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Nixon and Vietnam: Peace with Honor

Richard M. Nixon campaigned on ending the Vietnam War with "peace with honor." Despite gradual troop withdrawal, he pursued Vietnamization and engaged in Paris Peace Talks, leading to the Vietnam War's end. The Watergate Scandal and eventual resignation marked his legacy.

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Nixon and Vietnam: Peace with Honor

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  1. Richard M. Nixon and Vietnam Campaigned on a pledge to end the war but to secure “peace with honor” Even as he began the gradual withdrawal of troops and reduced the number of new draftees, he pursued “Vietnamization”: shifting the bulk of the combat to South Vietnam (as they became better trained and capable of assuming responsibility).

  2. “Peace with honor” • It was important to Nixon for the U.S. to exit the war honorably…to avoid the humiliation of having lost the war • The Paris Peace Talks had begun before Nixon took office but negotiations were difficult and often stalled • Nixon appointed Sec. of State Henry Kissinger to negotiate for the U.S.

  3. Main goals of the negotiations: U.S. Wanted: • All communist troops out of So. Vietnam • Return of American POWs N. Vietnamese wanted: • Immediate withdrawal of US troops • Coalition gov’t. in the South to include Vietcong

  4. Vietnamization • Refusing to accept N.Vietnam’s demands for peace, RMN continued his policy of Vietnamization…AND • To stop the flow of supplies to the Vietcong in the south, he ordered the secret bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail • The HCMT ran thru neighboring Cambodia

  5. 1970 • Trying to get the peace talks moving, RMN ordered U.S. troops to attack the Vietcong and NVA across the border into Cambodia. • Immediate reaction from the anti-war movement at home: infuriated, it blasted Nixon for widening the war !

  6. Kent State University • Student protesters set fire to the ROTC building… • The Ohio governor called in the Nat’l. Guard • On May 4, 1970 the 2 sides confronted one another: students threw rocks and bottles • Guardsmen answered by firing 65 shots into the crowd, killing 4 and wounding 13 others

  7. The Pentagon Papers • Classified gov’t. documents on U.S. in Vietnam • Docs leaked to the NY Times • Co-author Daniel Ellsberg at the eye of the storm • Nixon tried to block publication (NY Times v. United States)…Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Times

  8. End of the War • Paris Peace Accords: January, 1973 • American troops coming home • N Vietnam to keep troops in S vietnam • NLF to become legit political party in S. Vietnam • N. Vietnam to return American POWs (Sen. John McCain was one of them)

  9. Peace finally…or not • Spring of 1975, N. Vietnamese launched attacks against the South • Without U.S. support, the ARVN was doomed • American Embassy in Saigon overrun • Vietnam unified under 1 flag…the flag of communist North Vietnam

  10. Evacuation of the US Embassy: Saigon 1975

  11. Watergate Scandal • Nixon won re-election in 1972 BUT… • Scandal unfolded • The Committee to Re-Elect the President (“CREEP”) bugged the Democratic HQs at the Watergate Complex to spy on them • Other “dirty tricks” by CREEP • The cover-up of the illegal activities led all the way to the White House

  12. Nixon Resigns • About to be impeached, Nixon stepped down

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