The Vietnam Era: War, Protest and the Fracturing of America

Vietnam War Facts The Vietnam War occurred in present-day Vietnam, Southeast Asia. It represented a successful attempt on the part of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnamese, DRV) and the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (Viet Cong) to unite and impose a communist system over the entire nation. Opposing the DRV was the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese, RVN), backed by the United States. The war in Vietnam occurred during the Cold War, and is generally viewed as an indirect conflict between the United States and Soviet Union, with each nation and its allies supporting one side.

Vietnam War Facts The United States’ involvement and responsibility for this war passed from President Kennedy to President Johnson to President Nixon.

Vietnam War Facts The most commonly used dates for the conflict are 1959-1975. This period begins with North Vietnam's first guerilla attacks against the South and ends with the fall of Saigon. American ground forces were directly involved in the war between 1965 and 1973.

Vietnam War Facts The Vietnam War first began in 1959. Vietnam had been split into two, with a communist government in the north under Ho Chi Minh and a democratic government in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem. Ho Chi Minh launched a guerilla campaign in South Vietnam, led by Viet Cong units, with the goal of uniting the country under communist rule. The United States under President Kennedy, seeking to stop the spread of communism, trained the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and provided military advisors to Diem to help combat the guerillas.

“Let every nation know . . .that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and success of liberty . . .” (We will stop Communism at any cost.) But…. John F. Kennedy assassinated November 22, 1963

Vietnam War Facts In August 1964, a US warship was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Following this attack, Congress passed the Southeast Asia Resolution which allowed President Lyndon Johnson to conduct military operations in the region without a declaration of war. On March 2, 1965, US aircraft began bombing targets in Vietnam and the first troops arrived. US troops won victories over Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces that summer.

Vietnam War Facts Following these defeats, the North Vietnamese avoided fighting conventional battles and focused on engaging US troops in small unit actions in the sweltering jungles of South Vietnam. In January 1968, the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong launched the massive Tet Offensive. Tet shook the confidence of the American people and media who had thought the war was going well.

Vietnam War Facts As a result of Tet, President Lyndon Johnson opted not to run for reelection and was succeeded by Richard Nixon. Nixon's plan for ending US involvement was to build up the South Vietnamese so that they could fight the war themselves. As this process of “Vietnamization” began, US troops started to return home.

Vietnam War Facts On January 27, 1974, a peace accord was signed in Paris ending the conflict. By March of that year, American combat troops had left the country. After a brief period of peace, North Vietnam recommenced hostilities in late 1974. They captured Saigon on April 30, 1975, forcing South Vietnam’s surrender and reuniting the country.

Vietnam War Facts Casualties: United States: 58,119 killed, 153,303 wounded, 1,948 missing in action South Vietnam 230,000 killed and 1,169,763 wounded (estimated) North Vietnam 1,100,000 killed in action (estimated) and an unknown number of wounded

The Vietnam War The Vietnam War is one of the most problematic of all the wars in American history. It was all of these things: A morally ambiguous conflict (no real moral reason for us to get involved.) A war against Communism (and Russia by proxy.) A war to suppress nationalist self-determination (citizens rising up to control their own countries.) Worth it???????

The Vietnam War The war was full of paradoxes: In the name of protecting democracy, the United States propped up a dictatorial regime in South Vietnam The U.S. military was destroying villages in order to “save” them from the Communists Because U.S. objectives were often poorly defined during the course of the war, U.S. policy often meandered and made no sense United States would “Americanize” the war only to “Vietnamize” it five years later. (So we could walk away.)

The Vietnam War Not surprisingly, a profound sense of confusion pervaded the entire conflict: the American media sometimes represented tactical victories as terrible defeats, while the U.S. military kept meticulous enemy body counts without any clear method of distinguishing the bodies of the hostile Viet Cong from those of the friendly South Vietnamese.

The Television War The T.V. War

Media Impact on Americans The Vietnam War had a tremendous impact on American society and culture, in large part because it was the first American war to be televised. The photographs, videos, and opinions of American journalists, coupled with the simple fact that young Americans were dying on foreign soil against an enemy that did not threaten the United States directly, turned much of the American public against the war.

The End American Pullout: 1975

The Human Cost The Human Cost

War Protests War Protests

The Movement By the time of the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War, the antiwar movement in the United States had been in full swing for quite some time. The 1960s in the United States were already a quasi-revolutionary period: the civil rights movement had flourished under Martin Luther King Jr. and other black leaders,

The Movement The post–World War II “baby boom” had produced an especially large youth generation, who thanks to postwar prosperity were attending college in large numbers. Not surprisingly, a large student protest movement emerged as U.S. involvement in Vietnam grew.

The Changing Role of Women - Return to Domesticity???

Not in the Sixties!! Helen Rodriguez-Trias speaking at an abortion rights rally, 1970s 23

Opportunities Women in politics Title IX Affirmative Action

Changes in Attitude

Peace!!!