Transcript Vietnam War - Waverly-Shell Rock Senior High School

10th American History
Unit IX – Post War America
Chapter 29 – Section 3 – The End of the
War
Why are we in Vietnam?
• “Domino
Theory”Eisenhower
• Stop Aggression
• Protect our
reputation- our
“credibility”
The End of the War
The Big Idea
Growing antiwar feelings in the United States helped
convince the government to end U.S. involvement in the
Vietnam War.
Main Ideas
• Opinions about the Vietnam War divided American society
in the 1960s.
• The war under Nixon expanded from Vietnam to Laos and
Cambodia.
• The Vietnam War ended in 1973, but it had lasting effects
on Vietnam and the United States.
Main Idea 1:
Opinions about the Vietnam War divided
American society in the 1960s.
• Growing numbers of Americans began to criticize the war.
• College students often took the lead in organizing antiwar protests.
– One active group was Students for a Democratic Society.
– By end of 1968, 75 percent of college campuses had been sites for
antiwar demonstrations.
• Some Americans held demonstrations in support of the war.
• Some young Americans developed a counterculture– a culture with
its own values and ways of behaving.
– Members of this counterculture were called hippies.
– Emphasized individual freedom, nonviolence, and communal sharing
– Expressed rejection of traditional society by growing long hair and
wearing unusual clothes
War Protests
• In 1970 Nixon announced that he had ordered troops
into Cambodia.
• Antiwar protests intensified—especially on college
campuses.
• Antiwar protests erupted into violence.
• Nixon believed that antiwar protesters represented only
a minority of Americans.
• Radical antiwar groups turned to violent measures to
oppose the war.
• More and more Americans began to oppose the war
when they learned about the My Lai massacre and the
Pentagon Papers.
Increasing Protests
Campus Violence
• Kent State
University in Ohio
• 4 students
were killed
and 9 injured
• Jackson State
College in
Mississippi
• 2 students
were killed
and 9
wounded
Antiwar Movement
• Polls showed that
fifty percent of
Americans opposed
the war.
• Coalition of clergy,
trade unionists, and
veterans established
a nationwide day of
protest called
Moratorium Day.
• 250,000 protesters
made up the largest
antiwar
demonstration in
U.S. history.
Radical Protests
• Some antiwar
groups turned to
violent measures.
• The Weathermen
set off more than
5,000 bombs and
carried out the
Days of Rage.
• Most antiwar
protesters did not
support extremist
groups or
terrorist
measures.
Anti-War Protests 1969
•
•
•
•
In the United States the Cambodian incursion sparked renewed Anti-War
reactions. Demonstrations got louder and stronger.
Nixon appeals to the “Silent Majority” for support of the war.
June 1969- “Sense of the Senate” barred military operations in any
country without Congressional approval.
June 24, 1970- Senate repealed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
Kent State May 4, 1970
Protests against the Cambodian Incursion at Kent State University in Ohio caused the Governor to call out the National
Guard. A frightened guard unit opened fire at the unarmed protestors killing 4. More that 80 colleges and universities
suspended classes.
Mary Ann Vecchio (01:07)
One Week's Dead (01:39)
Election of 1968
• President Johnson decided not to run for another term of office.
• Several others campaigned for Democratic nomination.
– Vice President Hubert Humphrey
– Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York
• Violence broke out at Democratic convention after police tried to
stop antiwar demonstrations.
– Damaged chances of Hubert Humphrey, the Democratic nominee, of
winning the election
• Republican nominee was Richard M. Nixon.
– Promised to restore order to society and bring “peace with honor” to
Vietnam
• Richard Nixon won the 1968 presidential election.
Vietnamization & the Anti-war Movement (03:33)
Main Idea 2:
The war under Nixon expanded from Vietnam to
Laos and Cambodia.
Nixon’s Plan
•
•
•
With his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, Nixon created a plan to
pull U.S. troops form Vietnam and have the South Vietnamese Army take over
all the fighting.
Strategy called Vietnamization
Withdrawal of American troops began
Cambodia and Laos
• Nixon, without knowledge of Congress or American public, approved bombing
raids on Cambodia and Laos to disrupt Vietcong supply lines.
