1. Protests, controversy, and the end of the war
The War Winds Down
Protests, controversy, and the end of the war

2. Nixon Moves to End the War
Once president, Nixon worked to end the war in Vietnam
Appointed Henry Kissinger to work on bettering relations with Russia and China, trying to get them to stop supporting N. Vietnam
Nixon also instituted Vietnamization –the gradual removal of troops while leaving S. Vietnamese troops more in charge
Started secretly bombing Vietcong sanctuaries in Cambodia

3. The My Lai Massacre
A brigade of soldier lead by William L Calley were told there were Vietcong in My Lai and to destroy the town
When they got there, there were only women children and old men
They still rounded up all of the civilians and raped, tortured, and killed hundreds of them
It was covered up and when it did finally come to light, Calley was the only of 14 men sentenced for his crimes at My Lai
Calley was sentenced in 1971 to life in prison but seen as a scapegoat, it was reduced to 20 years then 10, and he was paroled in 1974

4. Kent State Shooting
After Nixon announced that the U.S. had sent troops into Cambodia to destroy Vietcong bases, many people began to protest
Students at Kent State protested and even lit the ROTC building on fire
The National Guard was sent in to try to regain order
On May 4th, 1970 the National Guard fired into a crowd killing 4 students

5. Jackson State Shooting
Jackson State University was a predominately African American school
The students were protesting and had started fires
Firefighters called in police support
75 police units showed up to control and disperse the crowd
For unclear reasons officers opened fire on a dormitory
In 30 seconds at least 140 rounds were fired by 40 officers using shotguns
Two students were killed

6. The U.S. Works to Get Out of the War
Congress worked to reduce the president’s control of the war they repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Pentagon Papers were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg showing that there were efforts to expand the war
Americans wanted out of the Vietnam war more than ever
Kissinger said that his secret negotiations with the North were resulting in peace resulting in the reelection of Nixon

7. Christmas Bombings
The peace negotiations Kissinger had achieved quickly broke down
In December 1972 the most destructive bombings of the war occurred over 11 days
Negotiations resumed and a peace agreement was made
America withdrew
The Domino Effect took effect and Cambodia and Laos soon fell to Communism

8. Legacy Of Vietnam 58,220 Americans were killed in the war
300,000 were injured
About 1 million North and South Vietnamese soldiers were killed
Millions of civilians were killed
When the soldiers came home it was not to a hero’s welcome
Americans were so against the war that they didn’t care and in some cases hated the veterans
Many vets had a very hard time readjusting to life

9. The War’s Impact on the Nation
There are a lot of POWs and MIAs and those families still haven’t gained peace
In 1973 Congress passed the War Powers Act which put more restrictions on the executive power
Americans started questioning America’s foreign policies and lost faith in the government

10. Vietnam Today
When the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam the North invaded the South and took control of it
Today Vietnam is Communist but doing well economically
Relations between America and Vietnam are pretty good