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The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War. Chapter 24 Section 1: The War Unfolds Section 2: Fighting the War Section 3: Political Divisions Section 4: The End of the War. Setting the Scene. American involvement in Vietnam began in the early years of the Cold War.

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The Vietnam War

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  1. The Vietnam War Chapter 24 Section 1: The War Unfolds Section 2: Fighting the War Section 3: Political Divisions Section 4: The End of the War

  2. Setting the Scene • American involvement in Vietnam began in the early years of the Cold War. • Domino Theory: If one Southeast Asian nation fell to the Communists, the others would also fall • Vietnam was a threat geographically to Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Thailand.

  3. Vietnamese History • Over 2,000 years of fighting • Resisted attempts by neighboring China to take over • France took control of Indochina in 1886 • Indochina includes: Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam • Ho Chi Minh- communist sympathizer, fought for Vietnam’s independence • The French was defeated and left Vietnam

  4. Vietnamese History con’t… • Geneva, Switzerland (April 1954) • Geneva Accords- Vietnam would be divided into two separate nations (the common border was the 17th parallel) • Ho Chi Minh became president of the new Communist-dominated North Vietnam. • Ngo Dinh Diem became president of anti-Communist South Vietnam.

  5. U.S. Involvement • President Kennedy was determined to prevent the spread of communism at all costs. • This meant strengthening and maintaining the government set up in South Vietnam. • Diem (president) lacked support in his own country. He imprisoned people who spoke out against the government. Money for economic reforms went to military and corrupt officials

  6. Gulf of Tonkin Incident: • August 1964, U.S. destroyer clashed with North Vietnamese patrol boats in the Gulf of Tonkin (one bullet supposedly hit a U.S. boat) • New “attack” – 5 days later • Attacks didn’t happen (sonar man misread signal--- heard own propeller) • North Vietnam ---rightfully chasing away attackers

  7. Gulf of Tonkin Continued… • Incident let LBJ send troops to Vietnam without declaring war. • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: • Congress issued a resolution which allowed Pres. Johnson to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression.”

  8. “The Trail” • Ho Chi Minh Trail--complex paths and roads • -Ran from NV to SV via Cambodia and Laos (both neutral) • Transported military equipment and troops from North to South • Undetectable because of dense jungle cover

  9. Map of Vietnam

  10. The Plight of Vietnamese Civilians • NV: 80% of the people killed in U.S. bombings were civilians • Napalm– Jellylike substance that burns anything • Agent Orange (Defoliant– found later to cause cancer )–contained dioxins • SV: Villages were often completely wiped out • Tried to prevent VC from seizing territory

  11. South Vietnamese Village

  12. U.S. Soldiers’ difficulties • Booby traps, mines • Heat, humidity, leeches, insects, snakes • Tunnels and a lack of knowledge of terrain • Not knowing the enemy • Close fighting (air strikes too dangerous) • Could only see who you’re firing at ~3% of the time

  13. Search and destroy mission

  14. My Lai Massacre-March 1968 • 30 American soldiers • Lt. Calley in charge • 200 women, children, and innocent men killed . • Calley was eventually court-martialed for the murders of 200 My Lai villagers. Life in prison. Spent 3 days behind bars • Heroes: Hugh Thompson, Larry Coburn and Glen Andriotti saved many innocent lives

  15. William Calley of the My Lai Massacre before his Court Martial

  16. The Tet Offensive • Temporary truce during the celebration of Tet (New Year) • January 30th, 1968: 70,000 North Vietnam launched a surprise attack on South Vietnam. • Covered rural to urban • 2,000 American soldiers died compared to over 50,000 Communist troops. • Moral victory for NV, political disaster for the U.S.

  17. Saigon during the Tet Offensive

  18. Major War Protests at Home

  19. War protest at the Pentagon

  20. Vietnam War protest at the Pentagon

  21. Protesting • -College students and professors began holding teach-ins and sit-ins, • “Hey! Hey! LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?” • 1969: Anti-war demonstration in DC drew a record-setting 500,000 people • Many soldiers turning against war– counting days

  22. LBJ announces he will not run for re-election, March 1968

  23. The 1968 Presidential Election • LBJ decided not to run Robert F. Kennedy runs for Pres. (Democrat) - admitted war had been a mistake • -RFK assassinated by SirhanSirhan on June 5, 1968. Same year MLK died.

