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Chapter 20

Chapter 20. Vietnam. Chapter Introduction. This chapter will identify how the United States confronted communism in Southeast Asia. The chapter reviews the origins of the Vietnam War and the increasing American military involvement in Vietnam. It also discusses opposition to the war.

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Chapter 20

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  1. Chapter 20 Vietnam

  2. Chapter Introduction This chapter will identify how the United States confronted communism in Southeast Asia. The chapter reviews the origins of the Vietnam War and the increasing American military involvement in Vietnam. It also discusses opposition to the war. • Section 1: Origins of the Vietnam War • Section 2: U.S. Involvement Grows • Section 3: The War Divides America • Section 4: The War’s End and Impact • Section 5: Nixon and the Cold War

  3. Section 1 Objectives • Describe the reasons that the United States helped the French fight the Vietnamese. • Identify ways in which the United States opposed communism in Southeast Asia. • Analyze how the United States increased its involvement in Vietnam.

  4. Daily question Why did the United States become involved in Vietnam? Presidents Kennedy and Johnson shared a vision that the United States would emerge victorious from the Cold War. As part of this battle, the United States established a new line of defense in Vietnam.

  5. The United States became involved in Vietnam for several reasons. • The U.S. wanted France as an ally in the Cold War. • The U.S. also wanted to support any government that was fighting communism.

  6. French colonial governments had ruled most of Indochina since the 1800s. The French exploited Indochina’s wealth by owning plantations, claiming mineral rights, and imposing high taxes.

  7. Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh worked to free Vietnam from colonial rule. Unable to get support from western nations, he embraced communism and received support from the communists.

  8. In 1954, President Eisenhower introduced the domino theory, which said that if Vietnam became communist, its closest neighbors would follow. If communism spread throughout the region, Eisenhower feared, it could threaten Japan, the Philippines, and Australia.

  9. Despite U.S. financial support, the French were defeated by Vietminh forces at Dien Bien Phu. The Vietminh hammered at French forces and laid siege to the base for 55 days. After suffering more than 15,000 casualties, the French surrenderedon May 7, 1954.

  10. In the peace accord that followed, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam gained independence from France.

  11. Negotiations to end the conflict, called the Geneva Accords, divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel, with Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh controlling North Vietnam and a pro-Western regime in South Vietnam. The Accords also recognized Cambodia's independence.

  12. Vietnam was divided into two countries. Ho Chi Minh’s communist government ruled North Vietnam. An anticommunist government, supported by the U.S., ruled South Vietnam.

  13. In 1956 elections were held to form a single government. The United States stepped in to protect the new government in the South led by Ngo Dinh Diem, a pro-Westerner and anti-Communist. The tension between North and South Vietnam escalated with the United States caught in the middle.

  14. South Vietnam’s president, Ngo Dinh Diem, was not a popular leader. A group of rebel guerilla fighters formed the National Liberation Front (NLF) to oppose the Diem government and unite Vietnam under communist rule. (NLF flag above.)

  15. President Kennedy sent Special Forces troops to help fight the Vietcong, the guerilla fighters of the National Liberation Front. The Diem government remained unpopular, however, and the Kennedy administration worked behind the scenes to remove Diem from power.

  16. The unpopularity of South Vietnam's President Diem increased because his government was corrupt, he created strategic hamlets, and he discriminated against Buddhism, one of the country's most widely practiced religions. Diem was overthrown and later executed. This further weakened South Vietnam's government, forcing the United States to become more involved.

  17. President Johnson faced a crisis after he took office. North Vietnam attacked a U.S. destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin.

  18. On August 2, 1964, President Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on two American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. A similar attack reportedly occurred two days later. The Senate and the House passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on August 7, 1964, authorizing the president to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack on U.S. forces. Congress had given its war powers to the president.

  19. Johnson ordered an airstrike against North Vietnam. He then asked Congress to authorize the use of force to defend U.S. troops. In response, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

  20. It allowed him to commit U.S. troops to South Vietnam. TheGulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Johnson tremendous war powers. • It enabled him to fight a war against North Vietnam without asking Congress for a declaration of war.

  21. After the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed, the Vietcong began attacking bases where American advisers were stationed in South Vietnam. After an attack in February 1965, Johnson sent aircrafts to strike in North Vietnam.

  22. What were the provisions of the Geneva Accords? • (Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel with Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh in control of North Vietnam, and a pro-Western regime in control of the South led by Ngo Dinh Diem. In 1956 elections were to be held to reunite the country under a single government. The Accords also recognized Cambodia's independence.)

  23. Section 2 Objectives • Identify the factors that caused President Johnson to increase American troop strength in Vietnam. • Assess the nature of the war in Vietnam and the difficulties faced by both sides. • Evaluate the effects of low morale on American troops and on the home front.

