Vietnam War

Vietnam & France  France controlled Indochina  Peninsula of Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia  Colonialism  Ho Chi Minh  Rebelled against French rule  Embraced Communism

US Involvement Under Eisenhower  Contain Communist expansion  Domino Theory  If Vietnam became Communist then its neighbors would follow  Diem Bien Phu  Vietminh defeat French forces  Result: Indochina gains independence

Vietnam Divided

Eisenhower Continued  South Vietnam controlled by Ngo Dinh Diem  Anticommunist with American support  Diem unpopular in South Vietnam  Catholic follower (majority was Buddhist)  Vietcong (National Liberation Front)  Supplied by N. Vietnam to weaken Diem’s control  Wanted to unite Vietnam under Communism

US Involvement Under Kennedy  Sent Special Forces into S. Vietnam  “advise” the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)  Diem’s regime alienated S. Vietnamese citizens  America helps plot overthrow of Diem  Diem removed from power and later assassinated

US Involvement Under Johnson  USS Maddox patrolled Gulf of Tonkin  Fired upon by N. Vietnamese boats  Maddox retaliates  Johnson orders airstrike  Asks Congress to use force to defend US troops  Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed  Commit US troops to S. Vietnam  Fight war against N. Vietnam w/o asking Congress for declaration of war

“Americanizing” the War  Operation Rolling Thunder  First sustained bombing campaign in N. Vietnam  General William Westmoreland  American commander of troops in Vietnam  Wanted to increase military presence to win the war

Napalm  What is it?  Jellied gasoline dropped in large canisters  Exploded on impact & covered large areas in flames  Effects  Severe burns, choking, unconsciousness or death  Agent Orange: herbicide used to destroy plant life  Disrupt enemy’s food supply

Effects of Napalm & Agent Orange

The Vietcong & NVA  Ho Chi Minh  VC & NVA: tiger  US: elephant  “If the tiger stand still, the elephant will crush it. But if the tiger keeps moving and occasionally jumps on the elephant to take a bite out of it, the elephant will slowly bleed to death.”  VC & NVA  Traveled lightly  Wore clothes to blend in  Fought mostly at night  Used booby traps

Tunnel System

Do Now  At this point what is your opinion about the Vietnam War?

The Tet Offensive  General Westmoreland addresses the nation  Vietcong has weakened  No longer can mount major attack  January 30, 1968: Tet Offensive begins  Tet: Vietnamese New Year  Attacked major cities & bases in S. Vietnam  US & S. Vietnamese eventually drove back VC

The Tet Offensive

Results of Tet Offensive  American public opinion negative  Felt betrayed by gov’t  Westmoreland resigns  Public sees this as punishment for handling Tet poorly  LBJ  Pursue peace rather than victory  Stuns nation: announces he will not run for president in 1968

Vietnam Under Nixon  Vietnamization  American troops gradually pull out of Vietnam and S. Vietnam takes over the fighting  “peace with honor”  Nixon orders bombing of Ho Chi Minh Trail  Widened the war  Nixon announces US will invade Cambodia  US & ARVN troops invade  Results: stalemate & increased unpopularity in US

My Lai Massacre  March 16, 1968  Lt. William Calley  Orders troops to shoot civilians  Between civilians killed  Originally covered up, but media starts leaking photos & info from the massacre  Calley is court-martialed  Sentenced to life then reduced to 3 ½ years

My Lai Massacre

The Pentagon Papers  New York Times leaks classified document of all US involvement in Vietnam  Truman through Johnson all lied to American public  Nixon tries blocking publication  New York Times v. US rules against Nixon  1973: War Powers Act established  Restricts president’s powers to engage in foreign conflict

The Pentagon Papers All of these men lied to America over Vietnam TrumanEisenhowerKennedyJohnson

Vietnam Ends for America  January 1973: Paris Peace Accords  US, S. Vietnam, N. Vietnam & VC at Accords  Agree to ceasefire, US troop withdrawal & exchange of POWs  War ends for US & continues for Vietnam  N. Vietnam breaks ceasefire  Captures Saigon: official end to war  Vietnam united under Communism

Summary  In the end was the Vietnam War worth fighting for?  Explain why or why not using specific events.