1. The Vietnam War 1965-1975 Mr. Johnson US History

2. Advantages & Disadvantages

3. US & South Vietnam US & South Vietnam – Advanced technology & financial resources, but fighting a “limited war” – Unpopular government in South Vietnam – Divided U.S. public opinion and little international support North Vietnam & Vietcong – Strong ideological commitment (national liberation, communist doctrine)

4. Leaders

5. U.S. Government President Lyndon Johnson President Richard Nixon President Gerald Ford Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara

6. South Vietnamese Government Ngo Dinh DiemNguyen van Thieu

7. U.S. Military Gen. William Westmoreland

8. North Vietnamese Government Ho Chi Minh

9. North Vietnamese Military Vo Nguyen Giap

10. Causes of the War

11. “Indochina”

12. Colonization of Vietnam Chinese… Chinese… 1800s-1940 – French 1800s-1940 – French 1940-1945 – Japanese 1940-1945 – Japanese 1945-1954 – French 1945-1954 – French 1954-1973 – USA? 1954-1973 – USA?

13. Battle of Dien Bien Phu US financed French war effort US financed French war effort 1954 – Vietnam gains independence from France 1954 – Vietnam gains independence from France

14. Vietnam Divided 17 th parallel 17 th parallel North – Communist North – Communist South – “Nationalist” South – “Nationalist”

15. Ho Chi Minh President of Communist North Vietnam President of Communist North Vietnam

16. Ngo Dinh Diem US puppet in South Vietnam US puppet in South Vietnam

17. Protests Against Diem

18. Eisenhower Sent 675 military advisors to South Vietnam Sent 675 military advisors to South Vietnam “Domino Theory” “Domino Theory”

19. Domino Theory

20. Kennedy Increased military “advisors” to 16,000 Increased military “advisors” to 16,000 Supported coup against Diem Supported coup against Diem Planned withdrawal of troops? Planned withdrawal of troops?

21. Coup Against Diem

22. Kennedy Assassination

23. Johnson 1964 Tonkin Gulf incident 1964 Tonkin Gulf incident War begins War begins Escalation of troop levels Escalation of troop levels

24. Tonkin Gulf Incident 1964 1964 USS Maddox attacked off coast of North Vietnam USS Maddox attacked off coast of North Vietnam 2 nd alleged incident 2 nd alleged incident

25. Robert McNamara

26. Tonkin Gulf Resolution Congress gave President Johnson a “blank check”… Congress gave President Johnson a “blank check”… …not an official declaration of war …not an official declaration of war

27. Causes of the War Long Term Long Term – Failed French effort to recolonize Vietnam after World War II, supported by U.S. aid – Division of Vietnam at 17 th parallel under the 1954 Geneva Conference – American Cold War policy of containment and the “domino theory” Short Term Short Term – Tonkin Gulf Incident: Congressional resolution gave the president a “blank check”

28. Fighting the War

29. Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) United States (US) United States (US) North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Viet Cong (VC) Combatants vs.

30. Strategies U.S. & South Vietnam U.S. & South Vietnam – Limited war: bombing, then escalation – “Pacification” of South Vietnamese countryside to eliminate Viet Cong – Aid to South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) North Vietnam & Viet Cong – Defensive guerilla war of attrition – Supply Viet Cong using the Ho Chi Minh trail inside Laos & Cambodia

31. Operation Rolling Thunder

32. Escalation

33. Guerilla Warfare

34. Ho Chi Minh Trail

35. Vietcong

36. Counter-Insurgency Warfare

37. “It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it.”

38. VC/NVA Atrocities

40. “Limited War”

41. Helicopters

42. Cluster Bombs

43. Napalm

44. Agent Orange

45. 1968: The Turning Point

46. Gen. William Westmoreland “Light at the end of the tunnel” “Light at the end of the tunnel”

47. Tet Offensive New Year 1968 New Year 1968 Surprise NVA/VC attacks in South Vietnam Surprise NVA/VC attacks in South Vietnam

48. LBJ’s Approval Rating

49. LBJ Steps Aside

50. 1968 Election

51. Richard Nixon: “Silent Majority”

52. The War at Home

53. “The Living Room War”

56. Walter Cronkite Cronkite: – “The bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate” LBJ: – “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America”

57. My Lai Massacre

58. Daniel Ellsberg Whistleblower, leaker of the “Pentagon Papers” Whistleblower, leaker of the “Pentagon Papers” New York Times v. U.S. New York Times v. U.S. – No “prior restraint” on publication – 1 st Amendment freedom of the press

59. Draft Resistance

60. Anti-War Movement

61. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

62. Democratic Convention Riots

63. SDS Splinter Group: Weather Underground

64. Kent State & Jackson State Shootings

65. Civil Rights Movement

66. Martin Luther King, Jr. “If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read: Vietnam. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over.”

67. Muhammad Ali

68. Declining Morale

69. Ho Chi Minh “You will kill ten of our men and we will kill one of yours, and in the end it will be you who tires of it.”

70. The War Continues

71. Richard Nixon “Secret plan” & “peace with honor” “Secret plan” & “peace with honor” Increased bombing raids Increased bombing raids – North Vietnam – Laos & Cambodia “Vietnamization” “Vietnamization”

72. Secret Bombing of Laos & Cambodia

73. “Vietnamization”

74. “Vietnamization”

75. Paris Peace Accords Henry Kissinger Henry Kissinger U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam Détente Détente

76. The War Ends

77. Last U.S. Troops Leave, 1973

78. Fall of Saigon, 1975

79. The War Ends, 1975

80. Vietnam Unified

81. Legacy of the War

82. U.S. Deaths by Year

83. Total Deaths U.S. Military ARVNSouth Vietnamese Civilians NVA & Viet Cong North Vietnamese Civilians 58,286220,000- 313,000 195,000- 430,000 400,000- 1,100,000 50,000- 65,000 Total 480,000-807,000455,000-1,170,000

84. Vietnamese Immigration to U.S.

85. Khmer Rouge: Cambodian Genocide

86. Health Effects of Agent Orange

87. Undermining of the Great Society

88. War Powers Act

89. 26 th Amendment

90. Prisoners of War

91. Veterans Issues

92. All-Volunteer Army

93. “Embedded” Reporters

94. Plumbers… Watergate Scandal

95. Apathy & Distrust

96. Vietnam Veterans Memorial