1. Agent Orange Tet Offensive Walter Cronkite Kent State Woodstock
The Vietnam War Years

2. Vietnam Background
Ho Chi Minh led Communist rebels (Vietminh) against French colonial rule
Divided Vietnam at 17th parallel
US Supported Diem: corrupt dictator who targeted Buddhists and lost support of poor farmers

3. Domino Theory
After stalemate in Korea, US afraid if Vietnam fell it would be like dominoes
Advisors/weapons/money

4. Vietcong Ho Chi Minh Trail: Trail from N. to S. to supply with weapons
Elusive Enemy: Hid in network of tunnels and hard to distinguish
Booby traps and knowledge of the land advantage

5. Gulf of Tonkin Claimed Vietcong fired on US Ships
Spying
2nd attack made up
Congress: Gave Johnson unlimited war powers

6. Draft Overwhelmingly drafted minorities: College deferment
“Poor men fighting a rich mans war”

7. Search and Destroy
Napalm: Bombs laced with gasoline to destroy jungle potentially hiding Vietcong
Agent Orange: chemical sprayed to kill crops-led to birth defects.

8. Credibility Gap and the Tet Offensive
Tet Offensive: aired in American living rooms, showed the strength of the Vietcong, and revealed govts lies about success in Vietnam
Credibility Gap: Americans no longer trusted what the government was telling them

9. Walter Cronkite Read the Document and answer the questions.
Central Question: How did Cronkite’s report impact American opinion on the war?

10. We will be following along on the timeline while looking at images and quotes from the people involved
Days of Loss and Rage

11. The Great Society
A legislative program to end poverty and racial injustice.
A War On Poverty
1 billion to schools
Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act passed
Medicare/Medicaid
Power to the cities through Low Income housing units with African American leader of Department of Housing and Urban Development
Immigration Act 1965: Ended national quotas for immigration
Environment: Ending dumping of toxic wastes
Consumer Protection: Safety Standards
Reapportionment: more representation in more populated cities
Rights of the Accused: Miranda vs. Arizona

12. “Peace With Honor”
President Nixon called for Vietnamization: gradual withdrawal while training South Vietnamese to take a more active role
Appealed to “silent majority”
Secretly begins heaving bombing of Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh trail

13. Kent State 1,200 Campuses SHUT DOWN
In Ohio, protestors burned ROTC building & threw rocks at police…in return they opened fire

14. How Should the Vietnam War Be Remembered?
Image Analysis
How Should the Vietnam War Be Remembered?