Transcript (communist) South Vietnam under Ngo Dinh Diem

USHC Standard 8: The student will demonstrate an understanding of social,
economic and political issues in contemporary America.
USHC 8.3: Explain the development of the war in Vietnam and its impact on
American government and politics, including the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and
the policies of the Johnson administration, protests and opposition to the war,
the role of the media, the policies of the Nixon administration, and the growing
credibility gap that culminated in the Watergate scandal.
Created by Ms. Magyar!
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
Ho Chi
Minh
Mao TseTung (Mao
Zedong)
Ngo Dinh
Diem
Nikita
Khruschev
•France established a colony in the small
Southeast Asian country of Vietnam in the
1800’s
•Communist Vietnamese nationalists wanted
independence from France following WWII
•This greatly concerned President
Eisenhower, because of the domino theory
•The Geneva Accords, drafted in 1954, called
for Vietnam to be divided into two countries
•North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh
(communist)
•South Vietnam under Ngo Dinh Diem (U.S.
backed dictator)
•Ngo Dinh Diem imprisoned people who criticized his
government and he allowed US money sent to help his
people end up in the pockets of corrupt politicians
•Both Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy sent aid to South
Vietnam
•This was to help their defense against the North and the
Viet Cong
•Viet Cong: communist rebels in South Vietnam
•President Kennedy realized communism in the area could
only be defeated if Diem’s corrupt government was
overthrown
•Kennedy approved a CIA supported coup to overthrow
Diem
•President Lyndon B. Johnson vowed he would not
lose Vietnam to the Communists
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:
•Johnson announced that during his campaign,
North Vietnamese soldiers sunk US ships
•The details were not clear, and some questioned if
the event actually occurred
•Johnson was able to use the incident to get
Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
•Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: gave the president the
right to “take all necessary measures to repel any
armed attack against the forces of the United
States…”
•This essentially gave Johnson the power to take
military actions in Vietnam without the approval
of Congress
•By 1967 there were 500,000 American troops in
Vietnam
Operation Rolling Thunder
•The Viet Cong was supplied by North Vietnam
•The supplies made their way south by a route
through Laos and Cambodia called the Ho Chi Minh
Trail
•Johnson ordered an intense bombing campaign against
North Vietnam, known as Operation Rolling Thunder
•The US dropped thousands of tons of explosives
•These attacks killed many civilians
•After this operation, the protest movement against
the war grew
•The US was forced to use innovative techniques
to combat the Viet Cong’s guerilla warfare
•Guerilla Warfare: method of fighting designed
to wear down an enemy by striking quickly and
retreating before the enemy can fully respond
•Agent Orange: an herbicide dropped by US troops
to kill vegetation, so they could find Viet Cong
hiding places
•Studies revealed it also caused serious health
problems, such as cancer
•Napalm: chemical that was like a fireball dropped
from the sky that destroyed vegetation as it
burned out of control
•Often, it would stick to people’s clothes and
flesh, killing them or leaving them severely
burned
Tet Offensive:
•A major coordinated attack against US and South
Vietnamese troops by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong
•It produced heavy fighting in the South Vietnamese capital
of Saigon
•The North Vietnamese/Viet Cong won a psychological war
•Tet Offensive showed that the Communists could launch
a coordinated attack
•It also led to many people in the US questioning how the
government was handling the war and if US troops
should be there at all
Hue
•One of the cities taken by the North Vietnamese during the
Tet Offensive
•The communists ordered all military personnel, civil
servants, and those who’d cooperated with the US to report
to specific locations
•3,000-5,000 were slaughtered
My Lai
•March 1968 US troops under the command of Lieutenant
William Calley, Jr. rounded up and executed 175-400 civilians
in a village where they believed Viet Cong were hiding
•The incident horrified people around the world
•It also added fuel to the growing argument for the US to
withdrawal from Vietnam
•Public opposition and a split within the
Democratic Party over the war led Lyndon
Johnson to withdraw his name from
consideration for the nomination in 1968
•Richard Nixon took office in January of 1969 and
advocated a policy of “Vietnamization”
•“Vietnamization”: South Vietnamese soldiers
would take the place of US soldiers in Vietnam
•However, he was also determined to make sure
South Vietnam did not fall to the Communists
•Nixon combined his withdrawal of US troops with
renewed bombing raids against North Vietnam,
Cambodia and Laos
•He believed that certain areas of these countries were
supporting the Viet Cong
•In 1970, Nixon authorized US troops to invade
Cambodia for the purpose of destroying Communist
training camps
In 1971 a former Defense Department worker,
Daniel Ellsberg, leaked what became
known as the Pentagon Papers to the press. The
secret document showed that many
government officials had privately questioned the
war while publicly defending it.
•The US, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the
leaders of the Viet Cong finally met in Paris in
January of 1973
•They signed the Paris Peace Accords, officially
ending US involvement in Vietnam
Paris Peace Accords
•The withdrawal of US troops within 60 days
•The release of prisoners of war
•All parties involved would end military activity
in Cambodia and Laos
•The 17th parallel would continue to divide North
and South Vietnam
•Following the US withdrawal, fighting resumed
•North Vietnamese troops surrounded the South
Vietnamese capital of Saigon
•April 29, 1975 the US carried out a last minute
evacuation, removing US personnel and South
Vietnamese citizens
•April 30, 1975 Saigon fell to the North
Vietnamese troops and Vietnam was firmly in the
hands of the communists
•The containment policy had failed in Southeast
Asia
•Vietnam was more than a failed war effort and loss of
58,000 American lives
•Vietnam was a cultural phenomenon that called into
question American values
Examples:
•My Lai, Agent Orange, Napalm, the draft, heavy use of drugs among
the troops, mistreatment of returning veterans
•Opposition to the war was split into two categories:
•People who supported the war, but opposed the
government for limiting the ability of the military to win
the war
•A growing number of citizens and activists who
proclaimed it was wrong for US soldiers to be in Vietnam
Legacy
A. The Vietnam War had a lasting impact on the United States.
The war had cost over $170 billion in direct costs and had
resulted in 58,000 deaths. Many soldiers who did return home
faced psychological problems, and some families were left
uncertain about POWs and MIAs.
B. In 1973 Congress passed the War Powers Act to reestablish
limits on executive power. The act required the president to
inform Congress of any commitment of troops abroad within
48 hours and to withdraw them in 60 to 90 days unless
Congress approved the troop commitment.
C. The Vietnam War increased Americans’ cynicism about
their government and made them question their leaders.
Critical Thinking Questions
•
If you had been the U.S. president in 1945, would you have
supported the French or Ho Chi Minh? Why?
•
U.S. government officials described the war as an "invasion"
of South Vietnam by North Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh described
the war as the "liberation" of South Vietnam. How are those
descriptions different?
•
If you had been the U.S. president in 1956, what would you
have done in response to Ngo Dinh Diem's refusal to hold
elections? Why?
•
Why did the Vietnam War diminish the United States’
reputation as the defender of democracy and freedom
throughout the world?