  24. The Draft

  25. Resistance to the draft (1.8 million were drafted between 1964-1973) • Methods of resistance: • burned draft cards • Refusal to register • Registering as conscientious objectors • received draft deferments-college- (15 million) • Moving to Canada • Medical deferment (sometimes fake)

  26. How the Draft Worked: • The days of the year, from 1 to 365, were written on slips of paper and the slips were placed in plastic capsules. The capsules were mixed in a shoebox and then dumped into a deep glass jar. Capsules were drawn from the jar one at a time. • The first number drawn was 257 (September 14), so all registrants with that birthday were assigned lottery number 1. Men of draft age (those born between 1944 and 1950) whose birthday fell on the corresponding day of the year would all be drafted at the same time. The highest draft number called from the 1969 lottery was number 267 (September 24).

  27. Draft numbers in order • 257 115 365 45 292 250 300 251 327 341 244 342 190 102 194 364 15 270 306 156 223 178 206 279 50 349 203 157 62 91 145 92 77 307 128 237 132 304 346 124 345 195 344 229 215 316 332 221 247 189 312 25 357 218 137 340 54 19 24 173 242 112 264 179 131 317 207 43 165 356 254 286 169 118 140 311 28 362 305 314 95 249 94 360 159 32 280 210 46 109 38 26 183 302 359 351 313 199 334 366 5 228 151 171 343 222 321 61 175 158 214 138 259 219 185 236 296 23 267 198 16 67 363 104 276 318 319 353 336 136 320 330 133 163 355 71 177 287 66 18 231 225 322 33 217 323 98 107 269 42 273 44 204 230 127 326 338 255 2 266 246 358 348 30 339 76 241 220 75 86 289 205 361 335 257 299 263 135 56 167 39 328 141 252 325 21 202 187 48 200 120 294 213 9 268 298 130 227 8 79 297 278 324 265 58 162 260 121 182 35 31 47 68 36 4 41 90 101 100 284 12 180 88 6 245 150 201 154 303 329 105 248 271 281 17 55 285 14 80 354 293 256 295 277 239 262 174 193 153 142 3 114 97 290 261 83 272 84 73 108 216 119 253 301 82 309 63 87 96 211 93 164 106 168 64 125 191 139 186 20 333 315 282 192 60 238 212 291 209 53 234 49 65 288 134 148 34 123 59 72 155 51 208 352 1 7 226 149 331 310 232 99 152 347 274 113 69 13 144 350 129 197 70 224 10 143 188 337 11 122 196 78 243 81 161 110 22 40 235 117 170 283 85 233 111 103 37 308 29 184 116 240 181 74 27 166 147 176 275 172 146 89 52 126 57 160

  28. The War Escalates 1968-69: Over 500,000 American troops were stationed in Vietnam. (This is the most intense year of the war) • 1.2million tons of bombs dropped • 130,000 Vietnamese civilians die per month. • 35,000 American killed

  29. • Nixon’s Policy of "Peace with Honor" • Nixon reduced troops to 280,000 in 1970. • Vietnamization: Remove Americans and replace with SV soldiers. • -Henry Kissinger considered peace talks with North Vietnamese government. • In March of 1969, Nixon secretly bombs Cambodia, denied it at first and then admitted it 10 days later.

  30. Violence @ KENT and JACKSON STATE • -JSU, police killed two students and wounded nine. _______________________________________ • -KSU Students destroyed ROTC building. • -Ohio National Guardsmen fire on antiwar demonstrators-----killed four students. • -Student strikes around the country, colleges came to a halt

  31. Kent State shootings, May 1970

  32. The War is Not going well at all… • -Hue and Danang crumble (SV) • Paris peace agreement Jan. 1973- U.S. agrees to withdraw from Vietnam • -1975 NVA final siege on Saigon. • -Americans leave Vietnam. -U.S. embassy • - On April 30 South Vietnam surrendered. • Vietnam still a communist country today

  33. The Costs of the Vietnam War. • U.S= 3 mill served 58,000 died, 303,000 were wounded, 750 taken prisoner. • -4 million Vietnamese casualties =10 percent population. • -$120 billion • --Vietnam veterans suffered =depression, drug addiction. • -side effects—such as cancer and sterility—from Agent Orange,

  34. South Vietnamese evacuation at the end of the Vietnam War

  35. In Review • Why did America become involved in Vietnam? • To promote the American concept of democracy and stop the spread of communism! • Why did President Nixon order the bombing of the ho Chi Minh Trail? • To enhance the United States’ position at the peace talks

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