1. Causes, Course, & Consequences
The Vietnam War
Causes, Course, & Consequences

2. A Painful War Foreign policy failure – Why? Strategic failure – Why?
Goal: Prevent the spread of Communism
Lasting legacy

3. The French in Vietnam Viet Minh fight for independence
Ho Chi Minh asks for U.S. support
U.S. sides with French
Viet Minh win guerilla war against French ( )

4. Geneva Accords (1954) French withdraw Country divided at 17th parallel
Elections in 1956 to unify country
U.S. disregards agreement, sets up democratic gov’t in South, provides economic & military aid

5. Domino Theory President Eisenhower
The basis of American intervention in Vietnam

6. JFK and Vietnam “We shall pay any price, bear any burden…”
Doesn’t want to look “soft on communism”
Sends military advisors
Initial support of Diem regime

7. Gulf of Tonkin Incident

8. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
LBJ asks for and is authorized to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.”
Like Grandma’s nightgown…
Passes Congress 504-2
Sen. Wayne Morse (OR): “We can’t win in Asia, so I am not going to go along with this kind of a program… that in my judgement is going to kill needlessly untold numbers of American boys and for nothing”

9. Expectations U.S. had vastly superior technology and military
President Johnson called Vietnam a “raggedy-ass little fourth rate country”
Just cause - fight to keep Vietnamese people free
“Better to fight communism in Vietnam so we don’t have to fight it in Boston & Bedford”
Military expected victory over North Vietnam in 5 years

10. Escalation Operation Rolling Thunder 1965-1968
643,000 tons of bombs dropped on N. Vietnam
By the end of 1967,
500,000 troops in Vietnam

11. The People’s Army of North Vietnam & the Viet Cong
Use guerilla warfare, booby traps
Know the terrain
U.S. has superior technology
Cannot distinguish friend from foe

13. Hearts and Minds
Goal to win the “hearts and minds” of Vietnamese people
How can U.S. forces do this fighting a guerrilla war in Vietnam?

14. Vietnamese Nationalism
Ho Chi Minh appeals to people
war for independence
resistance against foreign invaders
U.S. strategy of “Search and Destroy” - “zippo raids” on S. Vietnam villages
Viet Cong suffer heavy losses but more are always willing to take their place
VC move back into areas once U.S. leaves
80% of Vietnamese killed in U.S. bombing are civilians

15. Ho Chi Minh Trail Key advantage over U.S.
Series of complex paths and roads through Cambodia and Laos
Transport troops and equipment into South Vietnam

16. Napalm

17. U.S. Public Support Wanes
Constant and graphic coverage in media
Mass demonstrations against war uses same tactics from civil rights movement
Protests, civil disobedience, college “teach-ins”, campus demonstrations
Counterculture questions those in power

18. No End in Sight Credibility Gap Body Count
“Hey Hey, LBJ, How many kids did you kill today?”
Resistance to draft
Nightly TV coverage
Unclear why we are fighting

19. Tet Offensive
Jan 31, 1968: 70,000 communists launched a surprise offensive on  South Vietnam
100 cities and towns, including Saigon
Shifted the war from rural to urban areas – shocked U.S. public
Military failure for NVA/VC, but rocked American morale & public opinion
Walter Cronkite: Says U.S. cannot win

21. “Lyndon Johnson’s War”
Johnson forced to cut $6 billion from the domestic budget (Great Society)
Raises taxes   
March 31st “I will not seek, nor will I accept, my party’s nomination for President”

22. Nixon and “Peace with Honor”
Wins election with promises to end war… “with honor”
Vietnamization
Secret bombing of Cambodia
Leads to student protests at Kent State

23. Kent State

24. My Lai (1968)
U.S. soldiers round up and massacre over 200 women, children, and old men
Congressional hearings in 1970 horrify American public

25. Pentagon Papers (1971)
Secret history of Vietnam War leaked to New York Times
American public learns that leaders have no strategy in Vietnam
The government has been lying to the American people from the start of the war
War continues for another two years

26. Cease-Fire Cease- fire Declared January 27, 1973
U.S forces Leave Vietnam March 29, 1973
Saigon falls April 30, 1975
Vietnam unified under Ho Chi Minh as Communist country

27. Consequences Loss of Life Vietnam Veterans “Vietnam Syndrome”
Lesson in Nation Building
26th Amendment (1971)
War Powers Act (1973)

28. Vietnam War Memorial