  24. What were the causes and effects of America’s growing involvement in the Vietnam War? As the war escalated, America’s leaders and soldiers found themselves in a quagmire. Eventually the war weakened the American economy, divided the people, and eroded the nation’s morale.

  25. While the polls showed that Johnson's approval rating had increased, some dissenters in the White House warned that if the United States became too involved, it would be difficult to get out. In March 1965, however, Johnson increased American involvement, and American soldiers were fighting alongside the South Vietnamese troops against the Vietcong.

  26. In 1965, Johnson escalated air strikes against North Vietnam and increased the number of ground troops.

  27. The U.S. plan, called Operation Rolling Thunder, was to Americanize the war effort. The U.S. would use its superior war technology to win the conflict quickly. Johnson’s advisers, including William Westmoreland, the American commander in Vietnam, supported the increased military presence.

  28. Why did President Johnson expand American involvement in Vietnam in 1964? • (Johnson wanted to prevent South Vietnam from becoming Communist. He did not want to "lose" Vietnam, because he feared that the Republicans would blame his administration for losing Vietnam to communism.)

  29. The North Vietnamese and Vietcong fighters proved a difficult enemy. Ho Chi Minh’s military strategy was to fight only when victory was certain. He exhorted his troops to be like a tiger fighting an elephant — the tiger keeps moving and takes bites out of the elephant.

  30. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese dug a complex series of tunnels, from which they mounted surprise attacks. The U.S. dropped napalm to burn these jungle hideouts.

  31. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers: • traveled quickly and quietly with little gear • attacked suddenly and then faded into the jungle • set booby traps around U.S. encampments

  32. By 1965 some 180,000 American combat troops were fighting in Vietnam, with the number doubling by 1966. Many Americans believed they could win in Vietnam. • To take Vietcong's hiding places away, American planes dropped napalm, a jellied gasoline that explodes on contact, and Agent Orange, a chemical that strips leaves from trees and shrubs. Farmlands and forests were turned into wastelands.

  33. Americans underestimated the Vietcong's strength, stamina, and morale. • Johnson refused to order a full invasion of North Vietnam, fearing China would get involved in the war.

  34. By 1968, there were more than half a million U.S. troops in Vietnam, and 30,000 had died.

  35. President Johnson also refused to allow a full-scale attack on the Vietcong's supply line, known as the Ho Chi Minh trail. This made winning difficult. • As American casualties increased, many American citizens began questioning the United States's involvement in the war.

  36. Why were the American troops frustrated by the Vietcong? • (The Vietcong used ambushes, booby traps, and hit-and-run tactics. The Vietcong could blend in with the general population in cities and in the countryside and then vanish.)

  37. Dovesquestioned the war. They included liberal politicians and students who saw the conflict as a localized civil war. Hawkssupported Johnson’s war policies. They were mostly conservatives who believed the war was crucial to a U.S. Cold War victory.

  38. Section 3 Objectives • Describe the divisions within American society over the Vietnam War. • Analyze the Tet Offensive and the American reaction to it. • Summarize the factors that influenced the outcome of the 1968 presidential election.

  39. How did the American war effort in Vietnam lead to rising protests and social divisions back home? President Johnson sent more troops to Vietnam, and in the United States more people questioned the war. The Vietnam War divided Americans more deeply than any conflict since the Civil War.

  40. As more troops died and no clear victory emerged, increasing numbers of Americans opposed the Vietnam War. Many people opposed the policies of the draft. • More than 1.5 million young men were drafted during the Vietnam War. • Many argued the draft unfairly gave deferments to students. • Most of the draftees came from a poor or working-class background.

  41. The number of African Americans fighting in Vietnam was disproportionately high. African Americans were less likely than whites to become commissioned officers. They were more likely to serve, and die, in combat positions.

  42. Inequalities in the draft led to widespread resistance against the war. In 1969, the draft was restructured to introduce a lottery system.

  43. Students’ opposition to the war grew. • Colleges and universities became centers of antiwar activism. • Most upper middle-class students opposed the war; working-class students generally supported the war. • Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) campaignedto end the war in Vietnam.

  44. TV news showed the war’s horrors. The difference between government reports and news stories created a credibility gap. Beyond college campuses, more and more Americans also opposed the war.

  45. In early 1968, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive. In November 1967, General Westmoreland addressed the nation’s concerns about the war. He claimed the Vietcong had weakened and could no longer mount a major attack.

  46. The Tet Offensive attacked major cities and bases in South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. The fighting was fierce, but American and South Vietnamese forces eventually drove back the offensive.

  47. After the Tet Offensive, U.S. military leaders became less certain that the war could end quickly. The new Secretary of Defense, Clark Clifford, recommended that President Johnson pursue peace, rather than victory, in Vietnam.

  48. Johnson announced he would not run for another term as president. Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy,who opposed the war, made a strong showing in the New Hampshire primary. Robert Kennedy, a Democratic Senator from New York, also announced his candidacy.

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