Post on 19-Mar-2016
description
Vietnam War1954 - 1975
KEY TERMS
NLF – National Liberation Front – communist rebel group in S. Vietnam
Vietcong – guerilla fighters of the NLF
ARVN – Army of the Republic of Vietnam
U.S. INVOLVEMENT – WHY?
After WWII, French reasserted colonial control in S.E. Asia
Ho Chi Minh led nationalist movement
Cold War U.S. needed French supportSent economic aide to help FranceContainment Policy and Domino Theory
Geneva Accords – 1954Vietnam was split until 1956
Ngo Dinh Diem refuses to allow elections in 1956 (with U.S. support)
President Kennedy sends Special Forces to assist/ advise ARVN
USS Maddox fired upon by North Vietnamese President Johnson ordered airstrikeGulf of Tonkin Resolution – expanded war powers of President Johnson
Operation Rolling ThunderU.S. continues to commit more troops each
year
U.S. INVOLVEMENT (CONT’D)
Congress – Hawks vs. DovesMilitary Draft – over 1.5 million drafteesTet Offensive – massive attack against U.S. troopsPresident Johnson orders bombing of Ho Chi Minh Trail –
expands war into CambodiaMy Lai Massacre
WAR DIVIDES AMERICANS
TET OFFENSIVE
MY LAI MASSACRE
MY LAI MASSACRE
WAR DIVIDES AMERICANS (CONT’D)
Credibility Gap Johnson vs. Press
Television WarShowed shocking footage
Protests and Counterculture Kent State University shooting Jackson State UniversityWoodstock
Pentagon Papers
END OF WAR
Paris Peace Accords – January 1973 cease-fire
By 1975, Vietnam unified under Communist government
Communism spread to Laos, CambodiaEffects within the United States
58,000 U.S. soldiers died300,000 woundedVets return home
Felt unappreciatedPhysical and Psychological disorders
END OF WAR (CONT’D)
Effects within the United States (cont’d)Public opinion
2 out of 3 Americans view the war as “a mistake”Over half didn’t know what war was aboutAbout 1/3 didn’t know which side we supported
Affected Domestic policies (less money)War Powers Act 1973 – restricted Presidential powers
Americans less likely to support future foreign entanglements
END OF WAR (CONT’D)