The Vietnam War 1954 - 1975

I.) Background to the WarPre-War: 1. Indochina a colony of France since the late 19th century 2. In 1924: Ho Chi Minh organizes Vietnamese revolutionaries3. Indochinese Communist Party created in 1930 4. Vietminh formed in 1940 Goal: to win independence for Vietnam

B. WWII: 1. 1940: Japan seizes control of Vietnam

C. Postwar: 1. September 1945: Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam independent2. Late 1945: France sends in troops to regain Vietnam 3. In 1950: U.S. offers economic and military support to fight the communist aggressor

In 1954: Eisenhower explains the Domino Theory If you line up a row of dominos, you knock over the first one and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.

4. May 1954: The French lost to Viet Minh forces in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu5. Geneva Accords divides Vietnam at the 17th parallel w/new elections in 1956Ho Chi Minhs nationalist forces controlled the NorthNgo Dinh Diem, French-educated Roman Catholic claimed the South

II.) The U.S. Steps Into VietnamA. Diem cancels countrywide elections of 19561. Ho Chi Minh: popular support of the North and is seen as a national hero2. Ngo Dinh Diem: repressive & corrupt 3. President Eisenhower: sends 275 military aides to train South Vietnam

We will sink or swim with Ngo Dinh Diem.

Protests of Diems GovernmentSelf-Emolation by a Buddhist Monk

B. In 1957: the Vietcong (opposition groups in South Vietnam) emerge and carry out attacks on government officials

C. In 1959: Ho Chi Minh trail created to support Vietcong w/arms from the North via a path along borders of Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia...

D. President Kennedy elected 19601. Increases military advisors to 16,000

2. In 1963: JFK supports a Vietnamese military coup detat (Diem and his brother are murdered)In the final analysis, its their war....

III.) LBJ Expandsthe ConflictA. Believed Communist takeover of South Vietnam would be disastrous. Im not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.

B. Tonkin Gulf Incident August 2,1964: USS Maddox fired upon by N. Vietnamese boatAugust 4, 1964: USS Maddox reports of more torpedoes fired and U.S. launch bombing strikes on N. Vietnam

C. Tonkin Gulf Resolution August 7, 1964: Congress grants LBJ to carry out military operations in VietnamThe Blank Check I request all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression.

IV.) U.S. Escalation & InvolvementA. March 2, 1965: Operation Rolling Thunder begin sustained bombing of North VietnamB. End of 1965: U.S. had 180,000 American troops in Vietnam

C. General Westmoreland: the American commander in Vietnam asks for more troops

The AVRN cannot stand up to the pressure without substantial U.S. combat support on the groundD. Army of the Republic of Vietnam (AVRN): the South Vietnamese Army

V.) Vietnam War: New Type of War U.S.: superior army and weapons

N. Vietnamese: elusive enemy w/guerrilla tacticsAmbush attacksHid within civilian populationElaborate TunnelsBooby traps & Land Mines

Example of Tunnel System Used by Vietcong

Who Is the Enemy?

VI.) U.S. Strategy & Tactics in VietnamA. Strategy:- Destroy N.Vietnamese Morale- Win Support of S.Vietnamese rural populationB. New Tactics:1. Napalm: gasoline based bomb that set fire to the jungle 2. Agent Orange: toxic leaf killing chemical used to expose Vietcong hiding places3. Search & Destroy Missions: uproot civilians w/suspected ties to Vietcong

VII.) U.S. Divided on the Home FrontA. Living Room War: Reporters bring the war home w/body counts on TV every nightB. Draft: selects U.S. citizens ages 18-26 to fight in VietnamC. Troops morale begins to fall: Disproportionate representation of poor people and minorities.Severe racial problems.Major drug problems.

D. Johnsons popularity dropped in 1968 from 48% to 36%

VII.) The Protest Movement A. 1960s New Left emerges1. demand changes to American societyB. College students lead groups:1. Students for Democratic Society (1960)2. Free Speech Movement (1964)

C. Why protest?1. conflict is a civil war which U.S. had no buisness in2. S. Vietnamese govt. was no better than a communist govt.3. war was draining strength in other parts of the world4. U.S. cannot police the whole world5. war was morally unjust

Anti-WarDemonstrationsMarch on Washington 196530,000 protestors

Anti-WarDemonstrationsColumbia University 1967

Student Protestors at Univ. of CA in Berkeley, 1968Anti-War Demonstrations

Democratic Convention in Chicago, 1968Anti-War Demonstrations

New York Central Park Protest, 1967Anti-War DemonstrationsHell no, we wont go!

