The End of the War Chapter 24, Section 4

Setting the Scene  Paris Peace Talks - Peace negotiations with N. Vietnam under Johnson that were unsuccessful  This helped push Nixon into office

Nixon’s Vietnam Policy  Introduces Vietnamization – involved removing American forces and replacing them with South Vietnamese soldiers  Since he did not want to lose the war, he also continued bombing raids while American troops were displaced  Invaded Cambodia to clear out communist camps and strengthen America’s position in peace talks

The Silent Majority  Nixon’s silent majority speech – appealed to the people who he felt quietly supported him  Silent Majority – non- protestors, ppl who believed in involvement in Vietnam, etc

Kent State & Jackson State  Attacks on students horrified and depended the divide in the US  Kent State – Students protesting by burning ROTC building after Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia –Ohio governor orders National Guard to regulated, students begin throwing rocks at them, they hurdle tear gas – begin firing –4 students dead, 9 injured  Jackson State – Nearly all-African American college confrontation among students and police left 2 dead and 11 wounded

American Withdrawal  N. Vietnam refused to accept proposed settlement from the Paris Peace Talks  N. Vietnam begins major assault in S. Vietnam – leads to Nixon’s most intensive bombing campaign of the war  January 1973 – US, S.Vietnam, N. Vietnam and the Viet Cong sign formal agreement

Agreement Points  The US would withdraw all its forces from S. Vietnam within 60 days  All prisoners of war would be released  All parties to the agreement would end military activities in Laos and Cambodia  The 17 th parallel would continue to divide North and South Vietnam until the country could be reunited

Aftermath of the War  Fighting continued between North and South Vietnam for two years following American withdrawal  South Vietnamese forces crumble on April 29, 1975 in Saigon  American helicopters conduct last minute evacuations – carry out 1,000 Americans and 6,000 Vietnamese

Cambodia after the War  Cambodia – Falls to the Khmer Rouge (Communist group led by Pol Pot)  After 5 years of fighting Cambodia loses 500,000 civilian causalities, mostly by American bombs  Killed people tainted in “Western” ways, 1.5 million Cambodians (1/4 of their population)

Vietnam After the War  Vietnam forced hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese into re-education camps  1.5 million S. Vietnamese flee the country by boat leaving everything behind to escape to the US