Early American Involvement

1
Early American Involvement

• The Vietnamese sought independence or reform from
  of French colonial government
• One of the leaders of the nationalist movement
  was Ho Chi Minh had become an advocate of
  communism.
• Ho Chi Minh and his followers created a new
  guerilla army known as the Vietcong. Their goal
  was to reunite North and South Vietnam
• August 2, 1964, President Johnson announced that
  North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on two
  American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
• A similar attack reportedly occurred two days
  later.
• The Senate and the House passed the Gulf of
  Tonkin Resolution on August 7,1964, authorizing
  the president to take all necessary measures to
  repel any armed attack

2
America and Vietnam

• The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave the president
  congressional war powers
• A Bloody Stalemate by 1965 some 180,000 troops
  were fighting in Vietnam, with the number
  doubling by 1966
• American planes dropped napalm
• Agent Orange was also used turns forests and
  farmlands into wastelands
• President Johnson would not allow a full-scale
  attack on the Vietcongs supply line known as the
  Ho Chi Minh Trail

3
The Pivotal Year (1968)

• On January, 30 1968, during Tet, the Vietnamese
  New Year, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese
  launched a surprise attack known as the Tet
  offensive.
• Militarily, the Tet offensive was a disaster for
  the Communists, but it was a political victory
  that shocked Americans.