The Path to WarVietnam 1954-1972

Understanding America’s Longest War

MR. Brown

Main MenuThe Domino Theory 1954-1965

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 1965

The Tet Offensive 1968

The War at Home 1968-1972

Vietnam by the Numbers

Verbatim

Web Resources

References

Perhaps the most remarkablefact about the Vietnam War

isthat it was not even aboutVietnam. It was instead, aprolonged battle of the ColdWar, fought to block theexpansion of communistpower in Asia. The warbrought a turning point forAmericans: It brought notonly the first defeat for theU.S. military, but also aprofound loss in faith ingovernment and authority.

The Domino Theory 1954-1965The Domino Theory 1954-1965The U.S. commitment to defending democracy in South Vietnam was sealed in 1954, when Secretary of State John foster Dulles went to Geneva for a nine-delegation conference on Indochina. This conference set the terms for ending the war between France and the Viet Minh, the North Vietnamese communist forces that had declared independence from France in 1945. Vietnam was split into two countries, with a demilitarized zone dividing North from South. The U.S. supported the new government of South Vietnam, pumping more than $1 billion in military and economic aid to South Vietnam between 1955-1961.Dulles, Eisenhower and Johnson all used the “domino theory” as rationale for the U.S. presence, and later military intervention. Under this theory, if South Vietnam fell to the communists, then other countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines would topple to communism.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 19651965

By early 1964, the U.S. had 16,300 military advisors in Vietnam: their task was to train and support the South Vietnamese army. On August 2, 1964, the U.S. destroyer Maddox, patrolling international waters in the gulf of Tonkin, reportedly an attack by North Vietnamese forces. In response L.B.J asked Congress to pass a resolution allowing him “to take necessary measures to repel an armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” This resolution, approved overwhelmingly by both the House and Senate, was seen as the start of full-scale U.S. involvement in the war.

Date U.S. Force Level U.S. Killed Dec-61 3,205 25Dec-63 16,300 195Dec-67 184,300 2,264Dec-67 485,600 19,560Dec-69 475,200 47,768Dec-71 156,800 56,206Dec-73 50 57,015Dec-75 0 57,354

The U.S. Presence in Vietnam

The Tet Offensive 1968The Tet Offensive 1968A Turning PointA Turning Point

In January 1968, following nearly three years of bombing by the U.S, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launched a major surprise attack on more than 30 South Vietnamese cities during Tet, the lunar New Year. Watching at home, Americans saw the televised attack on the U.S. embassy in Saigon, the massacre by Viet Cong soldiers of civilians in the city of Hue and other atrocities. This attacked helped turn the tide of popular sentiment against the war as Americans realized that the prospects for victory were far more remote than L.B.J. had acknowledged.

Date Approve Disapprove No OpinionSep-65 58% 22% 20%Feb-66 50% 33% 17%Sep-66 43% 40% 17%Jul-67 33% 52% 15%Feb-68 35% 50% 15%

Q: Do you approve or disaprove of the way the Johnson Administration is handling the situation in Vietnam

LBJ and Vietnam: Public Opinion

The The WarWar at Home 1968 at Home 1968Few issues in recent history have polarized the American people as deeply as the Vietnam War. While student protesters were the perceived leaders of the anti-war movement, opposition eventually spread to almost all segments of the population. Opponents of the war charged that in the crusade against communism, the U.S. was attempting to impose an American solution on a foreign people; that Vietnam was of little strategic importance, and that the conflict had turned into “an endless war”; and that the drat system was set up so that poor men did the fighting while the privileged got deferments. By 1968, Democratic presidential candidates Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy had both come out against the war.

MR. Brown 1968

Student protestor or Warrior?

Vietnam by the NumbersVietnam by the Numbers• 19 Average age of U.S. combat soldier in

Vietnam, 1968• 26,800,000 Total number of U.S. men

eligible for the draft• 15,410,00 Number deferred, exempted

or disqualified• 8,720,000 Enlisted voluntarily• 2,215,000 Drafted during Vietnam era• 171,000 Conscientious Objectors who

refused to serve based on moral grounds

• 58,193 American military personal killed• 1,100,000 North Vietnamese military

personnel killed• $24 billion American aid to South

Vietnam between 1954-1975• $165 billion Direct American

expenditures for the Vietnam War

VerbatimVerbatim“Kill ten of our men and we will killone of yours. In the end, it is who willtire”

Ho Chi Minh 1946Ho Chi Minh 1946

“I could conceive of no greater tragedythan for the U.S. to fight in an allout war in Indochina”

President Eisenhower 1954President Eisenhower 1954

“We do commit the U.S to prevent thefall of South Vietnam toCommunism”

Secretary of Defense Secretary of Defense McNamara 1961McNamara 1961

“We are not about to send Americanboys 10,000 miles away to do whatAsian boys ought to be doing forthemselves”

President Lyndon B. Johnson President Lyndon B. Johnson 19641964

“Hell no, we won’t go!”Antiwar ChantAntiwar Chant

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are needed to see this picture.

Web ResourcesWeb ResourcesThe Vietnam WarThe Vietnam Warhttp://www.vietnampix.com/intro3.htm

The Domino Theory Principle, Dwight D. Eisenhower Interview The Domino Theory Principle, Dwight D. Eisenhower Interview 19541954

http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/domino.html

Media and the Vietnam War: Interview with Brian Williams Media and the Vietnam War: Interview with Brian Williams http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/events/vietnam/pdf/

transcript-06.pdf

Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy: VietnamDocuments Relating to American Foreign Policy: Vietnamhttp://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/vietnam.htm

The Wars for Vietnam 1945-1975The Wars for Vietnam 1945-1975http://vietnam.vassar.edu

Famous American Trials: The My Lai Courts MartialFamous American Trials: The My Lai Courts Martialhttp://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mylai.htm

ReferencesReferencesSpecial Thanks toSpecial Thanks toTime Inc. and HBOFILMSTime Inc. and HBOFILMShttp://www.hbo.com/films/pathtowarThe Vietnam War-Tim Page, UPI, The Vietnam War-Tim Page, UPI,

Bettman Archives and Corbis.Bettman Archives and Corbis.http://www.vietnampix.com/intro3.htm

National History StandardsEra 9 Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)Standard 2C Demonstrate understanding of the

foreign and domestic consequences of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

California State Content Standards11.9 United States foreign policy since World War II11.9.3 Trace the origins and geopolitical

consequences(foreign and domestic )of the Cold War and containment policy with regards to the Vietnam War.