Chapter 22 The Vietnam War Years

1
Chapter 22The Vietnam War Years
2
Why did the U.S. get involved in the Vietnam
War????
3
(No Transcript)
4
Map of Vietnam
5
(No Transcript)
6
Ho Chi Minh
7
(No Transcript)
8
Eisenhowers Domino Theory
9
(No Transcript)
10
Vietcong Rebel Forces
11
How did Americans respond to Vietnam?
12
How did Americans respond?

• Selective Service System required men to serve
  in war.
• Draft dodging
• working-class war

Draft
13
How did Americans respond?
Doves v. Hawks

• Doves against war
• Hawks supported war

14
How did Americans respond?

• Political Youth movement college students that
  demanded change in govt/society

New Left
15
8. How did the Vietnam War end?What kind of
effect did it have?

• By 1973, war was over for U.S.
• 1975 S.Vietnam surrenders to N.Vietnam.
• 58,000 Americans killed
• 303,000 wounded
• Vietnamese deaths 2 million

16
End of Vietnamwho was to blame for defeat???
17
We Didnt Start the FireBilly Joel

• We Didn't Start the Fire

Let's look at the various events that we have
discussed in class recently....
18
Vietnam is a long, thin country on a peninsula in
southeast Asia. From the late 1800s until World
War II, France ruled Vietnam. The French treated
the Vietnamese badly. As a result, the Vietnamese
often rebelled. The Communist Party in Vietnam
organized many of the rebellions. The groups
leader was Ho Chi Minh. Vietnamese Communists
combined with other groups to form an
organization called the Vietminh. The Vietminhs
goal was to achieve independence for Vietnam.
19
VIETNAM
20
Communist leader of North Vietnam
21
Ans--Ho Chi Minh
22
Communist group led by Ho Chi Minh
23
Ans--Vietminh
24
The United States supported France during the
war. America considered the Vietminh to be
Communists. The United States, like other western
nations, was determined to stop the spread
ofcommunism. President Eisenhower explained his
countrys policy with what became known as the
domino theory. Eisenhower compared many of the
worlds smaller nations to dominoes. If one
nation fell to communism, the rest also would
fall.
25
 