Hanoi JaneJane Fonda: Traitor?

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,Were finally on our own.This summer I hear the drumming,Four dead in Ohio.

Gotta get down to itSoldiers are cutting us downShould have been done long agoWhat if you knew herAnd found her dead on the groundHow can you run when you knew?

Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash & YoungRecorded May 15, 1970Protest Songs

Anti-War DemonstrationsMay 4, 19704 students shot dead.11 students woundedKent State University

May 10, 19702 dead; 12 woundedJackson State University

Doves: those who oppose the war

Hawks: those who support the war

VIII) The Tet OffensiveJanuary 30, 1968 = Tet: holiday for Lunar New Year ; Truce agreed

B. Tet Offensive: 67,000 Vietcong attack 100 villages in South Vietnam, 12 U.S. air bases, and U.S. embassy in Saigon

The Tet Offensive, January 1968

Outcome:1. Vietcong defeated after one month2. Vietcong suffer 32,000 casualties The attacks proved to be an overwhelming defeat for the Vietcong

D. Reality & Impact:1. shook the minds of the American public2. loose support for war It seems more certain than ever that this bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate The war is unwinnable. We put more in and they match it. I see more and more fighting with more casualties on the U.S. side and no ends in sight to the action.

I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.E. March, 1968: Johnson announces he will not seek re-election as president

IX.) Election of 1968 A. Candidates:1. Eugene McCarthy: Democrat; promise to end war in Vietnam

2. Robert Kennedy: Democrat; vision for poor, minorities, healing America

3. Hubert Humphrey: Democrat; Vice President

4. Richard Nixon: Republican; promise to restore law and order; peace w/honor

5. George Wallace: Independent; white backlash candidate

Robert Kennedy assassinated in 1968

Richard Nixon wins election

X.) Nixon & VietnamA. January 1969: Peace Negotiations stalling1. Henry Kissinger: National Security Advisor and chief negotiator

2. Veitnamization: U.S. plan to end war by gradual withdrawal & increase in S.Vietnams role

Goal: Peace with Honor

B. Summer 1969: Nixon announces first troop withdrawals We have to get rid of the nightmares we inherited. One of these nightmares is the war without end.

Nixon orders secret bombing of supply N. Vietnam supply routes also Laos & Cambodia1. Expanding the war?April 30, 1970: U.S. troops invade Cambodia to destroy Vietcong & N. Vietnam supply centers1. outrage of college students

E. December 31, 1970: Congress repeals Tonkin Gulf ResolutionF. June 1971: Pentagon Papers leaked1. shows govt. had not been honest about war intentions

XI.) Peace NegotiationsHenry Kissinger (US) & Le Duc Tho (N.Vietnam) argue over peace talks for 5 months

B. October 1972: Peace is at hand U.S. allow N.Vietnams troops to stay in S. Vietnam1. South rejects plan2. December 1972: massive Christmas Bombings by U.S.

C. January 27, 1973: U.S. signs Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in VietnamConditions:U.S. to remove all troopsNorth Vietnam could leave troops already in South VietnamNorth Vietnam would resume warNo provision for POWs or MIAs

D. March 29, 1973: Last American troops leave South Vietnam

E. March 1975: North Vietnamese forces invade South Vietnam1. U.S. sends economic aide but NO TROOPS! America can regain its sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished as far as American is concerned.

G. April 30, 1975: America abandons its embassy

H. April 1975: North Vietnamese capture Saigon

Formerly SaigonOutcome: A United Vietnam

XII.) Legacy of the War3,000,000 Vietnamese killed58,000 Americans killed; 300,000 woundedUnder-funding of Great Society programs$150,000,000,000 in U.S. spendingU.S. morale, self-confidence, trust of government, decimated

The Impact26th Amendment: 18-year-olds voteNixon abolished the draft all-volunteer armyWar Powers Act, 1973 President must notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying military forcePresident must withdraw forces unless he gains Congressional approval within 90 daysDisregard for Veterans seen as baby killersPOW/MIA issue lingered

2,583 American POWs / MIAs still unaccounted for today.

