U.S. History 42505 www.msu.edumilewsk6

1
U.S. History 4/25/05 www.msu.edu/milewsk6

• OBJECTIVE Examine the growth of U.S. involvement
  in Vietnam.
• I. Journal 31 pt.A
• -Re-read The United States Steps In p.732-734
• -Answer questions (B) p.732 (C) p.734
• II. Journal 31 pt.B
• -notes on Kennedy, Johnson, and the Gulf of
  Tonkin
• III. Homework due Friday 4/29/05
• 1.) Read Chapter22 section 2 p.736-741
• -Answer questions (2-5) p.741
• 2.) Read Chapter22 section 3 p.742-747
• -Answer questions (2-5) p.747

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The First American Killed

• Lt. Col. Dewey was killed by Vietnamese soldiers
  on September 26, 1945. He was there as an OSS
  officer, the forerunner to the CIA to collect
  information on the situation in Vietnam.
• In the decades to follow over 60,000 American
  lives would be lost in Vietnam.

3
Truman

• In 1950, President Truman lent massive economic
  and military support to the French who were
  fighting to regain control of Vietnam.

www.edwebproject.org/.../ trumandoctrine.html
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Why did the U.S. support the French?

• The U.S. sought to strengthen our ties with
  France and stop the spread of Communism at the
  same time.
• (Remember, in 1949 Vietnams neighbor to the
  North, China became communist)
• From 1950-1954 the U.S. sent almost 1 Billion to
  France.
• We paid for most of the French war effort in
  dollars. The French paid in lives.

5
Eisenhower

• When IKE became president in 1953 he continued to
  aid the French.
• IKE believed in the Domino Theory. If the nation
  of Vietnam became communist so would the rest of
  the nations of SE Asia.
• He feared that it would continue to spread
  outside of the region.

http//www.floridatoday.com/columbia/futurespace/m
ultimedia/presidents.htm
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The End of French Involvement

• In July 1954, the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam
  into communist North and capitalist South.
• This was similar to the division of Korea along
  the 38th parallel.

http//news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/715000/images/_71660
9_vietnam2_150map.gif
www.askasia.org/ image/maps/korea1.htm
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1956 Election

• Ho Chi Minh was extremely popular in the North
  and this popularity spread into the South.
• When elections were called for in 1956 to unite
  the country, the capitalist leader of the south,
  Ngo Dinh Diem, cancelled the election because it
  looked like Ho would win.

http//www.redrat.net/images/ho4bw.jpg
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1956 Election

• The U.S. supported Diems decision.
• The U.S. offered to provide military training and
  economic support to Diem in exchange for a stable
  capitalist regime.
• Diem was corrupt and oppressed the mostly
  Buddhist population. This lead to the rise of
  the Vietcong.

http//www.psywarrior.com/EisenhowerDiem.jpg
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The Vietcong

• They were South Vietnamese Communists.
• They opposed Diem and assassinated many of his
  govt officials.
• Ho supported the Vietcong efforts and supplied
  them with military equipment along a network of
  jungle paths which became known as the Ho Chi
  Minh Trail.
• The Vietcong were quite successful and IKE
  decided that if Diem fell, we would leave Vietnam.

http//www.russian-mosin-nagant.com/photos/Vietcon
g20Laying20Mine20Oct2019685B15D.bmp.jpg
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Kennedy

• JFK increased financial aid to Diem to counter
  the belief that Democrats were soft on communism.
• JFK also increased the number of U.S. military
  advisors to the unpopular Diem regime.

http//www.floridatoday.com/columbia/futurespace/m
ultimedia/presidents.htm
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JFK and Vietnam

• Opposition of Diem increased as he relocated
  villagers and intensified his attack on Buddhism.
• It was clear that Diem was a bad leader and the
  only way to save the South Vietnamese people from
  turning communist was to eliminate Diem.
• The U.S. supported a military coup against Diem
  that resulted in a new regime
• Against JFK wishes Diem was assassinated.
• Following Diems death, each new govt in the
  south proved to be more unstable than the one
  that proceeded it.
• At the same time, the Vietcongs popularity grew.

12
U.S.S. Maddox

• On 8/2/1964 a N. Vietnamese patrol boat fired on
  the U.S.S. Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin.
• The Maddox returned fire.
• Two days later the Maddox and another destroyer
  believed that they were fired upon again.

http//www.ussmaddox.org/Maddox-1.jpg
13
Johnson

• The incident in the Gulf of Tonkin caused LBJ to
  ask Congress for the permission to bomb North
  Vietnam.
• This was The Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
• LBJ didnt tell Congress or the American people
  that the reason why the ships were in the gulf
  was because the U.S. was conducting military
  raids on N.Vietnam.

http//www.floridatoday.com/columbia/futurespace/m
ultimedia/presidents.htm
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The Tonkin Gulf Resolution

• It was not a declaration of war, but it gave the
  President a great deal power to deal with N.
  Vietnam
• Following a Vietcong attack that killed 8
  Americans in February of 1965, LBJ launched
  Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing
  campaign on N. Vietnam.

