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The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War. 1954 - 1975. “Although both popular imagination and academic research on the Vietnam War continue to flourish, there is no consensus in sight. Only the U.S. Civil War rivals the power of the Vietnam War to divide and inflame generations upon generations of Americans.”

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The Vietnam War

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  1. The Vietnam War 1954 - 1975

  2. “Although both popular imagination and academic research on the Vietnam War continue to flourish, there is no consensus in sight. Only the U.S. Civil War rivals the power of the Vietnam War to divide and inflame generations upon generations of Americans.” • ANDREAS W. DAUM, America, the Vietnam War, and the World

  3. “The Vietnam War was arguably the most traumatic experience for the United States in the twentieth century. That is indeed a grim distinction in a span that included two world wars, the assassinations of two presidents and the resignation of another, the Great Depression, the Cold War, racial unrest, and the drug and crime waves.” DONALD M. GOLDSTEIN, intro, The Vietnam War

  4. “The war against Vietnam is only the ghastliest manifestation of what I’d call imperial provincialism, which afflicts America’s whole culture -- aware only of its own history, insensible to everything which isn’t part of the local atmosphere.” • STEPHEN VIZINCZEY, London Times, Sep. 21, 1968

  5. “Vietnam was the first war ever fought without any censorship. Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.” WILLIAM WESTMORELAND, Time magazine, Apr. 5, 1982

  6. The Presidents

  7. John F. Kennedy (Entry)

  8. Lyndon B. Johnson (Escalation)

  9. Richard Nixon (continuation & withdrawal)

  10. Important Names • Ho Chi Minh – Communist leader of Vietnam • Vietminh (Indo Chinese Communist Party) – North Vietnamese government. Wanted independence from foreign rule. • Vietcong (National Liberation Front) – Any and all Communist Vietnamese. • Ngo Dihn Diem – South Vietnams first president during the Vietnam War • IMPORTANT: Know the difference between the North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, and the Vietcong!

  11. Prior to U.S. Involvement • Vietnam was a colony of France prior to WWII – think imperialism (WW1) • During WWII Japan invaded Vietnam and controlled it. • After Japan is defeated in WWII. Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam independence. - 1945 • British land in Vietnam and regain control of the country for France.

  12. Prior to U.S. Involvement • French agree to recognize Vietnam as a free state of the French Union. Nothing really changes though. • It is still treated as a colony and taken advantage of. • The North Vietnamese (Communist) attack and defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu. • The North Vietnamese get weapons from China and the Soviet Union.

  13. Geneva Convention • Followed the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. • Peace agreement between the Vietminh (Communist) and the anticommunist. • Divided Vietnam into the North and South on the 17th parallel. • It failed – fighting soon started again.

  14. Vietnam after the Geneva Convention

  15. U.S. Involvement • French leave Vietnam - 1956 • China and the Soviet Union pledge support to the city of Hanoi and everything North of it. • Fearing the ‘domino theory” the U.S. decides to help anti-communist Vietnamese. • U.S. sends 400 Special Force soldiers as advisors. • U.S military starts training the South Vietnamese. • Communist North Vietnamese start attacking and killing South Vietnamese officials. – 1957 • Thirteen Americans are killed.

  16. U.S. Involvement • South Vietnamese, under the leadership of Diem, request more U.S. aid. • U.S. sends 8,000 soldiers in “non combat roles”. – 1961 • JFK announces plans to withdraw from the conflict. JFK is assassinated in 1963 before he could initiate his plan • Lyndon B. Johnson escalates U.S. involvement. • More than 180,000 troops are sent to Vietnam - 1965

  17. Reasons for U.S. Involvement • Domino Theory (Cold War) • Imperialism (Left over from WW1 and WWII) • Nationalism (Left over from WW1 and WWII)

  18. Gulf of Tonkin Incident • The USS Maddox is fired upon by a North Vietnamese patrol boat while doing recon in the Gulf of Tonkin. • LBJ uses this event to ask Congress to give him power to do what is necessary to “prevent any further aggression” • Tonkin Gulf Resolution – Gives LBJ broad military powers in Vietnam • LBJ unleashed “Operation Rolling Thunder”

  19. Ho Chi Minh Trail • A logistical, trade, and military trail that started in North Vietnam and ran through Cambodia and Laos, ending in South Vietnam. This is the “hot spot” of fighting. • It was not a single road, but a complex maze of truck routes, walking trails, river systems, and underground tunnels.

  20. Tet Offensive • Tet – Vietnamese New Year’s Eve Holiday • Week long truce between North and South. • North and Vietcong smuggle in weapons and people. • That night Vietcong launch a surprise attack and take over 100 villages and cities in the South • Eventually the South and U.S. regain control of the cities. Takes about 1 month • 32,000 Vietcong dead. Showed the U.S. that the Vietcong were willing to do anything to win.

  21. The U.S. Withdraws • Nixon is elected and announces the plan to withdraw - 1969 • The last of the American troops leave – 1973 • The South’s government and army become weak • Saigon falls to the North Vietnamese – 1975 • 7,000 U.S. administrators and South Vietnamese flee by helicopter. • Over 100,0000 other anticommunist Vietnamese flee by boat.

  22. After the U.S. leaves -Vietnam was reunited- The Socialist Republic of Vietnam-Communist • Saigon is renamed Ho Chi Minh City. • Neighboring Cambodia is taken over by a Communist Dictatorship-Pol Pot-murdered 2 million Cambodians. • Laos royal government is overthrown. • Boat people-Over 3 million people flee from Indochina by 1976. Most by boat. • 1.4 million settle in the U.S.

  23. After the War for the U.S • U.S. expense of the war – $165 billion • First “defeat” for the U.S. in a major war. • U.S. veterans for first time did not come home to a “heroes parade”. They were treated w/indifference and anger. Treated as victims and victimizers. • Mainstream America’s public opinion of our government started to change.

  24. Death Toll • American deaths- Approx. 58,000 • Wounded- Approx. 303,000 • Vietnamese deaths- Between 1 and 2 million

  25. Assignments • Chapter 22 Key Terms – Words in bold throughout the chapter • 2 Open Response Questions • Video Assignment – Due at the end of the video • Project – Due Monday

  26. Open Response #1 • Many people ask the question, “Why did the U.S. even care about the Vietnam conflict, let alone fight a war there.” It is a very confusing issue. Explain in detail four reasons U.S. politicians felt the need to get involved in the Vietnam conflict, giving specific evidence from your notes.

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