Case Study The Vietnam War

Historical Background  For 2000 years Vietnam struggled to defend their northern border from China  1843: French Intervention To protect French trading  1887: Permanent French occupation (French Indo-China) Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos (LABEL)

Ho Chi Minh  Random background (no notes needed)  Returned to Vietnam in 1941 and founded communist party  End of WWII- began campaign to end French occupation  Fought via his guerilla group “Vietminh”

 Vietminh winning  French went to US for aid  US did not send troops, but did send $ By US financing 80% of French war  French defeated in battle of Dien Bein Phu (LABEL)  Cease fire agreed

 Ho Chi Minh & Vietminh withdrew to North Vietnam  Non-Vietminh withdrew to south below 17 th Parallel (LABEL)  Goal: elections in 1956 for government to rule a newly unified Vietnam

Ngo Dinh Diem  1955: Ngo Dinh Diem (leader of South Vietnam) refused elections US agreed to send Diem aid  Diem did not have support of his people Those sympathetic to communist party formed Viet Cong guerrilla group

 North began to send aid to south via Ho Chi Minh trail (LABEL)  Civil war in south intensified as Diem’s government revealed to be corrupt

 Diem ousted and assassinated  At this time 40% South Vietnam controlled by Viet Cong  America had already committed to help & used policy of containment to support action

Gulf of Tonkin   LBJ  USS Maddox & USS Turner Joy  Gulf of Tonkin resolution “gave the president power to conduct military operations in Southeast Asia without declaring war”

 American began sending troops to help support failing South Vietnam  half a million American troops in South Vietnam  Estimated that US spent $120 billion on Vietnam AND lost troops

 Tet Offensive (see next slide)  Nixon began pulling troops, continued to give aid  last American troops came home  North Vietnam captures Saigon, and North and South Vietnam are reunified (city renamed Ho Chi Minh)

Why is Vietnam so controversial?  Fighting in unknown country, fighting unconventional opponents (guerrilla warfare)  American morale low when they weren’t winning & they were fighting for a corrupt regime  My Lai Massacre (1968)  MEDIA- protesting  Racist draft laws