Transcript American History II VIETNAM

American History II 10.06.2015
Monroe vs Truman
1823
1947
Result of the Truman Doctrine
• Changed US foreign policy from isolationism to
interventionism
• Help oppressed countries + bring democracy
Other Developments:
• 1949: NATO organized: mutual defense treaty. (An attack on
one country would be considered an attack on each and every
one, and they would all be allied until the threat was
defeated)
– Clause triggered: 2001  War on Terror
– Soviet answer: Warsaw Pact
• 1950 – 1953: Korean War
– Domino Theory
– Ends in a truce (38th Parallel)
The Eisenhower Era 1953 - 1961
o popular as the commander in chief of the Allied forces
in Europe.
o People voted for the man in 1953, not for a political
platform. “I Like Ike”
o greatest concern = communism and its goal of world
domination.
o developed the new policy of “Massive Retaliation”
o Concept of massive retaliation was only meant to be
implemented in the event of an actual attack
o Very scary time
John F. Kennedy
• With the imminent threat of total annihilation, Red Scare,
McCarthyism, the people of the United States were in desperate
need of some hope.
• John F. Kennedy symbolized hope
• only won by a narrow margin against Vice President Richard “Tricky
Dick” Nixon.
Kennedy‘s Presidency
• Cuban Missile Crisis: marked a change in United States – Soviet
relations  both parties realized that they would have to deescalate
the arms race, or risk a nuclear winter  signed the Limited Test
Ban Treaty
• attempts to stimulate the economy, developed programs to aid
education, fight poverty worldwide, health insurance for elders,
prepared a legislative agenda that would have moved aggressively
on such issues as civil rights, created the Peace Corps,, secured
funding for the Space Program
• Program for social and educational reform: New Frontier
• He went against the “prime directive”, exploring strange new worlds
and saw it fit to fix or change them, when they needed it. JFK
repeatedly violated “social norms” (especially in areas such as Civil
Rights) when HE thought it was the right thing to do.
November 22 1963
Lyndon B. Johnson 1963 - 1969
• subsequently enacted most of JFK’s agenda and continued his legislative
programs.
• Won “reelection” in 1964
• His Agenda: Great Society (included War on poverty, protection of Civil
Rights, and funding for education)
• LBJ was very successful early in his administration when he still had the
sympathy of the nation behind him as a result of the Kennedy assassination
Vietnam 1964 - 1972
Exit of the French, 1950–54
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Vietnamese insurgents under Ho Chi Minh
Vietnam was to be divided
Diệm era, 1955–63
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North = Communist under Ho Chi Minh
South = Anti-Communist under Ngo Dinh
Diem
Democratic elections to unify the country
should take place soon
Diem refused to hold elections
US increased economic and military aid
Rise of the Viet Cong
Diem was unpopular, overthrow and death
in 1963
The Kennedy years, 1961–63
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Kennedy increased assistance, sent
military advisors
LBJ’s Americanization, 1963–69
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August 2nd, 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Nixon’s Vietnamization, 1969–72
Exit of the Americans: 1973–75
- Lyndon B. Johnson's escalation, 1963–69
- August 2, 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats
attacked two American vessels in the Gulf of
Tonkin
- August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution: allowing the President to “take
all measures to repel any armed attack against
the forces of the United States and prevent further
aggression
- embarked on a policy of escalation starting with
25,000 troops in 1965, by 1968 over 500,000
- Air Force initiated a massive bombing campaign
that wrought havoc on both North and South
Vietnam.
• no discernable movement towards victory
• for the first time in history, people could
watch the war on television and saw that
was horrible and grisly
• not being able to see any cohesive US
strategy that would lead to an end of the
war, protests against the war intensified
• Resistance to the military draft was
extremely intense, and many young men
were arrested
• LBJ ordered his staff to compose an
address that would appease his detractors.
• By 1968, public protests had become so intense that LBJ decided not to
run for another term (Tet Offensive 1968  end of LBJ’s escalation)
• Richard Nixon: plan to get the United States out of Vietnam.
- Nixon’s Vietnamization, 1969–72
• Move away from “Americanization” and bring
“Vietnamization” (Nixon Doctrine)
• massive bombing of North Vietnam to “force”
them to the peace table.
• He invaded Cambodia in 1970 to cut off NV
supply lines.
• To many Americans, this did NOT look like a
plan to get out of Vietnam
• Protests and antiwar demonstrations increased,
especially among students.
• Nixon realized there was never going to be
“peace with honor”
• A cease-fire, negotiated by Nixon’s national
security advisor, Henry Kissinger, was signed in
1973
• Without the help of the US, South Vietnam could
not hold out.
• When Saigon fell in 1975, North Vietnam was in
control of the entire country and leaving a
savage scar on the collective memory of the
American people.
No War – Conflict; No Defeat – Armistice!
• The war was terrible because there was
no clear “front”, no definite tactic, and
the US was fighting an enemy they
couldn’t see.
• Death was all around them and every
civilian could be part of the VC. Paranoia
and boredom took over as soldiers were
letting their frustration and anger out
on civilians.
•
Massacre of My Lai in 1968 where a Platoon had
killed over five hundred men, women, and children
•
US used its military superiority against an inferior
enemy
- Around 58.000 Americans died in Vietnam
- Despite enormous military effort, the U.S. failed to achieve its
objective of preserving an independent state in South Vietnam
- This failure has led to cruel treatment of the veterans
- Led to many questions concerning the war