• On April 30, 1970, Nixon announced that U.S. troops were sent into Cambodia to
attack Communist bases.
• Nixon seemed to be expanding the war.
Nixon and Vietnamization
•
The plan was to encourage the South
Vietnamese to take more
responsibility for fighting the war.
•
It was hoped that this policy would
eventually enable the United States to
withdraw gradually all their soldiers
from Vietnam.
•
July 1969, the 540,000 US troops
were to be reduced by 25,000.
•
To increase the size of the ARVN
(Army of the Republic of Vietnam),
a mobilization law was passed in
South Vietnam that called up into the
army all men between seventeen and
forty-three years of age.
Ho Chi Minh Trail
•
The US could never stem the flow of
supplies to the Ho Chi Minh Trail
and this was crucial to keep the
guerrilla war going.
•
Communist forces had been using
what was then known as the Truong
Son Route since at least 1959 to
infiltrate men and materiel through
Laos into South Vietnam. Not only
was it a lifeline, it served as a basing
area and a sanctuary in Laos for
staging operations into South
Vietnam.
Nixon’s Secret War 2:44 min
.
•
Nixon secretly widened the war to force
the North Vietnamese to negotiate.
Secret bombing of North Vietnamese
and Cambodian bases in Cambodia
While enlarging the war Nixon also
began to withdraw troops.
In 1970, the communists in Cambodia
overthrew the leader Prince Sihanouk
and took over (Khmer Rouge). U.S.
and South Vietnamese leadership were
concerned with Vietcong and North
Vietnamese bases located in Cambodia
across the South Vietnam border
(Mekong River).
President Nixon gave the approval for
an April, 30, 1970 attack across the
border into Cambodia by the Allies and
U.S. Tanks- an incursion. This seemed
to be in direct conflict with
administration’s attempt to scale down
the war (Vietnamization)
Cambodian Incursion 1969-1970
•
•
•
•
1972 Election
• Student protests erupted all over the nation.
• In June 1971 the Pentagon Papers were published.
– Revealed that for years, U.S. officials had been lying to the
American public about war’s progress
– Intensified antiwar feelings
• Twenty-sixth Amendment ratified in 1971
– Lowered voting age from 21 to 18
• Democratic candidate George McGovern tried to
appeal to young voters.
• Majority of voters over 21 supported Nixon.
• Richard Nixon won presidential election by a landslide.
Paris Peace Accords & Leaving Vietnam (05:03)
Main Idea 3:
The Vietnam War ended in 1973, but it had lasting effects
on Vietnam and the United States.
• On January 27, 1973, the United States signed a
cease-fire called the Paris Peace Accords.
– Agreement between United States, North Vietnam, South
Vietnam, and the Vietcong
– United States agreed to withdrawal of all troops.
– North Vietnam agreed to return all American prisoners of war.
• Despite the peace agreement, fighting broke out
between North and South Vietnam in 1974.
– United States refused to send troops back to South Vietnam.
Impact of Vietnam War
Southeast Asia
United States
• 250,000 South Vietnamese
soldiers died in the war.
• Some 58,000 Americans were
killed in the war.
• 1 million North Vietnamese
and Vietcong solders were
killed.
• More than 300,000 Americans
were wounded.
• An estimated 2 million
civilians killed
• Returning American soldiers
were not always welcomed
home and many suffered from
post-traumatic stress disorder.
• North Vietnamese forces
captured Saigon in April 1975,
and Communist leaders
created the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam.
• War Powers Act passed in
1973, requiring president to
get Congressional approval
before committing U.S. troops
to armed struggle
• Communist dictators took over
Laos and Cambodia.
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial
dedicated in 1982
War Powers Act - 1973
• To ensure that Congress and the President share in
making decisions that may get the U.S. involved in
hostilities.
• Requires the President to consult with Congress prior to
the start of any hostilities.
• Under the act, the President can only send combat
troops into battle or into areas where ''imminent''
hostilities are likely, for 60 days without either a
declaration of war by Congress or a specific
Congressional mandate.
