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The Vietnam war years

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Title: The Vietnam war years


1
The Vietnam war years
  • Chapter 22 Notes

2
Moving Towards Conflict
  • From late 1800s-WWII, France ruled most of
    Indochina

3
Moving Towards Conflict
  • Indochinese Communist Party established 1930
  • Began a number of revolts under Ho Chi Minh
  • Sentenced to death, but fled to Soviet Union
    planned independence movement
  • Vietminhorganized to gain independence
  • 1940Japanese took control of Vietnam
  • 1945Allies victory forced Japan out of Vietnam
  • Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent but
    French still wanted control
  • U.S. got involvedTruman sent nearly 15 million
    in economic aid to France

4
Moving Towards Conflict
  • 1953Eisenhower continues support of France
  • Why? Domino Theory
  • French forced to surrender May 1954
  • Geneva AccordsJuly 1954
  • France, Great Britain, Soviet Union, U.S., China,
    Laos, Cambodia, Vietminh, South Vietnam met
    about peace agreement
  • Temporarily divided Vietnam at 17th parallel
  • NorthHo Chi Minh
  • SouthNgo Dinh Diem

5
Moving Towards Conflict
  • Ho Chi Minh won popularity in the North by
    breaking up large estates and redistributing land
    to peasants
  • National hero for fighting Japanese French
  • Vietcongcommunist opposition in the South
  • Began attacks on Diem government
  • Ho Chi Minh supplied arms to the group along the
    border of Vietnam, Laos, CambodiaHo Chi Minh
    Trail (pg 733)

6
Moving Towards Conflict
  • Diem government proved to be corrupt oppressive
    (Buddhism)
  • Kennedy (1961) continued to aid Diem the South
  • November 1, 1963U.S. supported coup overthrew
    Diem
  • Succeeding rulers failed South Vietnam prove
    unstable
  • Vietcong influence spread

7
Moving Towards Conflict
  • August 2, 1964North Vietnamese patrol boat fired
    a torpedo at an American destroyer while
    patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin
  • The attack on the ship led LBJ to launch bombing
    strikes on North Vietnam
  • Gulf of Tonkin ResolutionGave LBJ power to wage
    war on North Vietnam
  • Operation Rolling Thunder1st bombing of North
    Vietnam
  • March 19651st American combat troops arrive in
    South Vietnam

8
Summarize
  • Why did the U.S. support Frances efforts in
    Vietnam?
  • Why was the Diem regime unpopular?
  • How did the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution lead to
    greater U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War?

9
U.S. Involvement Escalation
  • 1965, LBJ began sending tens of thousands of U.S.
    Soldiers to fight in Vietnam
  • Congress the American public strongly supported
    the decision
  • 1965 poll showed 61 supported U.S. involvement
  • By the end of 1965, U.S. sent more than 180,000
    troops
  • Some believed that aggressive deployment was the
    only way to win
  • By 1967, 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam

10
U.S. Involvement Escalation
  • U.S. leaders felt that superior weaponry would
    lead to victory in Vietnam but the jungle terrain
    enemy guerilla tactics evened the playing field
  • Hit Run, Ambush,
  • lived among general population,
  • booby traps land mines, tunnel system (pg 738)
  • U.S. tried to lay traps, Vietcong disassembled
    reused
  • U.S. goalkeep VC from winning the support of
    Vietnams rural population (so they would have
    nowhere to hide)

11
Vietcong Tunnel System
12
U.S. Involvement Escalation
  • Napalmgasoline based bomb used to set fire to
    the jungle
  • Agent Orangeleaf killing, toxic chemical
  • Killed civilians ruined surroundings
  • Search Destroyuprooting civilians with
    suspected ties to VC, killing livestock burning
    villages
  • We had to destroy the town in order to save it.

13
U.S. Involvement Escalation
  • Failure to make any ground defeated morale
  • War was hurting the economy back home
  • LBJ proposed tax increase to help fund war keep
    inflation in check
  • Cost him 6 billion reduction in Great Society
    programs
  • First living room war
  • Combat footage appeared on nightly news
  • Westmoreland claimed victory was near, but
    Americans saw the truth
  • Credibility gap was widened

14
Summarize
  • Why did U.S. forces have difficulty fighting the
    Vietcong?
  • In what way did the U.S. underestimate the
    Vietcong?
  • What factors led to the low morale of U.S.
    troops?
  • What led to growing concern in America about the
    war?

15
A Nation Divided
  • Most soldiers fighting in Vietnam were called
    into combat by the draft
  • All males had to register when they turned 18
  • Many tried to dodge the draft
  • Sympathetic doctors gave medical exemptions
  • Changed residence to stand before more lenient
    draft board
  • Some joined National Guard or Coast Guard to
    secure deferment
  • Most common was attending college

16
A Nation Divided
  • American youth became more political vocal
    throughout the 1960sNew Left
  • Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)charged
    that corporations and large government
    institutions had taken over the U.S.
  • Called for restoration of democracy greater
    individual freedom
  • Free Speech Movement (FSM)Began at Cal Berkley
  • Grew out of clash between faculty students
  • Criticized powerful business government

17
A Nation Divided
  • 1966LBJ changed college deferment stating that
    you must be in good academic standing
  • Reasons for protest?
  • Vietnam was a civil war America should stay out
  • Oppressive South no better than Communists
  • U.S. could not police entire globe
  • Morally unjust

18
A Nation Divided
  • Spring 1967Protestors gathered in Central Park
    to burn draft cards
  • People wanted to protest, but still be loyal
  • Draft resistance continued until Nixon phased out
    the draft in the 1970s
  • More than 200,000 men accused of draft offenses
    nearly 4,000 imprisoned.
  • About 10,000 fled to Canada

19
A Nation Divided
  • October 1967Demonstration at the Lincoln
    Memorial
  • Drew over 75,000 protestors
  • 30,000 locked arms and marched to the Pentagon
  • to disrupt the center of the American war
    machine
  • Doves V. Hawks
  • Country still divided
  • Many saw protests as acts of disloyalty

20
Summarize
  • What concerns about American democratic society
    did the New Left voice?
  • What reasons did protestors oppose the war?
  • What were the key issues that divided America?
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