1. Lesson 4 The War’s End and Effects
The Vietnam War Era ( )
Lesson 4 The War’s End and Effects

2. Lesson 4 The War’s End and Effects
The Vietnam War Era ( )
Lesson 4 The War’s End and Effects
Learning Objectives
Assess Nixon’s new approach to the war, and explain why protests continued.
Explain what led to the Paris Peace Accords and why South Vietnam eventually fell to the communists.
Evaluate the impact of the Vietnam War on the United States.
Vietnamization
My Lai
Pentagon Papers
Paris Peace Accords.
Roy P. Benavidez
War Powers Act

3. My Lai Massacre: My Lai – S. Vietnamese Village (March 1968)
US platoon massacred over 200 innocent women and children in the small village of My Lai
Lieutenant William Calley and his men were looking for Vietcong rebels – they didn’t find any
Men Women and Children Killed
Hundred
Calley was convicted and imprisoned – the others were charged for minor offenses

4. The Pullout Begins: Nixon realized Vietnam War needed to end
Negotiations begin
US wants POWs returned and all communists out of S. Vietnam
N. Vietnam USA out of Vietnam + representatives in coalition Government
Nixon refused negotiations
“Peace with Honor”
Nixon announced US troops withdrawal (1969)
Vietnamization – gradual withdraw of US troops in order for the S. Vietnamese to take a more active combat role in the war.
Over the next three years, the number of troops in Vietnam would drop from 500,000 to 25,000
Nixon secretly bombs (Hopes to bring N. Vietnamese to negotiate)
North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia
HO CHI MINH TRAIL + Communist Bases

5. III. THE INVASION OF CAMBODIA SPARKS PROTEST
Pres. Nixon announces the invasion of Cambodia to destroy Vietcong military bases. (April 30, 1970)
Americans felt this act was widening the war,
College Protests (Kent, Jackson State)
Kent State University, National guardsmen shot and killed four students, wounded 9 others.
“Four dead in Ohio”
Nation wide pressure to end war in Vietnam

6. Events Intensify the Antiwar Movement
Fourteen-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio kneels over the body of Kent State student Jeffrey Miller, age 20. Also killed were Allison Krause, 19; William Schroeder, 19; and Sandra Scheuer, 20.

7. The Pentagon Papers: Congress furious with Nixon
Bombing and invading Cambodia without Congressional approval
Congress repeal the Tonkin Gulf Resolution,
limiting Nixon’s wartime powers
Pentagon Papers (1971)
7,000 page report describing Johnson’s escalating war plans
(when he was telling the American people that he was pulling troops out of the war)
New York Times v. United States
American Leaders lied to the American public and Congress
about various stories about the Vietnam War.
Never a plan to end the war
Napalm
Body Count Figures inaccurate

8. THE US WITHDRAWS Paris Peace Treaty
Nixon is re-elected in November1972 and peace talks fail
Beginning on December 18, American B-52s and fighter-bombers dropped over 20,000 tons of bombs on the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong.
North Vietnam claimed that over 1,600 civilians were killed.
Paris Peace Treaty
January 1973, a cease fire was announced and US troops withdrew.
Our POW’s are brought home
AFTER THE U.S LEAVES IN 1973, FIGHTING BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH VIETNAM WILL CONTNUE UNTIL APRIL 1975 –
THE NORTH WILL OVERRUN AND DEFEAT THE SOUTH
The countries will be united as a communist nation

9. All 400 Americans and 4,000 Vietnamese were saved
Many were left behind
THE ONLY ESCAPE IS
OFF THE ROOF OF
THE EMBASSY BY
HELICOPTER OUT TO
WAITING
US NAVY SHIPS

10. The War Leaves a Painful Legacy:
The Vietnam War:
58,000 American killed
303,000 wounded
North and South Vietnamese deaths topped 2,000,000
The war left many Americans cautious about their government.
Congress passed War Powers Act 1973
president must inform Congress of military decisions
The war diminished American faith in their government
Hip Hughes War Powers Act

11. Analyze Data Compare the total number of civilian casualties to the number of military casualties. What do the totals tell you about the effects of modern warfare on civilian populations?

12. THE LASTING LEGACY OF VIETNAM
The longest and least successful war ever.
(until the “War Against Terrorism”)
B. 58,195 Americans died, 300,000 wounded and $150 billion dollars was spent.
C. The Vietnamese lost 2-3 million soldiers and civilians – 1/3 their population
D. The US was now divided socially and politically.
E. Soldiers who returned struggled with PTSD, drug and alcohol abuse, divorce etc
F. There are still 2,300 missing in action (MIA); most presumed dead and many were pilots who were shop down over the sea or in dense jungle. Many were also classified as prisoners of war (POW).

13. VIETNAM MEMORIAL DEDICATED NOVEMBER 1982
THE WALL HOLDS 58,195 NAMES
There are 6 women, all nurses.

14. Analyze Information What economic problems affected the greatest number of Americans? Explain.