1. Unit 8 Section 4 War in Vietnam
U.S. History
Unit 8 Section 4
War in Vietnam

2. Timeline

3. Lyndon B. Johnson

4. Lyndon B. Johnson

5. Lyndon B. Johnson Video: taking office
Became President when Kennedy was assassinated
Would be the President that got the U.S. more involved in the war in Vietnam
Lyndon B. Johnson Video: taking office

6. Tonkin Gulf Resolution

7. Tonkin Gulf Resolution

8. Tonkin Gulf Resolution

9. Tonkin Gulf Resolution Entering Vietnam 8 min.
The North Vietnamese attacked U.S. ships in the Tonkin Gulf
LBJ asked Congress to authorize military force to defend U.S. assets
Congress authorized the President to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the U.S.”
Tonkin Gulf Resolution Entering Vietnam 8 min.

10. Escalation

11. Escalation

12. Escalation

13. Escalation LBJ called for a buildup of U.S. forces in Vietnam
Ordered the Selective Service to carry out a military draft
This began the U.S.’s direct involvement in the defense of South Vietnam against the communist North
Escalation

14. Vietnam Draft

15. Vietnam Draft

16. Vietnam Draft

17. Vietnam Draft

18. The draft was conducted for the Vietnam War from 1969 through 1973
The draftees made up about 1/3 of the forces that fought in Vietnam
About 1.7 million men were drafted
There were large demonstrations against the draft, especially with college students
Vietnam Draft

19. Operation Rolling Thunder

20. Operation Rolling Thunder

21. Operation Rolling Thunder

22. Operation Rolling Thunder
A massive bombing campaign against military targets in North Vietnam
Goal was to weaken the enemy’s ability to fight
Operation Rolling Thunder

23. Ho Chi Minh Trail

24. Ho Chi Minh Trail

25. The name of the supply line from the north to the south
Much of the line ran through Laos and Cambodia
U.S. forces could not go to these areas to stop the supplies
Ho Chi Minh Trail

26. Defoliants

27. Defoliants

28. Defoliants Chemical herbicides used to strip the ground of vegetation
Most commonly known as Agent Orange – named because of the orange stripe on the barrel for identification
Needed to clear the vast rainforests that hid the enemy
Defoliants

29. Napalm Video “Napalm Girl” 7 minutes

30. A jellied gasoline substance that was first used in flamethrowers during World War II
In Vietnam, used in bombs against buildings and people.
Sticks to human skin and causes extreme burns.
Napalm

31. Pacification

32. Pacification

33. U.S. troops moved villagers to secure areas and burned their towns to deny the enemy of places to hide
Pacification

34. Doves

35. Doves

36. People that opposed the war in Vietnam
Doves

37. Hawks

38. Hawks People that supported the war’s goals
Often criticized the way the war was fought
Hawks

39. Tinker v. Des Moines

40. Tinker v. Des Moines

41. John and Mary Beth Tinker and their friend Christopher Eckhardt decided to wear black armbands to school in protest of the Vietnam War
All were suspended
The Court found that the students actions did not cause disruption and held that their activity represented constitutionally protected symbolic speech
Tinker v. Des Moines

42. Anti-War Movement

43. Anti-War Movement Video: Anti-War sentiment builds
The movement against the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam war.
This began in the U.S. with demonstrations in and grew in strength in later years.
The U.S. became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those who wanted peace
Anti-War Movement Video: Anti-War sentiment builds

44. Students for a Democratic Society

45. Students for a Democratic Society

46. Students for a Democratic Society
A student group that protested against the war
By wars end, there were 124 campuses that had active membership to this group
Students for a Democratic Society

47. Kent State shootings

48. Kent State shootings

49. Kent State shootings

50. A student demonstration that turned deadly when the Ohio National Guard opened fire into the crowd
Four students were killed and nine others were injured
Kent State shootings

51. Tet Offensive

52. Tet Offensive

53. Tet Offensive

54. Tet Offensive Tet Overview Tet starts: Video
Tet is the Chinese New Year
Fighting usually stopped for the days leading to Tet
In 1968, the North Vietnamese launched a massive attack on the eve of Tet
In the end, 40,000 Northern Vietnamese troops died
1,100 US and 2,300 Southern Vietnamese troops died
Tet Offensive Tet Overview Tet starts: Video

55. Role of the media

56. Role of the media

57. Role of the media

58. Role of the media Video DE
This was the first war fought on television in everybody's living room every day
Military leaders accused their critics of being "unpatriotic" and guilty of "helping the enemy."
Many believed that the biased reporting of the Tet Offensive convinced the American public that the war was being lost
Role of the media Video DE

59. Credibility gap

60. Credibility gap

61. Credibility gap Video: Nixon takes over
Described public skepticism about the Johnson Administration's statements and policies on the Vietnam War
Originally used in association with the Vietnam War in the New York Herald Tribune in March 1965, to describe then-president Lyndon Johnson's handling of the escalation of American involvement in the war
Credibility gap Video: Nixon takes over

62. Vietnamization

63. Vietnamization

64. The U.S. effort to turn the fighting over to the South Vietnamese
This would lead to the slow pullout of U.S. troops from Vietnam
Extra Note: was the policy of President Richard Nixon
Vietnamization

65. Fall of Saigon

66. Fall of Saigon

67. Fall of Saigon Video: Fall under Ford
The U.S.had removed all troops in 1973 and cut off funds and weapons to South Vietnam
By the end of April 1975, North Vietnam had taken most of the country
On April 29, 1975 the U.S. ordered all Americans be evacuated
On April 30, North Vietnam took over Saigon with little resistance
Fall of Saigon Video: Fall under Ford

68. Pentagon Papers

69. Documents that revealed the government had frequently misled the American people about the course of the war
Published in the New York Times in 1971
Pentagon Papers

70. Roy Benavidez

71. Roy Benavidez

72. Roy Benavidez Medal of Honor – 9 min
Army Master Sgt. Benavidez received the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Vietnam War. In May 1968, he saved the lives of at least eight men during a daring rescue in the jungles near Loc Ninh, Vietnam, and was critically wounded.
Benavidez promptly received the Distinguished Service Cross, but President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Medal of Honor in 1981 when the full story of his actions emerged.
Roy Benavidez Medal of Honor – 9 min

73. 26th Amendment

74. 26th Amendment

75. 26th Amendment Passed in 1971 Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18
Brought millions of year olds into politics, but youth turnout has steadily declined since ?
26th Amendment

76. War Powers Act

77. Reaffirms Congress’s constitutional right to declare war by setting a 60-day limit on presidential commitment of U.S. troops to foreign conflicts
War Powers Act

78. Vietnam Veterans Memorial

79. Vietnam Veterans Memorial

80. Vietnam Veterans Memorial

81. Vietnam Veterans Memorial

82. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Video: The Ghosts of Vietnam
A memorial located in Washington, D.C. to pay honor to those that died in Vietnam
More than 58,000 names are on the black granite wall
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Video: The Ghosts of Vietnam

83. US Presidents during Vietnam War 1954-1975

84. Questions?