Vietnam Era – Day 6 Agenda: Vietnam Study Guide (35 minutes) – Get a book, work on your Vietnam Study Guides – Complete book questions #33-40 first – Due Wednesday Lecture Terms: Credibility Gap, Tet Offensive, Vietnamization, “Peace with Honor”, Pentagon Papers, Richard Nixon, War Powers Act EXAM – this Wednesday, 4/20

The Tet Offensive January 30, 1968 – A cease fire was called to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year (Tet) – People were allowed to cross between North and South Vietnam – Funerals were held for victims of the war – North Vietnamese villagers used coffins to smuggle weapons into the South – Launched a massive attack on South Vietnamese cities and U.S. airbases – Lasted for nearly a month

Tet Changes Public Opinion Although the U.S. successfully drove out the Vietcong (losing 32,000 soldiers), the outcomes of the Tet Offensive were not positive. – Reduced popular support for the war in America – Media began to criticize the war – Johnson’s popularity plummeted

Johnson Withdraws Anti-war Democrats began to work against Johnson’s reelection Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy rose to prominence within the party Johnson struggled in the primaries March 31, 1968 – Johnson announces that he will not seek reelection

Martin Luther King Jr.Martin Luther King Jr. / Bobby KennedyBobby Kennedy

1968 Election Richard Nixon wins the 1968 election, thanks to: – Turmoil within Democratic Party – Promise to restore law & order – Promise to end the war

Nixon on Vietnam Nixon and security advisor Henry Kissinger devise a strategy for ending U.S. involvement in war Known as Vietnamization – Gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops and their replacement with S. Vietnamese forces

InterventionEscalationVietnamization Nixon Bring US troops home/bomb N. Vietnam Vietnam: American Troop Levels Johnson Send combat marines and armed forces Ike/Kennedy Send $$/advisors Tet Offensive Gulf of Tonkin Peace Treaty N. Conquers S./ Saigon Falls

Nixon on Vietnam “Peace with honor” goals – Withdraw with dignity – Main U.S. clout at the negotiation table Secretly orders massive bombing campaign – Supply routes in Cambodia & Laos College campuses erupt once again! – 1.5+ million students close down 1,200 campuses

War Comes Home Kent State Massacre – May 4 th, 1970 – 4 students dead, 9 wounded Jackson State University – May 10 th, 1970 – 2 dead, 12 wounded

Vietnamization Timeline Nixon announces Vietnamization Paris Peace Accords ended direct U.S. involvement & temporary cease-fire Last U.S. troops leave Vietnam, last U.S. troops leave Vietnam, POWs released Nixon Resigns, Ford takes office U.S. citizens evacuated, Saigon Falls to the North, Vietnam unified under communism

Vietnam in HD: Classroom Edition Episode #3 Use the viewers guide on the back of your map to answer the key terms and events from this documentary

The Fall of Saigon South Vietnamese Attempt to Flee the Country North Vietnamese at the Presidential Palace

EFFECTS & LEGACY OF THE VIETNAM WARLEGACY

Formerly Saigon Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The People & The President U.S. morale, self-confidence, trust of government, decimated – Pentagon Papers Govt. misled Congress & American people regarding its intentions in Vietnam during mid-1960s Primary reason for fighting not to eliminate communism, but fought to avoid humiliating defeat

War Powers Under the US Constitution, war powers are divided. – Congress has the power to declare war, raise and support the armed forces, and control war funding – The President is commander-in- chief of the military. Generally agreed that the commander-in-chief role gives the President power to repel attacks against the United States and makes the President responsible for leading the armed forces.

War Powers Back-to-back intense conflicts without a declaration of war. – Congress concerned with the erosion of congressional authority

War Powers Act of 1973 President must notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying military force President must withdraw forces unless he gains Congressional approval within 90 days – 60 Days, 30 Days to withdraw Ultimate Goal: Limit the powers of the President – Although some argue it does the opposite

Vietnam Today Officially still a Communist country today – But unofficially it is politically Communist but economically Capitalist Would Vietnam had been better off if the U.S. had won the war? Did U.S. involvement make life worse for the Vietnamese?

VietnamVietnam Memorial