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U.S. History 4/26/05 www.msu.edu/milewsk6

• OBJECTIVE Examine the conditions faced by
  American Troops in Vietnam.
• I. Journal 32 pt.A
• -Read The Literature of the Vietnam War
  p.762-763
• -Answer question 1 p.763
• II. Journal 32 pt.B
• -notes on the conditions in Vietnam
• III. Homework due Friday 4/29/05
• 1.) Read Chapter22 section 2 p.736-741
• -Answer questions (2-5) p.741
• 2.) Read Chapter22 section 3 p.742-747
• -Answer questions (2-5) p.747

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Escalation of U.S. Forces in Vietnam

• Most Americans supported the policy of
  containment, but they were afraid of war with the
  Soviet Union.
• Johnson won the 1964 Presidential Election over
  fears that his opponent, strong anti-communist
  Barry Goldwater would lead the nation into war
  with the Soviets.
• LBJ said he wouldnt make American boys travel
  10,000 miles to do what Asian boys could do
  themselves.
• But, in March 1965, LBJ starting sending American
  boys to Vietnam.
• 61 of Americans supported this decision. 24
  opposed it.

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Number of Troops Grows

• By the end of 1965 there were 180,000 American
  troops in Vietnam.
• General William Westmoreland was in charge of the
  troops in Vietnam.
• He was unimpressed with the South Vietnamese
  troops and requested more American boys.
• LBJ fulfilled the Generals request and more
  troops were sent.
• In 1967 there were 536,000 American Troops in
  Vietnam.

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Fighting in SE Asia
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Fighting in SE Asia

• The superior weaponry of the United States had
  little advantage in a war where you can not see
  your enemy.
• Example North Vietnam didnt have an Air force,
  yet anti-aircraft guns hidden in dense jungle
  made American Aircraft open to surprise attack
  from the ground.
• In the South, the Vietcong had home court
  advantage. They knew the villages, the jungle,
  and the language and were able to evade American
  forces.
• Using home court advantage, the Vietcong would
  attack and disappear before the American could
  return fire.
• Example Was the guy selling food on the corner a
  Capitalist or was he a Vietcong spy ready to
  throw a grenade at a passing U.S. truck?

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The Weather

• South Vietnam has a tropical climate. In the
  summer it hot and wet, 90s in the day with high
  humidity) lows in the 80s with high humidity.
  The winter is pretty much the same.
• North Vietnam has a monsoon climate. The Summer
  is the rainy season which means 6 months of cloud
  cover. This made it very difficult for the
  U.S.A.F. to attack targets for half of the year.

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Westmorlands Strategy

• Destroy the enemy by keeping them on the run. He
  thought by keeping constant pressure on the
  Vietcong and keeping a running count of the of
  Vietcong killed it would weaken their will to
  fight.
• Additionally, by winning the hearts and minds of
  the Vietnamese people they would stop supporting
  the Vietcong.
• The use of napalm and the toxic chemical
  defoliant Agent Orange to expose Vietcong tunnels
  caused wounded civilians, destroyed villages, and
  killed crops

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Seek and Destroy

• U.S. troops uprooted villages suspected of
  supporting the Vietcong. They were ordered to
  kill the livestock and destroy the crops.
• This tactic cause a refugee crisis. Villages
  fled to the cities.
• The failure of the U.S. to score a decisive
  victory against an elusive enemy caused American
  troop moral to drop.
• The longer the conflict went on, the lower troop
  moral went.

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U.S. History 4/27/05 www.msu.edu/milewsk6

• OBJECTIVE Examine the images provided by the
  media of the Vietnam War in the United States.
• I. Journal 33
• Watch Vietnam Chronicle of a War
• -take notes while watching the film
• II. Homework due Friday 4/29/05
• 1.) Read Chapter22 section 2 p.736-741
• -Answer questions (2-5) p.741
• 2.) Read Chapter22 section 3 p.742-747
• -Answer questions (2-5) p.747

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U.S. History 4/28/05 www.msu.edu/milewsk6

• OBJECTIVE Examine the reaction to the Vietnam
  War in the United States.
• I. Journal 34 pt.A
• -Re-read Sinking Morale Fulfilling a Duty
  p.740
• -Answer question (D) p.740
• II. Journal 34 pt.B
• -notes on American reactions to the war in
  Vietnam
• III. Homework due tomorrow!
• 1.) Read Chapter22 section 2 p.736-741
• -Answer questions (2-5) p.741
• 2.) Read Chapter22 section 3 p.742-747
• -Answer questions (2-5) p.747

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In Washington

• LBJ thought the war would be won quickly, but as
  the war continued with no end in sight, LBJs
  Great Society programs began to unravel.
• The economy suffered as the nation paid for the
  war. The inflation rate went up.
• When LBJ asked Congress for more money to fight
  the war they forced him to cut back on the amount
  of money being spent on the Great Society
  programs.
• In 1967, the political atmosphere in Washington
  was shifted from fighting the War on Poverty at
  home to fighting Communism in Vietnam.

27
In the Living-Room

• Each night the TV news brought color images of
  the war into American homes.
• The images on the TV seemed to show a less
  optimistic view of the war than what came from
  the Johnson Administration.
• This prompted Congress to investigate the war.
• The Fulbright hearings didnt turn up much, but
  it helped contribute to Americans doubts about
  the war.
• By 1967, the nation was dived over the war. The
  youth of America began to actively protest
  gaining the attention of the nation and defined a
  generation.

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U.S. History 4/29/05 www.msu.edu/milewsk6

• OBJECTIVE Examine our dependence on technology
  in the modern world.
• I. Connections episode 1
• -Questions on film by James Burke.