Vietnam War: Mini-Unit Goals By the end of this mini-unit, you should be able to: 1) Identify the causes of the Vietnam War. 2) Compare and contrast the Vietnam War with other wars the U.S. has been in. 3) Explain the challenges that the U.S. faced in Vietnam. 4) Describe how Americans at home reacted to the Vietnam War.
What is the history of Vietnam?
Why did Vietnam matter to the United States? The Cold War ( ) turned the entire world into a battleground for influence between the two superpowers: the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
When and why did the U.S. first get involved in Vietnam? Eisenhower “You have a row of dominoes; you knock over the first one and what will happen to the last one is that it will go over very quickly.” (1954)
What was President Kennedy’s role in Vietnam? ∙ believed in the domino theory ∙ sent 18,000 additional advisors to assist the South Vietnamese army
President Lyndon B. Johnson “We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.” Did Johnson hold true to this promise?
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
What was the “typical” American soldier like? Average age: 19 3 million+ Americans served Disproportionate numbers of poor and minorities served Second-highest casualty rate in an American war
1965 – 180,000 troops 1966 – 400,000 troops 1967 – 500,000+ troops Troop Escalation
How was fighting in the Vietnam War unlike conventional wars? BATTLEFIELDS OF JUNGLES & RICE PADDIES
How was fighting in the Vietnam War unlike conventional wars? THE VIETCONG – INDISTINGUISHABLE ENEMY
How was fighting in the Vietnam War unlike conventional wars? REQUIRED UNCONVENTIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR HIDDEN ENEMY
How was fighting in the Vietnam War unlike conventional wars? HIGH CIVILIAN CASUALTIES
Biggest challenge the U.S. faced in Vietnam? We had a basic misunderstanding of what the war was really about. We thought the war was about fighting COMMUNISM, but from the Vietnamese point of view, it was a war based on NATIONALISM.