• The President can extend the time the troops are in the
combat area for 30 extra days, without Congressional
approval, for a total of 90 days.
The Legacy of the War
Southeast Asia
Veterans
Political Impact
• 635,000 South
Vietnamese died;
Vietcong and NVA
war dead equaled
1 million
• 58,000 Americans
were killed; 600
were held as
POWs; 2,500
soldiers reported
MIA; 300,000
wounded
• United States failed
to prevent
Communists from
taking over South
Vietnam.
• Severe
environmental
damage from
bombs and
defoliants
• More than 1.5
million South
Vietnamese fled
the country after
the fall of Saigon.
• Experienced a
negative reception
upon return
• Trouble
readjusting to
civilian life (posttraumatic stress
disorder)
• Spent more than
$150 billion on the
war
• Changed how many
Americans viewed
government
• Congress passed
the War Powers
Act in 1973.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial – 1:24
The Vietnam War’s Legacy
• Two years after U.S. troops were withdrawn, North
Vietnamese troops invaded South Vietnam.
• After a short amount of fighting, South Vietnam
surrendered.
– The U.S. military rushed to evacuate Americans still working in
Saigon.
– Some 130,000 South Vietnamese were also evacuated and flown
to the United States.
• After two decades of “temporary” division, Vietnam was
reunited under a Communist government.
• In 1975, Communist forces called the Khmer Rouge
gained control of Cambodia.
– Vietnam forces invaded Cambodia in 1979, overthrew the Khmer
Rouge, and occupied the country till 1989.
Fall of Vietnam and Indochina- 1975
•
Vietnam
–
•
Cambodia
–
•
Fall of Saigon Apr. 29, 1975- Ambassador
Graham Martin and 7100 U.S. and SV
personnel evacuated Apr. 30, 1975
Khmer Rouge
Laos
–
Pathet Lao and Pol Pot
Victory of North Vietnam 1975
• Collapse of ARVN and South Vietnamese Government- The South
Vietnamese Army withdrew from the Central Highland, leaving Saigon
open to invasion from the North Vietnamese. The United States refused
to provide additional aid
• April 21, the South Vietnamese president resigned and fled
• Fall of Siagon- On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to North Vietnamese tanks.
• The End-On April 30, just as the last U.S. helicopter was lifting off, the
North Vietnamese Army swept into Saigon
Cambodia and Khmer Rouge
Pol Pot
•
The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, killed
close to 1.7 million people in the mid- to
late 1970s.
•
Money, private property, education and
religion were abolished and Cambodia's
towns and cities were emptied as the
population was forced into massive,
unworkable agricultural collectives.
•
In addition to death from work
starvation and exhaustion, the regime
killed anyone suspected with
connections with either the defeated
Khmer Republic government or the
previous Sihanouk government, as well
as intellectuals (Pol Pot defined anyone
who wore glasses as automatically an
intellectual), professionals, and also
ethnic Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams,
Laotians, and Thai.
Killing Fields
• Killing Fields- 1975
– cities emptied or people sent to the countryside. Phnom
Penh
– new rules- religion, money and private ownership were
all banned; communications with the outside world
elimated; family relationships dismantled. All previous
rights and responsibilities were thrown out the window.
– New People with education, doctor, teacher, lawyers, etc.
were killed. They chose to live in cities and were easy to
identify.
– The CIA estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000
people were executed by the Khmer Rouge, but
executions represented only a minority of the death toll,
which mostly came from starvation.
• Boat People- refuges.
• Dec. 28, 1978- Vietnamese invasion of CambodiaLiberators or Invaders? The end of the Khmer
Rouge
Killing Fields
2:41 min.
End of Laos 1975
•
Years of bitter revolutionary struggle, ending
with Americas secret war between 1964 and
1973, left Laos the most bombed country in
the history of warfare.
•
Fall of Laos- In 1975 the communist Pathet
Lao took control of the government.
Pathet Lao was a communist, nationalist
political movement and organization in Laos.
•
Hmong rebels
CIA secret army- left behind
The Legacy of the Pol Pot Regime and Khmer Rouge (01:46)