1 / 21

Vietnam War: A Divided Nation and the Path to Peace

Americans doubted the government's handling of the Vietnam War, leading to antiwar movements, draft protests, and political turmoil. The conflict escalated in 1968 with key events such as the Tet Offensive and assassinations of key figures. Nixon's election marked a turning point, culminating in the gradual end of the war through Vietnamization. The war's legacy includes the War Powers Act and a shift in Cold War strategies.

zamora
Télécharger la présentation

Vietnam War: A Divided Nation and the Path to Peace

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. A Split Country

  2. Antiwar Movement -Americans doubted the gov’t -William Westmoreland- US commander in S. Vietnam -enemy is on the brink of defeat

  3. Antiwar Movement -TV showed otherwise -credibility gap- hard to believe what the Johnson administration was saying about the war -argued Vietnam was not strategically important

  4. Teach-ins -students abandon their classes to discuss issues surrounding the Vietnam War -May 1965- 100,000 antiwar demonstrations

  5. Anger Over the Draft -not fair bc of college deferment -civil rights -many fled -500,000 refused to go = burn draft cards -18 could not vote -tons of protests

  6. Hawks & Doves -by 1968- nation divided Hawks- escalate the war in Vietnam Doves- withdraw from Vietnam

  7. 1968: Pivotal Year -Tet Offensive- turning point of the war -Vietcong attack all major US air bases and major cities in S. Vietnam -strategic disaster for Vietcong - almost destroyed

  8. 1968: Pivotal Year -Americans doubted what Westmoreland was saying -Americans no longer support

  9. Johnson Leaves the Race -Democrats nominate Eugene McCArthy for the 1968 election -RFK joins the race too -Democrats divided = Johnson leaves the race

  10. A Season of Violence -MLK was assassinated -James Earl Ray -RFK was assassinated -Sirhan Sirhan George Wallace -assassination attempt

  11. Nixon Wins the Election -Nixon promised to end the war & restore order at home -Nixon wins the 1968 election (finally)

  12. The War Comes to an End

  13. Nixon Ends the War (Kinda) Vietnamization- slowly reduce the troops in Vietnam while training S.Vietnam army to continue the fighting -secretly Nixon bombs Cambodia -Henry Kissenger- Peace negotations with N. & S. Vietnam

  14. Turmoil at Home -My Lai Massacre- spring 1968, under command of Lieutenant William Calley- massacred a village on unarmed S. Vietnamese civilians -Calley goes to jail -made Americans think the war was brutal and senseless

  15. Cambodia Sparks Protest -US invaded Cambodia to destroy Vietcong bases there -US thinks gov’t expanding war -Congress gets mad bc they did not know of invasion = repeal Gulf of Tonkin Resolution -sparks protest - Kent State - soldiers killed 4 students

  16. Pentagon Papers -defense dept. worker leaked top secret info about the Vietnam War and the Johnson administration -showed the gov’t was not being honest

  17. The US Pulls Out -peace negotiations failed between N. Vietnam and N. Vietnam -Christmas Bombing- US dropped thousands of tons of bombs on N. Vietnam for 11 days

  18. The US Pulls Out -negotiations start again -S. Vietnam agree to leave N. Vietnam troops in S. - independent -January 27, 1973 - peace agreement signed ending the war

  19. South Vietnam Falls -March 1975 N. Vietnam launched a full scale invasion of S. Vietnam -US does not respond -April 30, 1975- Saigon was taken over and Vietnam - communist

  20. The Legacy of Vietnam -War Powers Act- inform Congress on any commitment of troops abroad within 48hrs and withdraw 60-90 days -Cold War shift - Containment -> Negotiation

  21. The Legacy of Vietnam -58,000 Americans K.I.A -cost US $170 billion -300,000 were injured

More Related