1. Indochina after World War II

2. Vietnamese War- continuous warfare for 35 years
1945 Colony returned to France
Ho Chi Minh- communist or nationalist?
US supports French

5. Early U.S. involvement in Vietnam
Restoration of French colonial power
Ho Chi Minh
Domino Theory
Dien Bien Phu- French Defeat-General Giap

9. 1954 Geneva Convention: Vietnam split in two
Communist North Vietnam is led by Ho Chi Minh
Democratic South Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem
Vietcong communist rebels in the south

10. Tonkin Gulf Resolution 1964
Was there an attack on U.S. ships?
Congress gives “Blank check” to President to fight war

13. Colonial Consensus American ignorance MacCarthyism
Vietnamese divisions
City v country
Elites v peasants
Colonialism v nationalism

15. US fears based on Domino Theory
1954-French crushed at battle of Bien Dien Phu
1954 Geneva Conference calls for free elections

16. U.S. Escalation Kennedy: advisors SEATO
Johnson’s dilemma-Great Society held hostage by ‘softness” on Cold War

17. Vietnam War

19. 1965 Operation Rolling Thunder
Secretary of Defense-Robert McNamara
U.S. Commander in Vietnam-William Westmoreland

21. Unconventional Warfare
Ho Chi Minh-”never fight on you enemy’s terms”
Guerilla War
Hit-and-run
Booby-traps
Night raids
Just who is the enemy?

23. U.S. Response
Napalm
Agent Orange
Relocation (pacification) of villages

25. 1967-Stalemate 30, 000 U.S. casualties World Opinion War on T.V.
Body counts
Immediacy of modern war
Troop Morale

27. Cost of Unpopular War
Modern war = $$$
Taxes
Social programs cut
Congress- Hawks v Doves

31. Colleges Center Of Antiwar Sentiment
Students for a Democratic Society
Credibility Gap between Gov’t and news

34. The Draft
College Deferments
Racially disproportionate

37. Turning Point:1969 Tet Offensive
U.S. wins
North Vietnam shows it’s here to stay

39. 1968 Presidential Campaign
Democrats turn on Johnson
Eugene McCarthy –peace candidate
Robert F Kennedy
Johnson does not run

41. 1968 Summer of Violence Assassinations of MLK and RFK
Democratic National Convention in Chicago
Richard Nixon-”Peace with Honor”

45. Vietnamization Get the troops out Bomb the North into submission
Make a deal to save South Vietnamese independence

49. After Effects of War

50. Three Images …

51. Henry Kissinger
Balance of Power Politics
Paris Peace Talks

53. When that didn’t work… Invasion of Cambodia
Secret bombing of the North
Mai Lai Massacre- exactly who are the bad guys?

55. Looking Bad at Home Anti-war movement Four killed at Kent State
The Pentagon Papers -Gov’t knew we couldn’t win?-Daniel Ellsberg

57. Aftermath War Powers Act 1973 U.S. withdraws 1973
South Vietnam falls 1975
58, 000 US dead
>2 million Vietnamese dead

60. End of War
US withdrawal due to opposition at home
1975 Vietnam united as a communist nation
Today one of the last communist regimes, currently encouraging western investment

62. Cambodian Genocide
At least 1.7 million people die( ¼ of population)
Pol Pot :Leader of regime
Ended with Vietnamese invasion in 1979 Occupation through 1990