Transcript The Vietnam War - Cloudfront.net

Do Now: 5/5/15
Write “Masters of War” on your Do
Now. After you listen to the song,
describe what its message is in a
paragraph.
The Vietnam War
BACKGROUND
• Independent Vietnam (938-1858)
BACKGROUND
• Independent Vietnam (938-1858)
• Claimed as a French Colony (1858-1941)
renamed French Indochina
– Age of Imperialism
BACKGROUND
• Independent Vietnam (938-1858)
• Claimed as a French Colony (1858-1941)
renamed French Indochina
– Age of Imperialism
• Japan Invades and conquers French
Indochina (1941-1945)
– U.S. supports Ho Chi Minh in resistance
against Japanese
Ho Chi Minh
Communist leader of North
Vietnam
BACKGROUND
• Independent Vietnam (938-1858)
• Claimed as a French Colony (1858-1941)
renamed French Indochina
– Age of Imperialism
• Japan Invades and conquers French Indochina
(1941-1945)
– U.S. supports Ho Chi Minh in resistance against
Japanese
• WWII ends and French try to regain control (1945)
• War for Independence from France (1946-1954)
– U.S. supports France instead of Ho Chi Minh
• French leave and country is divided in two
– North Vietnam (Communist) and South Vietnam (Noncommunist dictatorship) (1954)
Main Idea #1
• The United States slowly involves
itself in the war in Vietnam as it
seeks to halt the spread of
communism
1
Dwight
Eisenhower
3
2
JFK
4
Richard
LBJ
Nixon
The Domino Theory
• If one falls to communism they all fall.
The Truman Doctrine
“I believe that it must be the policy of the
United States to support free people who
are resisting attempted subjugation by
armed minorities or by outside pressures.”
•
•
•
•
•
In This Case
Support = Financial and military aid
Free People = Repressive South Vietnam (not
exactly free, but still anti-communist)
Subjugation = Communist uprising
Armed Minorities = South Vietnamese
communists
Outside Pressures = North Vietnam, China,
Soviet Union
Problems in South Vietnam
• Leader = Ngo Dinh Diem
• Major Weaknesses:
– Corruption
– Authoritarianism
– Religious Bigotry
Do Now 5/11/15
This picture depicts an antiwar
stance toward Vietnam.
1) How much of a right do you
think US citizens have to be
vocal about wars they don’t
agree with? Should they be
allowed to protest or speak
out against the war?
2) Should citizens be able to
avoid participating in war for
religious or political
reasons?
• Support for a communist uprising in the
South begins to grow as a result of Ngo’s
poor leadership
Oh Ngo!
As South Vietnam Falters
• U.S. begins to increase support to keep
the South from falling to communism
Containment!
Point of Confusion
• Vietnam is not the same as Korea
– Not North vs South
• It’s South Vietnam (RVN) vs. South
Vietnamese Communists (Vietcong/NLF)
• NLF is supplied by North Vietnamese
along Ho Chi Minh Trail
• North Vietnamese are supplied by China
and the U.S.S.R.
China
(Communist)
Soviet Union
(Communist)
SUPPLIES SUPPLIES
USA
BOMB
SUPPLIES
WAR
South
Vietnam
FIGHT FIGHT
(Non-Communist)
(RVN)
North
Vietnam
(Communist)
SUPPLIES
South
Vietnamese
Communists
(NLF)
Main Idea #2
• The United States sends troops to
fight in Vietnam, but the war
quickly turns into a stalemate
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
8/2/1964
• While on patrol, U.S. destroyer Maddox is
fired on by North Vietnamese
– Torpedo misses
• President Johnson (LBJ) asks congress
for more power
• Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• “Congress approves and supports the
determination of the President, as
Commander in Chief, to take all
necessary measures to repeal any
armed attack against the forces of the
United States and to prevent further
aggression.”
Difficulties
•
•
•
•
Hot jungle
Guerilla warfare
Difficulty telling friend from foe
Not knowing the territory as well as the
enemy
• Land mines
• Motivation (most are draftees, not career soldiers)
Napalm
Agent Orange
Main Idea #3
• An antiwar movement emerges in
the United States, pitting those
who oppose the government’s
war policy against those who
support it
Doves
Hawks
Turn to Page 745
Main Idea #4
• A shocking enemy attack in
Vietnam, leads to big changes in
American strategy and politics
Tet Offensive
• Tet = Vietnamese New Year
• During Tet, Vietcong/NLF launch a
surprise attack in over 100 towns and
cities across South Vietnam
• The American public had thought the war
was close to ending. Think again.
• A turning point in the war
• A technical victory for U.S., but a strategic
victory for NLF
Tet
Offensive
LBJ’s Response
•
•
•
•
U.S. will seek negotiations to end the war
Escalation will end
Stop to bombing
“I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the
nomination of my party for another term as
your president.”
RFK Assassination
MLK Assassination
Riots at the Democratic National
Convention in Chicago
Main Idea #5
• The nation’s longest war ends
after nearly ten years and leaves
a lasting impact on U.S. policy
and American society
President
Richard
Nixon
National Security
Advisor
Henry
Kissinger
Nixon and Kissinger: Getting Out
• Vietnamization
– Withdrawal of U.S. troops while transferring more and
more responsibility to the South Vietnamese
• ‘Peace with honor’
– Maintaining U.S. dignity in the face of withdrawal
• Madman Strategy
– Nixon wanted communists to think he was crazy so
that they would be afraid of him and negotiate a
quicker end
– Bombs Cambodia to show his craziness
Nixon and Kissinger
Nixon and Henry sittin’ in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G-ER
First comes peace,
Then comes honor,
Then comes Nixon as the ‘Madman’ bomber
My Lai
Kent State
Kent State
The Fall of Saigon
Legacy of Vietnam War
• Vietnam vets not welcomed home
• War Powers Act – Troops can’t stay more
than 90 days without congressional
approval
• “Vietnam Syndrome” – Americans are
more tentative about getting involved
overseas
• Cynicism about government