Eisenhowers explanation for stopping communism
in Asia
26
Ans--Domino Theory
27
Several countries met with the French and
theVietminh to negotiate a peace agreement.
Theagreement was known as the Geneva Accords. It
temporarily split Vietnam in half. The Vietminh
controlled North Vietnam. The anti-Communist
nationalists controlled South Vietnam. Ho Chi
Minh ruled North Vietnam. Ngo Dinh Diem led South
Vietnam. America hoped that Diem could turn South
Vietnam into a strong, independent nation.
Diem,however, turned out to be a terrible ruler.
Hisadministration was corrupt. He also refused
toallow opposing views.
28
Peace agreement that split Vietnam in two
29
Ans--Geneva Accords
30
Leader of South Vietnam
31
Ans--Ngo Dinh Diem
32
By 1957, a rebel group had formed in the South.
The group was known as the Vietcong. It fought
against Diems rule. Ho Chi Minh supported the
Vietcong from the North. He supplied arms to the
group along a network of paths that ran between
North and South Vietnam. Together, these paths
became known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
33
Communist rebel group in South Vietnam
34
Ans--Vietcong
35
Network of paths running between North and South
Vietnam
36
Ans--Ho Chi Minh Trail
37
In August 1964, Johnson received reports of an
incident in the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam.
A North Vietnamese patrol boat allegedly had
fired torpedoes at a U.S. destroyer. President
Johnson responded by bombing North Vietnam. He
also asked Congress for special military powers
to stop any future North Vietnamese attacks on
U.S. forces. As a result, Congress passed the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution. The resolutiongranted
Johnson broad military powers in Vietnam. In
February 1965, President Johnson used his new
power. He launched a major bombing attack on
North Vietnams cities.
38
Passed by Congress that allowed President Johnson
to fight in Vietnam.
39
Ans--Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
40
In 1965, Johnson began sending U.S. troops
toVietnam to fight the Vietcong. The presidents
advisers supported sending in troops. They
included Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and
Secretary of State Dean Rusk. These men believed
that America had to help defeat communism in
Vietnam. Much of the public also agreed with
Johnsons decision. The Americancommander in
South Vietnam was GeneralWilliam Westmoreland.
Westmoreland was notimpressed by the Army of the
Republic ofVietnam (ARVN) as a fighting force.
He asked foreven more troops. By 1967, almost
500,000American soldiers were fighting in
Vietnam.
41
Commander of US troops in Vietnam
42
Ans--William Westmoreland
43
The South Vietnamese military forces
44
Ans--Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
45
The United States believed that its superior
weaponry would lead to a quick victory over the
Vietcong. However, several factors turned the war
into a bloody stalemate. The Vietcong did not
have advanced weapons. As a result, they used
hit-and-run ambush tactics. The second factor was
the Vietcongs refusal to surrender. The third
factor was the American troops inability to win
the support of the Vietnamese peasants. U.S.
planes dropped napalm, a gasoline-based bomb that
set fire to the jungle. They did this to expose
Vietcong tunnels and hideouts. They also
sprayedAgent Orange. This was a leaf-killing
chemical that destroyed the landscape. Both of
these weapons wounded villagers and ruined
villages. American soldiers also turned the
peasants against them by conducting
search-and-destroy missions. During these
missions, soldiers destroyed villages they
believed supported the Vietcong.
46
Gasoline-based explosive
47
Ans--Napalm
48
Chemical that destroyed jungle foliage
49
Ans--Agent Orange
50
The number of U.S. troops in Vietnam continued to
increase. So did the cost of the war. As a
result, the nations economy began to suffer.
President Johnson had to cut spendingfor his
Great Society programs. By 1967, many Americans
still supported the war. However, the images of
the war on television began to change that. The
Johnson administration told the American people
that the war was going well. But television told
the opposite story. Each night, Americans watched
the brutal scenes of the war on their television
screens. This led to a credibility gap in the
Johnson administration. A growing number of
people no longer believed what the president was
saying.
51
US public no longer believed the Johnson
administration
52
Ans--Credibility Gap
53
Most soldiers who fought in Vietnam were called
into combat under the countrys Selective Service
System, or draft. Because the war was growing
unpopular, thousands of men tried to avoid the
draft. One of the most common ways to avoid the
draft was to attend college. Many university
students during the 1960s were white and
financially well-off. As a result, a large number
who fought in Vietnam were lower-class whites or
minorities. Nearly 80 percent of American
soldiers came from lower economic levels. Thus,
Vietnam was known as a working-class war.
54
System for calling people to military service
55
Ans--Draft
56
By the 1960s, American college students
hadbecome politically active. The growing
youthmovement of the 1960s was known as the New
Left. The New Left did not call for socialism.
However, it did demand sweepingchanges in
American society. One of the better known New
Left groups was Students for a Democratic Society
