Chapter 30The Vietnam

War Years

French Indochina War

France attempts to reestablish rule in Vietnam after WWII

To deal with dissent, restrict freedom of speech and assembly and jailing nationalists

US: provide France with economic and military support in order to strengthen ties to France and fight communism

May 1954: Dien Bien Phu – Vietminh overran French outpost

Geneva Accords: division of Vietnam along 17th parallel; election to unify country 1956

Ho Chi Minh

Leader of Vietnamese revolutionaries

Indochinese Communist Party

Vietminh: organization whose goal it was to win Vietnam’s independence from foreign rule

Ho Chi Minh receives popular support in North by breaking up large estates and redistributing land to peasants

Ngo Dinh DiemSouth Vietnamese president – Ngo

Dinh Diem – recognized popularity of Minh and refused to take part in elections

Diem created corrupt government that suppressed opposition and offered little to no land distribution to peasants

Attacks on Buddhism (imprisoned, killed, destroyed temples) – monks in protest public burned themselves to death

Kennedy military aid to Diem (advisors)

Nov. 1, 1963: US-supported military coup toppled Diem’s regime; Diem was assassinated (against Kennedy’s wishes)

Vietcong

1957: Communist opposition group in the South

Attacks on Diem government officials

Political aspect of group – National Liberation Front (NLF)

Ho Chi Minh Trail: network of paths along which Ho Chi Minh supplied arms to the Vietcong

Guerilla (surprise) attacks

President Johnson and the Expansion of ConflictDiem’s death chaos to South Vietnam

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

Aug. 2, 1964: North Vietnamese boat fired torpedo at American destroyer, USS Maddox patrolling in Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnamese coast

Another alleged attack 2 days later prompted President Johnson to allow bombing strikes on North Vietnam

Aug. 7: Congress approves Johnson’s request to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression”

President Vietnam Policy Goals

Truman Economic aid to France

Containing communism

Eisenhower Economic and military aid to South Vietnam

Preventing domino theory

Kennedy Economic and military advisers

Avoiding appearing “soft” on communism

Johnson Stepped-up U.S. military involvement

Preventing control of Vietnam by Communists

Johnson Increases US Involvement

Johnson foreign policy advisers Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Secretary of State Dean Rusk

March 1965: began dispatching tens of thousands of US soldiers to fight in Vietnam

Many Americans viewed this action as contradictory to Johnson’s stance during campaign

Troop Buildup Accelerates

End of 1965: 180,000 Americans in Vietnam

General William Westmoreland American commander in South Vietnam

Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN): South Vietnamese Army

1967: number of troops reached 500,000

War in the JungleElusive enemy

Hit-and-run ambush tactics

Difficult to discern friend from foe, enemy lived amidst civilians

Booby traps and land mines

War of attrition: gradual wearing down of enemies

Battle for “hearts and minds” (rural population)

Napalm: gasoline based bomb

Agent Orange: leaf-killing toxic chemical

Search-and-destroy missions

Sinking morale (soldiers, corruption in South Vietnamese government)

The Draft

“Manipulatable” Draft

Selective Service System

Ways around the draft Sympathetic doctors Changed residence to stand before

more lenient draft board Joined National Guard or Coast Guard College deferment

80% American soldiers from lower economic levels

African Americans in Vietnam

Served in disproportionate numbers as ground combat troops

First several years of war, blacks 20% of combat deaths though only made up 10% of US population

Racial tension in platoons

Opposition and ProtestNew Left: youth movement wanting changes in

American society

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS): restoration of “participatory democracy” and greater individual freedom

Free Speech Movement (FSM): UC-Berkeley

April 1965: SDS organize march on Washington DC; many others over the years (October 1967 – 75,000 demonstrators)

Reasons for opposition

Conflict in Vietnam a civil war

Oppressive South Vietnamese regime no better than Communist regime

US could not police world and war draining American strength

Morally wrong

A nation divided (doves: support US withdrawal; hawks: support greater military force to win war)

1968: Tet Offensive

January 30 Vietnamese New Year truce proclaimed

Vietcong launch surprise attack on over 100 towns and cities as well as US military bases in South Vietnam

Attack US embassy in Saigon

Last for a month until US and South Vietnamese forces can regain control

US military success but psychologically (and politically) credibility of the Johnson administration weakened

Turbulent Race for PresidentAntiwar coalition in Democratic Party leads to division during primary race

Robert F. Kennedy (perceived Johnson weakness) and Eugene McCarthy (running on an “end the war” platform) run against Johnson who eventually drops out of the race

Democratic convention in Chicago – leading candidates McCarthy and Johnson’s Vice President Hubert Humphrey

10,000 protestors show up to express displeasure with Humphrey’s nomination; leads to violence between protestors and police officers trying to keep them under control

Turmoil in convention hall as well is seen by millions of Americans on TV

Presidential Candidates

Party Career Highlights

Views

Hubert Humphrey

Richard Nixon

George Wallace

President Nixon’s Vietnam Policy

National Security of Advisor: Henry Kissinger along with Nixon came up with plan to end America’s involvement

Vietnamization: gradual withdrawal of US troops in order for South Vietnamese to take on more active combat role in war

“Peace with Honor”: maintain US dignity while withdrawing from war; preserve US clout at the negotiation table

However, at the same time, approved bombing campaign on supply routes and bases in North Vietnam as well as in Laos and Cambodia

Continued decline in public opinion

My Lai Massacre: November 1969, New York Times reported that on March 16, 1968 US platoon massacred innocent civilians in small village of My Lai

Invasion of Cambodia: April 30, 1970 Nixon announced US troops invaded Cambodia to clear out North Vietnamese and Vietcong supply centers

Violence on campus

Kent State University (May 4, 1970): massive student protest, burning of ROTC building; National Guard called in response, fired on crowd wounding 9 and killing 4

Similar violence 10 days later at all-black college of Jackson State in MS

Pentagon Papers: document written for Defense Secretary McNamara 1967-1968

Revealed government plans to enter war even though Johnson promised would not send troops to Vietnam

Never plans to end war as long as North Vietnamese persisted

America’s Involvement in War Comes to an End

Henry Kissinger adviser for national security affairs and top negotiator in Vietnam

Met setbacks when South Vietnamese refused plan to allow North Vietnamese troops to be stationed in South Vietnam

January 27, 1973: US signed “Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” – North Vietnamese troops remain in South Vietnam; Nixon respond full force to any violation

March 29, 1973: last of US combat troops leave Vietnam

The war itself continued until the North Vietnamese launched full scale invasion into the South; April 30, 1975 (invasion of Saigon) South Vietnamese surrendered to North Vietnamese

Legacy of the Vietnam War

American veterans cope back home

National response to veterans cold; faced indifference and hostility

15% of 3.3 million soldiers developed post-traumatic stress disorder

Turmoil in Southeast Asia

Unification of Vietnam under Communism – imprisoned 400,000 South Vietnamese into labor camps

Millions of people flee Vietnam (US supporters, business owners, poor – boat people); thousands perished on the seas

After US invasion Cambodia, breakout of civil war; communist group – Khmer Rouge- seized power 1975; transform country into peasant society; during reign, thought to have killed over 1 million Cambodians

US policy changes

Abolish draft

War Powers Act: curb President’s power; must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending in forces; within 90 days must receive approval of Congress for action’s or declare war

Altered America’s views on American foreign policy

Cynicism of Americans towards government