30.1 Summarizing PowerPoint

Root of American Involvement French took land from peasant and restricted right Ho Chi Minh – a thin middle aged man who sported trademark goatee Ho Chi Minh starts Indo Chinese Communist Party Vietminh a group formed from many Vietnamese nationalist groups

Frances Battles the Vietminh France tries to retake colony of Vietnam Us aids and gives money to French to fund war The Us had previously aided the Vietnamese and given them weapons in the past

The Vietminh Drive Out the French Us believes that Vietnam can not end in stalemate Domino Theory- a theory in which countries on the brink of communism are like a row of dominoes. Vietminh take down French Outpost at Dien Bien Phu French surrender and take troops out of Vietnam Geneva Accords- temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17 th parallel

Diem Cancels Elections Ngo Dinh Diem- a strong anti-Communist who was the leader of South Vietnam Diem cancel the election in Vietnam A group called the Vietcong ( communist group in the south) are supplied weapons along the Ho Chi Minh Trail (a trail of paths along Indochina) kills many of Diem’s officials.

Section 30.2 Brendan Strzelczyk

Johnson vs. Goldwater Johnson wins, applies containment policy Goldwater was viewed as too conservative Johnson says he opposes sending troops to Vietnam Appoints Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense and Dean Rusk as Secretary of State Election of 1964

Johnson orders troops to Vietnam, contradicting his campaign Soon, about 180,000 ground troops were in Vietnam Americans supported Johnson’s decision Dean Rusk and Robert McNamara also support sending troops Escalation

General William Westmoreland was appointed commander in South Vietnam Not impressed with South Vietnamese Army Westmoreland requests more troops Troops reach 500,000 by 1967 William Westmoreland

U.S, find it difficult to fight the Vietcong strategy Vietnam turns into a war of attrition U.S. begin using chemicals such as Agent Orange and napalm to make the fighting easier Search and destroy missions were also organized American morale begins to drop, soldiers turn to drugs and alcohol The South Vietnamese government was not improving A War in the Jungle

The great society suffers from the ongoing war Inflation highly increases Tax increase Vietnam becomes America's first "living room war" As a result, a credibility gap was growing between what was reported and what was actually happening War protests start to form The Early War at Home

A Nation Divided By: Riley Collins

Working Class War Men were registered in the draft from the age of 18, even though they were still not eligible to vote 80% of American soldiers came from the lower economic level of the United States Many men tried to find way around the draft by the use of a medical deferment or a college deferment because it was a manipulatable system The upper class often received deferments because they would be in college or had the money to manipulate the system. Medical Deferment Sheet

Racism and women In Vietnam In the first couple years, African Americans accounted for 10% of the U.S. Army but for 20% of the United States casualties Martin Luther King Jr. called this “cruel irony” that so many African Americans were dying but were regarded as second class citizens Racism caused the Army’s total morale to deteriorate 7,500 women served in the navy and army as nurses in the American Red Cross or the United States Organization which delivered entertainment to the troops

The New Left The New Left was an organization and activist group that wanted many new changes in the American society including issues with the government and war Groups of the New Left Students for a Democratic Society(SDS) created by Tom Hayden and Al Haber in 1959 at the University of Michigan; this group wanted more individual freedom and also a greater freedom of speech The Free Speech Movement(FSM) was located at the University of California at Berkeley during a student and faculty altercation; the students wanted free speech and to rebel the American “machine” which were the issues with the government and business

Reasons for protesting Believed the war was unnecessary Thought of it as a Civil War Weakening the Unites States’ strength and reputation We were trying to police the world

Protests throughout Vietnam April March on Washington (20, ,000 people) New York Central Park Protest (500,000 people) October Washington Lincoln Memorial Protest (75,000 people)

Dividing the Nation  The country was divided during the Vietnamese War because many people believed in different things that the United States should do Doves- those who opposed the war and believed that the United States should withdraw from the war Hawks- those who felt that the war was the right decision and that America should unleash a greater show of military force to end the war

Problems in Office Johnson decided to stay steady with his plan of “slow escalation” President Johnson dismissed officials and members of Congress who did not believe in his plan or doubted what he was doing as president The Secretary of Defense, McNamara resigns - Believed Johnson’s plan did not add up - Didn’t trust his plan or believe that it would work Turmoil between Johnson’s own administration