops out of Vietnam My Lai Massacre Publication of the Pentagon Papers

American Soldiers Kill Civilians at My Lai Had roots in 1968 in the village of My Lai Strong Vietcong presence there, many posed as citizens before attacking ∴ recipe for disaster when Lieutenant William Calley’s unit reached the village Opened fire on hundreds of unarmed civilians

My Lai Massacre U.S. soldiers killed civilians on March 16, 1968 Several soldiers did not participate in the attack + others tried to actively stop it The event was published in Life magazine Photos and stories shocked the American ppl May 1971: Martial court convicted Lt. Calley though he claimed he was only following orders Fueled the anti-war protestors

Pentagon Papers Undermine Public Trust Just after the conviction the Pentagon Papers were published in the New York Times These were classified files of the gov’ts involvement in Vietnam Revealed lies told to Congress + the American ppl They were leaked to Daniel Ellsberg a coauthor for the Times Lost the court case New York Times v. United States that was pressed to keep the publication out of the paper

The War Finally Ends 1971: 2/3 of Americans favored ending the war even if it meant SV would fall to communism ∴ Nixon knew he had to end the war to win reelection in 1972

American Troops Leave Vietnam October 1972: the U.S. and NV agreed on a peace settlement Just one month from his reelection = he won easily But then NV backed out… U.S. bombed NV more, ∴ NV began peace talks again in January 1973

Paris Peace Accords In January 1973 U.S., SV, NV, + Vietcong signed the Paris Peace Accords Ceasefire + withdrawal of U.S. troops from SV POWs exchanged NV troops would stay in SV National Liberation Front would become a legitimate party in SV Gov’t in SV would remain in power pending a political settlement

Saigon Falls U.S. was out but war continued in Vietnam b/c neither side honored the ceasefire Didn’t diplomatically work on their political agreement either The U.S. stopped backing the ARVN but the Soviets continued their support of the NV + Vietcong By April 1975 the communists gained control of Saigon and the SV surrendered Decades of fighting over

The Vietnam War Has a Lasting Impact 58,000 Americans killed, 300,000 wounded Vietnamese death toll over 2 million

Southeast Asia Suffers Further Turmoil Domino theory partially correct: After Vietnam fell to communism so did Laos and Cambodia Khmer Rouge enacted a genocide in Cambodia Killed anyone w/ ties to the West or the previous govt by 2 million ppl killed b/w Communist mvm’ts were nationalistic + at times fought each other

Veterans Return Home to Mixed Reaction Due to the controversy and criticism of the war, the veterans received a mixed reaction when returning home Ppl indifferent to their service (unlike in other wars) Many psychologically damaged

Vietnam Changes American Policies Due to cost of the Vietnam War: LBJ’s War on Poverty and Great Society suffered Civil Right’s Mvm’t suffered America’s lost trust in their leaders + gov’t ∴ in 1973 Congress passed the War Powers Act Restricted the President’s war making powers Pres. must consult Congress w/in 48 hours of committing American forces to a foreign conflict

Vietnam Changes American Policies Americans more suspicious of foreign engagements Less likely to want to intervene Had fear of “another Vietnam.”