America tries to contain communism in

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America tries to contain communism in
Chapter 12 Nixons the One

• V.I.E.T.N.A.M.

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V.
Chapter 12 Nixons the One
Vietnam divided North/South

• Before World War II, Vietnam was part of
  Indochina, a French colony
• After World War II, Vietnam were led by communist
  Ho Chi Minh and fought for independence from the
  French
• In 1954, the French were defeated and Vietnam was
  divided North (communist) and South (free)

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I.
Chapter 12 Nixons the One
Incident in Gulf of Tonkin

• On August 2, 1964 two American naval ships were
  allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese ships
• President Johnson used this attack as a reason to
  send U.S. forces into South Vietnam
• Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
  which gave the President to oppose communist
  aggression

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E.
Chapter 12 Nixons the One
Early 1965 Operation Rolling Thunder

• Operation Rolling Thunder was the name given to
  the U.S. Air Forces gradual and sustained aerial
  bombing of North Vietnam
• Operation Rolling Thunder lasted from May 1965 to
  November 1968

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T.
Chapter 12 Nixons the One
Tet Offensive (1968)

• Communist launched offensive for a time the
  communists controlled the American Embassy in
  Saigon
• With images on T.V., the American public
  perceived that the U.S. was losing the war,
  however by the fall American forces destroyed the
  offensive completely
• Tet was the name given to the Vietnamese New
  Year

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N.
Chapter 12 Nixons the One
Nixons Vietnamization policy

• President Johnson was so unpopular due to the war
  that he did not run for reelection in 1968
• Richard M. Nixon won the election and began what
  he called Veitnamization
• Vietnamization meant that the South Vietnamese
  would increasingly take more responsibility for
  the war

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A.
Chapter 12 Nixons the One
Anti-war movement grows

• After the Tet Offensive, the American public
  increasingly opposed the war
• Anti-war activist were especially well organized
  on college campuses
• Opposition to the military draft also drove
  anti-war sentiment

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M.
Chapter 12 Nixons the One
My Lai Massacre

• On March 16, 1968 a unit of American soldiers
  shot and killed approximately 350 Vietnamese
  unarmed citizens at the village of My Lai
• The massacre created widespread outrage both in
  and outside the United States and contributed to
  the declining support for the war