If we have to fight, we will fight. You will kill ten of our men and we will kill one of yours, and in the end it will be you who tires of it. And in the End.Ho Chi Minh:

The Vietnam Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Memorial to US Servicemen in Vietnam

Memorial to US Nurses in Vietnam

58,000

*Ho Chi Minh had been fighting for Vietnamese independence since World War I.

The U.S. gave France aid to win its support in American anticommunist efforts in Western Europe.*Ho Chi Minh had been fighting for Vietnamese independence since World War I.

The U.S. gave France aid to win its support in American anticommunist efforts in Western Europe.*What Johnson told CongressWhat he didnt tell Congress:He had already written the resolution before the incident.The U.S. naval vessels were aiding ARVN in commando raids in North Vietnam at the time. He learned that the attack probably hadnt occurred.The U.S. navy was not on the high seas but in N. Vietnams 12 mile territorial limit.

*Ho Chi Minh had been fighting for Vietnamese independence since World War I.

The U.S. gave France aid to win its support in American anticommunist efforts in Western Europe.*Realizing he would Diem backs out of elections.*Realizing he would Diem backs out of elections.*Kennedys advisors were clearly fighting a covert war by 1963.

MacNamara has suggested that he believes Kennedy would have pulled the U.S. out, but evidence in inconclusive.

JFK realizes Diem is a liability; offers quiet support to a Vietnamese military coup detat.

The coup results in the brutal murders of Diem and his brother

The Vietnamese generals overthrow one another. A relatively stable, but tyrannical government emerges. It is little better than Diems.

*What Johnson told CongressWhat he didnt tell Congress:He had already written the resolution before the incident.The U.S. naval vessels were aiding ARVN in commando raids in North Vietnam at the time. He learned that the attack probably hadnt occurred.The U.S. navy was not on the high seas but in N. Vietnams 12 mile territorial limit.

*What Johnson told CongressWhat he didnt tell Congress:He had already written the resolution before the incident.The U.S. naval vessels were aiding ARVN in commando raids in North Vietnam at the time. He learned that the attack probably hadnt occurred.The U.S. navy was not on the high seas but in N. Vietnams 12 mile territorial limit.

*Nixons secret plan never materializes.He involved us more.Peace with Honor Well win befoe we withdraw.Expansion:Cambodia invaded in 1970: Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos invaded in 1971: Ho Chi Minh Trail

*Nixons secret plan never materializes.He involved us more.Peace with Honor Well win befoe we withdraw.Expansion:Cambodia invaded in 1970: Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos invaded in 1971: Ho Chi Minh Trail

*Nixons secret plan never materializes.He involved us more.Peace with Honor Well win befoe we withdraw.Expansion:Cambodia invaded in 1970: Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos invaded in 1971: Ho Chi Minh Trail

*Nixons secret plan never materializes.He involved us more.Peace with Honor Well win befoe we withdraw.Expansion:Cambodia invaded in 1970: Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos invaded in 1971: Ho Chi Minh Trail

*Nixon resigns over the Watergate Scandal in 1974.

Ford takes the helm.

*Many U.S.-loyal South Vietnamese attempt to flee for fear of execution by the North.*Nixon resigns over the Watergate Scandal in 1974.

Ford takes the helm.

*Diversion of capital to the war indirectly caused economic recession: 11% inflation and 12% unemployment!

*War Powers Act., 1973, passed over Nixon's veto, requires the President tonotify Congress within 48 hours of his use of military force in a foreign country or enlarging an ongoing conflict. The President must secure Congressional approval if he intends to keep these troops overseas for more than 60 days. If he doesn't, he must withdraw the forces.Congress can pass a joint resolution to withdraw the troops before the 60 day deadline. (Each President since has denied its validity, though the issue has never been tested.)

No welcome home (shamed and ashamed), high unemployment, alcohol & drug abuse; poor care of disabled vets: underfunded vets hospitals, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Agent Orange health problems, birth defects in vets children.