22.5 ENDING VIETNAM

AN UNPOPULAR WAR Nixon and his advisor Henry Kissinger wanted “Vietnamization” Make the South Vietnamese take over the fight But non-stop bomb the North Vietnamese too Nixon thought the “silent majority” of Americans agreed with him

AN UNPOPULAR WAR The My Lai massacre (over 200 innocents brutally murdered by us) infuriated Americans Nixon began bombing Laos & Cambodia too To hit hiding Vietcong His April 1970 announcement that we invaded those countries set college student to protest

AN UNPOPULAR WAR

May 4, 1970 four students were killed at Kent State by members of the National Guard Nat. Guard was there to handle rioting/protesting Jackson State (Mississippi), 2 more students were killed days later

AN UNPOPULAR WAR Bombings of Laos & Cambodia also convinced Congress to take away the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution The Pentagon Papers, leaked to the NY Times, showed Americans that their govt. wasn’t fully honest about the war

THE END AT LAST Nixon tried to secure peace before his 1972 re-election… …Despite the fact he continued to bomb the North After more bombing, he signed a peace agreement in Jan 1973 We pulled out in March 1973, they fought until 1975 when the commies won

THE END AT LAST 58,000 Americans killed, 303,000 wounded Over 2 million total Vietnamese dead Our main concern as Americans was our death toll, not their dead Many vets came home to no warm welcome Americans weren’t proud of this war…

THE END AT LAST After we left, both Cambodia and Vietnam experienced brutal communist dictatorships The War Powers Act put restrictions on the President when he/she sends troops to battle He/she has to inform Congress quickly Vietnam also saw the end of the draft