1. THE
VIETNAM WAR
The guerilla wins if he does not lose, the conventional army loses if it does not win Mao Zedong

2. Where is Vietnam?
A French imperial territory from late 19th Century to 1945

3. “All men are created equal
“All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with unalienable Rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness…We are convinced that the Allies cannot fail to recognize the right of the Vietnamese people to independence.”
Ho Chi Minh, 1945

4. Eisenhower does not intervene.
The French withdraw from Vietnam after the battle of
Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
Eisenhower does not intervene.

5. Geneva Conference 1954 On Korea and S.E. Asia
Vietnam would be divided along 17th parallel.

7. US - - - > Domino Theory

8. North Vietnam South Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem
French-Educated
Roman Catholic
Ho Chi Minh
Nationalist
Communist
Election date set to reunify Vietnam in 1956.

9. Diem becomes a dictator
Diem backed out of the elections, leading to military conflict between North and South.
Diem becomes a dictator
Diem’s family holds all power
Wealth is hoarded by the elite
Buddhist majority persecuted
Torture, lack of political freedom prevail
US aides Diem’s regime with money and weapons.
675 U.S. Army advisors sent by 1960.

12. Who Is the Enemy? North Vietnamese Army: (North Vietnam)
Vietcong: (South Vietnam)
Farmers by day; guerillas at night.

13. CNN: The Sixties: The Vietnam War

16. “Silent Majority” “Peace with Honor” Richard Nixon Republican

17. Nixon and Vietnam Vietnamization
Roll back of US troops in favor of South Vietnamese troops.
Expansion of the conflict
- - > The “Secret War”
Cambodia
Laos
End of US involvement in 1973

18. In 1975, the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong captured Saigon.
They renamed it Ho Chi Minh City.

19. Consequences of the Vietnam War
26th Amendment: 18-year-olds vote
War Powers Act, (Over Nixon’s Veto)
President must notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying military force
President must withdraw forces unless he gains Congressional approval within 90 days
58,000 US troops , 215,000 South Vietnamese,
1 million North Vietnamese and 1 million Vietcong killed.
4 million Vietnamese civilians killed.
War Powers Act., 1973, passed over Nixon's veto, requires the President to
notify Congress within 48 hours of his use of military force in a foreign country or enlarging an ongoing conflict.
The President must secure Congressional approval if he intends to keep these troops overseas for more than 60 days. If he doesn't, he must withdraw the forces.
Congress can pass a joint resolution to withdraw the troops before the 60 day deadline. (Each President since has denied its validity, though the issue has never been tested.)
No welcome home (shamed and ashamed), high unemployment, alcohol & drug abuse; poor care of disabled vets: underfunded vets hospitals, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Agent Orange health problems, birth defects in vets’ children.