Post World War II US In The Cold War

 Another conflict during the Cold War occurred in Vietnam in Southeast Asia.

 By 1954, Vietnam had been divided into North Vietnam (communist and backed by the Soviet Union) and South Vietnam (democratic and backed by the United States).

 By 1961, many South Vietnamese had joined the Vietcong and the two countries had already begun fighting.

 People who live in South Vietnam but who supported the North Vietnam

 The US intervened to stop the spread of communism into South Vietnam.  This is called the Domino Theory

 The idea that if South Vietnam fell to communism, other countries in Southeast Asia would fall too, like dominoes in a row.

 President Kennedy sent military advisors to Vietnam.

 In 1964, an American ship was torpedoed in the Gulf of Tonkin.  Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

 The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution allowed the President of the United States to do whatever it was necessary to prevent further attacks.

 The Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.  Tonkin Gulf Resolution  August 1964

 President Johnson ordered that American soldiers be sent in.  By 1968 more than a half a million troops were fighting in the war.

 A military campaign that began on January 31,  Communist North Vietnamese troops and Viet Cong fought against South Vietnamese and American troops  The US was considered the winner because the communists did not gain control of the South  Showed the US that their opponent was much stronger than expected

 Americans were divided over whether the US should be involved militarily in Vietnam  There were many protests, especially on college campuses, and many turned violent.

 1. The Vietcong were hard to find and identify. ◦ They used guerilla warfare

 Small groups of soldiers use mobile tactics to beat a larger, less mobile army  Tactics: ambush, raid, sabotage  It was easy for the Vietcong to hide in the dense jungle vegetation.

 2. New weapons were used ◦ Napalm- a jellied gasoline ◦ Agent Orange- a herbicide used to kill jungle vegetation.

 3. Many Americans were against the war.

 Hawks supported the war in Vietnam Doves believed the Vietnam War could not be won and was morally wrong

 The conflict ended in 1973 with a cease-fire agreement in which US troops were withdrawn.

 In 1975, the Communists captured the South Vietnamese capital and reunited Vietnam.

 Tet Offensive – attacks on South Vietnam cities & bases – war not ending  President Johnson announces he won’t seek re-election  Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated  Richard Nixon elected President of the US