Ch. 19 Early U.S. Involvement  1954 Geneva Conference- Vietnam divided at the 17 th parallel  North-Communist, South- Democratic goal was to unite

 Ike & JFK had “military advisors” in Vietnam  Pres. Johnson felt it was time to use U.S. forces in Vietnam to prevent the “Domino Theory ”

Gulf of Tonkin  Reported that 2 U.S. ships had been attacked by N. Vietnamese gunboats in the Gulf of Tonkin  Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- Cong. gave the president the power to do whatever it takes to prevent further aggression.

Napalm Attacks

Troops in Vietnam

Helicopters Played a Major Role

Guerilla Warfare

Gradual Escalation  ,000 troops  ,100 troops  Tet Offensive- massive strikes by the NVA that showed their strength in January 1968

Controversy Over the War  We made a promise to protect them  Prevent the spread of Communism  Prevent the beginning of the Domino Theory  To far away  Not our fight  S. Vietnam Govt. was very corrupt  Thousands of Americans were being killed for nothing War Hawks- Supported the war Doves- Opposed the War

Protests

Many Protests Turned Violent

Student Protests  Colleges were the place of most protests  Draft Dodgers- many burnt their draft cards and fled to Canada  Many took college deferments

 The country was divided over the war  Media brought the battle into peoples homes which increased the division  Older generations resented the attitudes of the young  Hippies and Flower Children stood out b/c of their dress and lifestyle

Woodstock 1969

 Soldiers returned home facing hostility and protests  Many struggled to adjust to life at home  LBJ- refused to run for the 1968 presidency

 1968 Democratic Convention- student protest led to violence  Richard Nixon (R)- won the 68 presidential election  Vietnamization- U.S. troops withdrawn while S. Vietnam army was trained to fight

Richard Nixon (R)

Student Protest  worst student protest  1969 protest in D.C. and Nixon called for the “Silent Majority” to support his efforts to end the war

 U.S. stepped ups its bombings in SE Asia  May 1970 Kent State- student protest led to 4 students who were killed by the national guard  U.S. gradual withdraws from Vietnam

Kent State Shootings

Pentagon Papers  1971 Daniel Ellsberg worked for the Dept. of Defense  He released the Pentagon study on the Vietnam War to the NY Times  Nixon felt that it would damage support for the war  Eventually it went to the Supreme Court and papers were published

War is Over  1975 Saigon falls to the Communist  Over 58,000 U.S. soldiers died  365,000- were injured  Cost over $150 Billion

Fall of Saigon

War Powers Act 1973  Pres. must inform Cong. within 48 hrs. of deploying U.S. troops  If conflict last more than 90 days Pres. must obtain Cong. approval to continue.  Limits the power of the presidency to use military force

Vietnam Legacy  People protested the war and draft  Media coverage greatly impacted peoples views  U.S. questioned itself as “policeman of the world” and was reluctant to engage in future conflicts  Military superiority does not guarantee victory