1. SEMESTER 2 WEEK 12 Going to War in Vietnam

2. The Vietcong is Born After Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold Nat'l elections, Ho Chi Minh & his followers began an armed struggle to reunify the nation; organized a new guerrilla army known as the Vietcong As fighting began between the Vietcong & South Vietnam’s forces IKE increased U.S. aid & sent hundreds of military advisers to train South Vietnam’s army Despite the U.S. assistance, the Vietcong continued to grow more powerful, in part because many Vietnamese opposed Diem’s gov’t & in part because of the Vietcong’s use of terror 1961, the Vietcong had assassinated thousands of gov’t officials & established control over much of the countryside In response Diem looked increasingly to the U.S. to keep South Vietnam from collapsing

3. Kennedy’s Vietnam Like presidents Truman & Eisenhower before him, JFK saw the SE Asian country as vitally important in the battle against communism JFK’s admin sharply increased military aid & sent more advisers to Vietnam 1961-1963, the # of U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam jumped from about 2,000- 15,000

4. More Problems in South Vietnam Vietcong continued to grow because Diem’s gov’t was unpopular & corrupt U.S. urged him to create a more democratic gov’t and to introduce reforms to help Vietnam’s peasants Vietnamese officials then moved villagers to the strategic hamlets, partly to protect them from the Vietcong, and partly to prevent them from giving aid to the Vietcong The program proved to be extremely unpopular Many peasants resented being uprooted from their villages, where they had worked to build farms and where many of their ancestors lay buried

5. Diem Overthrown Diem made himself even more unpopular by discriminating against Buddhism, one of the country’s most practiced religions spring of 1963, Diem, a Catholic, banned the traditional religious flags for Buddha’s birthday; Buddhists took to the streets in protest, Diem’s police killed 9 people & injured 14 several Vietnamese generals were plotting to overthrow Diem 11/1/1963, they seized power & executed Diem shortly afterward After his death, South Vietnam’s gov’t grew increasingly weak & unstable  U.S. became even more deeply involved in order to prop up the weak South Vietnamese gov’t 3 weeks after Diem’s death, JFK was also assassinated

6. LBJ’s Vietnam Issues Initially LBJ exercised caution & restraint regarding the conflict in Vietnam At the same time, LBJ was determined to prevent South Vietnam form becoming Communist Should the Dems also “lose” Vietnam, LBJ feared, it might cause a “mean and destructive, debate that would shatter my Presidency, kill my administration, and damage our democracy”

7. Gulf of Tonkin 8/2/1964, LBJ announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had fired on 2 U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin He insisted that North Vietnam’s attacks were unprovoked & immediately ordered U.S. aircraft to attack North Vietnamese ships and naval facilities LBJ didn’t reveal that the U.S. warships had been helping the South Vietnamese conduct electronic spying & commando raids against North Vietnam LBJ then asked Congress to authorize the use of force to defend U.S. forces  Congress agreed to Johnson’s request with little debate 8/1964, the Senate and House passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing the president to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. & prevent further aggression”

8. LBJ’s War the Vietcong began to attack bases where U.S. advisers were stationed in South Vietnam  The attacks began in the fall of the 1964 2/1965, a Vietcong attack on a base at Pleiku left 7 Americans dead and more than 100 wounded; LBJ decided to respond After the airstrikes, one poll showed that LBJ’s approval rating of his handling of Vietnam jumped from 41%-60% 3/1965, LBJ expanded U.S. involvement by shifting his policy to a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam  The campaign was named Operation Rolling Thunder LBJ also ordered the first combat troops into Vietnam

9. PREPARE FOR QUIZ TAKE OUT A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER NUMBER 1-5

10. QUIZ 1. The new guerrilla army in South Vietnam was known as the…? 2. Who saw, the # of U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam jumped from about 2,000 to 15,000? 3. Whose government was overthrown in South Vietnam? 4. This authorized the president to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. & prevent further aggression?” 5. The campaign against North Vietnam was known as?