1. The Beginning of The Vietnam War Unit 4 Section 2 Part 7

2. A. How Did it Start? Vietnam originally a French Colony WWII, Japan took it from France Post WWII, France took it back Vietnamese wanted self-rule, organized a group called the Vietminh to fight foreigners – Led by Communist Ho Chi Minh 1954, French surrender to Vietminh after battle of Dien Bien Phu

3. B. The Geneva Accords Several countries gathered to discuss future of Indochina (Called the Geneva Conference) Accords ruled: – 1)France withdraws from Vietnam – 2) 17 th Parallel divides North from South – 3) In 1956, elections would be held to reunite Vietnam under one leader

4. C. Why does the U.S. Care? U.S. afraid that Vietnamese would elect Communist Ho Chi Minh Afraid if Vietnam fell, all surrounding countries would fall to communism Called the Domino Theory U.S. begins to throw all support behind S. Viet. Leader Ngo Dinh Diem Big problem, Diem is a Catholic and persecutes Buddhists in Vietnam (most Vietnamese are Buddhist) Diem hated so bad that Buddhist monks are committing suicide in the streets U.S. organizes overthrow of Diem Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh works w/ Vietminh in the south to form the Vietcong VC begin attacking South Vietnam Eisenhower thinks intervention is necessary due to Containment Policy

5. D. U.S. Military Involvement At first, JFK pledges to only send officers to train South Vietnamese army to fight North When Johnson takes over, South in danger of being overrun, so he wants to escalate the war He needs an excuse to send troops 1964, Johnson claimed that N. Vietnamese, unprovoked, torpedoed a couple of U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin (ended up not being true) Same year, Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – Gave president authority to use all means to stop the North (Send in the troops)

6. E. The First Battles Operation Rolling Thunder – Bombing Campaign against the North – Napalm, Agent Orange, Cluster bombs used on many targets – Main target was Ho Chi Minh Trail The main way of VC forces moving supplies from N. to S. – Bombing campaign didn’t work – Instead it turned even the South against the U.S. because of massive destruction

7. F. U.S. / Vietnamese Strategy U.S. strategy search and destroy missions – Patrol, find and engage enemy, and defeat Vietnamese Strategy – Ruthless guerilla warfare – Traps – Massive #’s of troops – Knew their territory – Underground Bases – Refused to surrender

8. G. The U.S. Mobilizes U.S. General Westmoreland called for more troops U.S. institutes the draft More than 1.2 million Americans drafted Some got deferments for medical reasons, or college attendance This meant the majority of soldiers were poor whites and blacks

9. H. U.S. Opinion Shifts At first, U.S. citizens believed in stopping the Communists Television coverage of the war shocked many Americans TV changed opinion of the war A massive anti-war movement erupted in the U.S. Draft-dodging, burning of the draft cards, riots, etc. Most vocal anti-war group was Students for a Democratic Society

10. U.S. split into two groups: – Hawks: people that support the war – Doves: people opposed to the war Civil Rights leaders like MLK Jr. argue blacks are forced to serve a country that treats them like 2 nd Class Citizens