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)