LBJ and Vietnam

LBJ after Kennedy Finishing what Kennedy left behind Civil Rights act $10 billion to stimulate growth

LBJ’s agenda War on poverty – EOA (Economic Opportunity act) Job Corps VISTA (volunteers in service to America) Head Start Community Action Program

1964 Election Rep- Barry Goldwater – Gov’t had no business being in social/economic correction – Favor of using nuclear weaponsnuclear weapons – Intervention in Vietnam LBJ won w/ 61% of votes

Great Society Education Healthcare – Medicare – 65+ – Medicaid – based on income Housing – HUD Immigration – Allowed for non-European immigrants Environment Consumers

Warren Court State-sanctioned prayer Censorship Reapportionment Rights of the accused – Illegal search and seizure – Free legal counsel – Right to a lawyer – Miranda Soft on crime?

Great Society Success or Failure?

Getting into Vietnam 1950 – French-Indochina war – France was trying to take back Vietnam – Imperialism – WWII/Japan – Free – France again – US wants to strengthen ties with France Economic/military support Truman Ho Chi Minh – Communist party Independence movement 1930s 1940 Japanese – Vietminh – group whose goal was to win Vietnam’s independence 1945 Independent

Oh France, SMH “If ever the tiger pauses [Vietnminh] the elephant [France] will impale him on his mighty tusks. But the tiger will not pause, and the elephant will die of exhaustion and the loss of blood.” Ho Chi Minh had admired the USA – Based his Declaration of Independence on ours – Disappointment – USA fighting against him Esp. b/c in WWII USA supported his fight against the Japanese

Domino Theory Eisenhower continues Afraid of domino theory May 1954 French surrender Geneva Accords – July 1954 – France, Great Britain, Soviet Union, USA, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietminh & S. Vietnam’s anticommunist nationalists – Peace agreement Temporary divide on 17 th parallel Communist N. Vietnam – Hanoi Nationalists S. Vietnam – Saigon – Unification election 1956

USA keeps involved Ho Chi Minh ran brutal/oppressive regime – Popular Broke up/redistributed land Fought Japanese/ French = national hero B/C he was so popular S. Vietnamese prez. Ngo Dinh Diem refused to be in 1956 election – USA supported it USA promised military aid/training if Diem provided stable reform gov’t in S. Vietnam Diem failed – Corrupt gov’t – Suppressed opposition – No land distribution – Restricting Buddhist practices

Things get dicey 1957 – Communist opposition group – Vietcong – Assassinated thousands of S. Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh Trail – The name given to the paths along the borders of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia where Ho Chi Minh supplied the Vietcong with arms Eisenhower – “sink or swim with Ngo Dinh Diem”

Kennedy Originally stayed the course Critics said he was “soft” on Communism Send financial aid and thousands of military advisers 1963 – 16,000 US military personnel

Diem’s popularity plummeted – Corruption – Failure w/ land reform Hamlet program – Move all villagers to protected areas Attack on Buddhism – Imprisoned and killed hundreds of buddhist clerics – Destroyed temples Monks/Nuns publicly burned themselves to death

America urged Diem to stop – Didn’t Diem had to go Nov. 1, 1963 – US supported military coup toppled Diem – Diem assassinated (Kennedy didn’t want this)

Getting more involved Before Kennedy’s death he said he was going to withdraw US forces from South Vietnam – “In the final analysis, it’s their war” Johnson escalated our role South Vietnam grew more unstable with Diem’s death – Johnson didn’t want to seem “soft” on Communism

Johnson sends us in Tonkin Gulf Resolution – Aug 2, 1964 USS Maddox patrolling Gulf of Tonkin off N. Vietnamese coast – N. Vietnamese patrol boat fires torpedo at Maddox Torpedo missed its target Maddox returned fire – heavy damage – Aug 4 Maddox and another destroyer again off N. Vietnamese coast Bad Weather – Crew reported enemy torpedos – Attack is used by Johnson to justify bombing strikes in North Vietnam

Johnson asked Congress for powers to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” Tonkin Gulf Resolution – Not a declaration of war, granted military powers

Deceit! Johnson did not tell Congress or American people – US had been leading secret raids against N. Vietnam – Maddox collecting info on these raids – Johnson had prepared the resolution months before and was waiting for a chance to push it through congress February 1965 – Johnson used newly granted powers – Vietcong attack killed 8 Americans – Operation Rolling Thunder First sustained bombing of North Vietnam June 50,000 + Soldiers battling Vietcong