The Vietnam War

Where is Vietnam?

Southeast Asia Vietnam is in Southeast Asia Near Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and parts of China

Vietnam and Imperialism Vietnamese will strongly resist Imperialism from: – – China – –Mongols – –French – –Japanese Many American military and political leaders were ignorant of this.

Dien Bien Phu 1954 Final defeat of the French by the Vietnamese French surrender and lose Indochina

1954 Geneva Conference End hostilities between French and Vietnamese Temporarily divided Vietnam at 17 th parallel until French leave. Elections in 1956

John F. Kennedy and Vietnam Views Vietnam as important to Cold War like Truman and IKE Begins escalation of troops

Of the 2.7 million Americans that served in the Vietnam war… –3–3–3–300,000 were wounded in action –7–7–7–75,000 were disabled –O–O–O–Of the casualties listed on The Wall, approximately 1,300 remain missing in action –5–5–5–58,129 were killed –T–T–T–The average age was 19

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution North Vietnamese “Attack” on two US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin is Johnson’s excuse to get Congressional approval for major escalation in Vietnam.

On the Vietnamese side it is estimated… 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong (Southern resistance soldiers) were killed Over 2 million North and South Vietnamese citizens were killed

Who did the United States fight in Vietnam? Viet Cong North Vietnamese Army heavily supplied from USSR via China

In the United States we refer to this conflict as the Vietnam War

In Vietnam, citizens refer to this conflict as the American War

The Tet Offensive 1968 Viet Cong Attack every major US base in South Vietnam North Vietnamese Army takes city of Hue and kills many inhabitants US Embassy compound in Saigon is attacked

The Credibility Gap A televised war an unwinnable war? Federal deficit and inflation 10% surcharge on federal income taxes (1968) 42% doves to 41% hawks Pentagon Papers (1971)

Anti-War Movement Students for a Democratic Society (1962) 40 students met in Port Huron, Michigan grew to 100,000 members on 300 colleges participatory politics, grass-roots organizing The “New Left”

Vietnamization Withdrawal of American troops, replaced by South Vietnamese forces secretly escalate war in Cambodia national student strike (May 4, 1970) 450 colleges closed, 80% of colleges experienced campus protest National Guardsmen fired into a crowd of students at Kent State, killing four people. At Jackson State College in Mississippi, National Guardsmen stormed a dormitory and killed two black students

U.S. Withdrawal Paris Peace Talks ( ) U.S. withdrawal of troops Return of American POWs continued presence of North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam 1973 cease-fire 1975 reunification of Vietnam

THE COSTS OF WAR