(SDS). This organization called for greater
individual freedom in America. Another New Left
group was the Free Speech Movement (FSM). This
group was formed at the University of California
at Berkeley. It grew out of a fight between
students and administrators over free speech on
campus.
57
Across America, college students rose up in
protest against the war. They did so for various
reasons. The most common reason was that the
conflict in Vietnam was a civil war between the
North and South. By 1967, Americans were divided
into two main groups. Those who wanted the United
States to withdraw from the war were called
doves. Those who supported the war were called
hawks.
58
American individual who called for America to
withdraw from Vietnam
59
Ans--Dove
60
American individual who supported the war effort
61
Ans--Hawk
62
January 30 was the Vietnamese equivalent of
NewYears Eve. It was the beginning of
festivities known as Tet. During the Tet holiday
in 1968, a week-long truce was called. Many
peasants crowded into South Vietnams cities to
celebrate the holiday. However, many of the
peasants turned out to be Vietcong rebels. The
rebels launched a massive attack on nearly 100
towns and cities in South Vietnam. They also
attacked 12 U.S. air bases. The attacks were
known as the Tet offensive. The Tet offensive
shattered Americas confidence in the war. The
enemy now seemed everywhere. Many Americans began
to think that the war was unwinnable. The Tet
offensive also hurt President Johnsons
popularity. By the end of February 1968, nearly
60 percent of the public disapproved of Johnsons
handling of the war.
63
Series of Vietcong attacks during the 1968 Tet
holiday
64
Ans--Tet Offensive
65
Even before the Tet offensive, an antiwar group
in the Democratic Party had taken steps to unseat
Johnson. The group looked for someone to
challenge Johnson in the 1968 primary election.
They asked Robert Kennedy, a senator from New
York. Kennedy declined. However, Minnesota
senator Eugene McCarthy agreed. He would run
against Johnson on a platform to end the Vietnam
War. McCarthy surprised many people by nearly
beating Johnson in the New Hampshire Democratic
primary. Suddenly, Johnson appeared politically
weak. As a result, Robert Kennedy declared
himself a presidential candidate. The Democratic
Party was now badly divided. President Johnson
decided to address the nation on television. He
announced that he would not seek reelection as
president. Several more incidents stunned the
nation. On April 4, a gunman killed civil rights
leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Two months later,
an assassin gunned down and killed Robert Kennedy.
66
About 10,000 antiwar protesters came to Chicago.
Some protesters wanted to pressure the Democrats
to create an antiwar platform. Others wanted to
voice their opposition to Humphrey. Still others
wanted to create violence to discredit the
Democratic Party. The violence in Chicago
highlighted the Democrats division. The
Republicans were more unified. They nominated
former Vice-President Richard Nixon for
president. Nixon campaigned on a platform of law
and order. He also assured the American people
that he would end the Vietnam War. With National
Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, he came up with
a plan to end the war. Their plan was known as
Vietnamization. It called for the gradual
withdrawal of U.S. troops and for the South
Vietnamese to do more of the fighting. To win
support for his war policies, Nixon appealed to
what he called the silent majority. These were
mainstream Americans who quietly supported the
presidents strategy.
67
Republican President of the US, elected in 1968
68
AnsRichard Nixon
69
President Nixons plan for ending Americas
involvement in the war
70
Ans--Vietnamization
71
Those mainstream Americans who supported Nixons
policies
72
Ans--Silent Majority
73
The war continued to divide the country. In
November of 1969, Americans learned of ashocking
event. U.S. troops had massacred morethan 100
unarmed Vietnamese in the village of My Lai. A
protest at Kent State University in Ohioturned
tragic. To restore order on the campus, the local
mayor called in the National Guard. Some students
began throwing rocks at the guards. The guards
fired into a crowd of protesters. Four students
were killed. Support for the war declined even
further in June of 1971. The Pentagon Papers were
documents that showed that the past U.S.
presidents had never drawn up any plans to
withdraw from Vietnam.
74
Site of massacre of Vietnamese civilians by
American soldiers
75
Ans--My Lai
76
Site of protest where National Guard killed four
students
77
AnsKent State
78
Government documents that showed the gov. had no
real plan for leaving Vietnam
79
AnsPentagon Papers
80
The Vietnam War cost both sides many lives. In
all, about 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam.
Another 303,000 were wounded. Vietnamese deaths
topped 2 million. In the United States, the war
resulted in severalpolicy changes. In November
1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act. This
law prevented the president from committing
troops in a foreign conflict without approval
from Congress. In a larger sense, the war made
Americans less willing to become involved in
foreign wars. The war also left many Americans
with a feeling of mistrust toward their
government.
81
Act that forbids the president from mobilizing
troops without Congressional approval
82
AnsWar Powers Act
VS