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The Vietnam War: Causes, Events, and Consequences

Explore the longest and most unpopular war in American history. Learn about the causes, events, and consequences of the Vietnam War, including the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the Tet Offensive, and the fall of Saigon.

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The Vietnam War: Causes, Events, and Consequences

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  1. Read the handout, “What David Petraeus Can’t Teach Us About Gaza: It’s Not About Hearts and Minds” (1) What is nation-building? Hint: “Iraq required not just military victories but …” (2) What were the people of Vietnam loyal to? (3) Why was the outcome of the Vietnam War doomed from the beginning?

  2. Where is Vietnam?

  3. Longest and Most Unpopular War • The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular war in American history. During the war: • 58,000 Americans lost their lives. • 304,000 were wounded. • 75,000 were severely disabled. • The United States spent over $200 billion dollars on the war.

  4. “French Indochina” • Long history of foreign occupation

  5. Why Did the United States Fight a War in Vietnam? • Truman Doctrine (1947) – funding to France to prevent spread of Communism • “to help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against … totalitarian regimes.”

  6. “Cold War Thinking” - “Domino Theory” in Asia

  7. Conflict Between France & Vietnam • The Vietnam War grew out of the long conflict between France and Vietnam, ending in 1954 … • Geneva Accords …

  8. Temporary division … • Promised elections in 1956…

  9. SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) (1954) • Involves the countries of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Australia • Another Important Cold War Alliance

  10. Vietcong • The Communists supported the creation of a broad-based united front to help mobilize opposition to the government in South Vietnam. • The National Liberation Front distributed land to the peasants. • By 1973, the NLF held about half of S. Vietnam.

  11. Opposition to Diem • The outcry against Diem's harsh and oppressive actions was immediate. • Buddhist monks and nuns were joined by students, business people, intellectuals, and peasants in opposition to Diem’s corrupt rule.

  12. * Strategic Hamlet Program: - Epic Failure

  13. Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964) Causes an escalation of the Vietnam War

  14. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution • The Johnson administration used the August 4 attack to obtain a Congressional resolution, now known as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, that gave the president “broad war powers.”

  15. Nature of Fighting & Tunnel Complexes • The Vietnamese built large tunnel complexes such as the ones at Cu Chi near Saigon. • Dense jungles • Blending in w/ civilian population • Booby traps • Ambushes

  16. “Operation Rolling Thunder” • Strategic bombing campaign of N. Vietnam and eventually countryside of S. Vietnam.

  17. “My Lai Massacre” Why is this an “American Atrocity?”

  18. Major topics to consider in Untold History of the United States – End of the Vietnam War … [1] According to John Quincy Adams (our 6th President), a nations should not go “… abroad, in search of monsters to destroy.” [2] Kissinger: said to bomb “… anything that flies on anything that moves.” [3] Does international law apply to the U.S.? – Nixon: said “When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal …

  19. Ho Chi Minh Trail • The trail was a network of trails, roads, paths, bridges, tunnels, and shelters. • The trail provided supplies and soldiers from N. Vietnam.

  20. The Tet Offensive • January 30, 1968, North Vietnam and the NLF launched coordinated attacks against major southern cities.

  21. 1968 Democratic Convention • The police riot in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention

  22. 1968 Presidential Election

  23. Substance Abuse During Vietnam • Marijuana and Heroin problems amongst soldiers

  24. Vietnamization • Nixon's strategy to … • [1] Bring American ground troops home, while … And • [2] Increasing air attacks

  25. Expansion to Laos & Cambodia • In an attempt to rout Communist sanctuaries and supply routes, President Nixon expands the war into neighboring Laos and Cambodia, violating the international rights of these countries in secret campaigns.

  26. Anti-War Protests • Protests erupted on college campuses and in major cities. • More than 700 colleges experienced protest activity.

  27. Anti-War Protests – Nov., 1969

  28. Kent State Jackson State • "They are killing our babies in Vietnam and in our own backyard." • At Kent State in Ohio, four students were killed by National Guardsmen.

  29. The Paris Peace Agreement • On January 23, 1973, therefore, the final draft was initialed, ending open hostilities between the United States and North Vietnam. • Saigon continued to battle Communist forces. Henry Kissinger & Le Duc Tho

  30. The Fall of Saigon • From March 1973 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese army tried desperately to save the South from political and military collapse. • On the morning of April 30, 1975, Saigon falls.

  31. Suffering of Vietnam

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