American Involvement in Vietnam: Cold War Part 2

1. Cold War Part 2 Vietnam

2. Vietnam • American involvement in Vietnam reflected the policy of containment • US provided France with economic and military support to keep control of Vietnam • Ho Chi Minh= communist leader of North Vietnam who wanted to unite all of Vietnam under communist rule • DOMINO THEORY- Eisenhower believed that if one country in SE Asia fell to communism, other would follow- like dominoes • Dien Bien Phu (1954)- N. Vietnamese forces defeated French- Vietnam divided- North-Communist, South- anticommunist

4. US Involvement in Vietnam • When France left Vietnam, the US continued to provide economic and military support to S. Vietnam to resist the spread of communism • Kennedy sent US military advisers to train S. Vietnamese army

5. American military build-up • Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) agreed with JFK that a communist takeover in S. Vietnam would be a disaster • Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964): granted LBJ broad military power in Vietnam to escalate the conflict (but no official war declaration) • Led to increased military buildup of operations • the scale of conflict grew larger over the course of the 1960s • American military forces repeatedly defeated the N. Vietnamese forces in the field, but couldn’t force an end on favorable terms

6. Escalation • Under the leadership of General Westmoreland, troops conducted search and destroy missions • Kept calling for more and more men • 1965- draft was implemented

7. Who exactly is the enemy? • Vietcong- procommunist South Vietnamese • Farmers by day, guerillas by night • Very patient people willing to accept many casualties • The US grossing underestimated their resolve and resourcefulness • Called “V.C.” or “Victor Charlie” or “Charlie” • Ho Chi Minh Trail- supply route through Laos and Cambodia along which the Vietcong received weapons and supplies from N. Vietnam

9. Escalation • Pleiku (1965): Vietcongs attack US air base. US steps up bombing raids and use land troops for the first time • Operation Rolling Thunder (1965): full scale bombing attacks- obvious escalation of war

11. American strategy • American strategy was the wear down the enemy by continuing harassment • Napalm was a jellylike substance which, when dropped from planes splattered and burned uncontrollably. • Pilots dropped a herbicide called Agent Orange over the jungles to kill vegetation and expose Vietcong tunnels and hiding places • Caused death, disabilities and birth defects • Another strategy was to keep the Vietcong from winning support from S. Vietnam’s rural population • Green Berets (US Army Special Forces) sent in to win the people over

13. America’s 1st Living Room War • Gone is the censorship of WWII • Each night, Americans watched graphic and brutal images of the war • Body counts were reported on the nightly news • Draft numbers were posted in newspapers and on television

14. Credibility gap • People began to distrust what the Johnson Administration was telling them

15. The war divides America • Selective Service Act invoked drafting men ages 18-26 • Conscientious objectors- people opposed fighting on moral or religious grounds • College deferment • Defense industry deferment • Medical deferment • Disproportionate representation of poor people and minorities

17. Tet Offensive • January 31, 1968- 1st day of the Vietnamese new year (Tet) • Vietcong attacked numerous cities, towns and Americans bases • Americans caught completely by surprise b/c they believed the Vietcong were near defeat • Remember that credibility gap? • Proved to be a turning point in the war • Psychological victory for Vietcong • American opinion began to turn against the war

18. Reactions to President Johnson • LBJ’s popularity plummeted after the Tet offensive • US media reporting we were losing • LBJ rarely left the White House • In public opinion polls taken at the end of Feb 1968 showed nearly 60% of Americans disapproved of his handling of the war • Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy begin campaigning against him for party nomination • LBJ decides not to run in election of 1968

19. 1968 • Viewed as one of the most turbulent years in modern American history • Tet Offensive • Rise of the counterculture • 4/4-King assassination (riots and violence that followed) • 6/4- Bobby Kennedy assassinated

20. Election of 1968

21. Nixon and Vietnamization • Nixon wanted to achieve “peace with honor” • Strategy called Vietnamization- gradual withdrawal of American troops as the South Vietnamese army takes over more of the fighting • Wanting to keep American strength visible in Vietnam, he orders secret attacks against the Vietcong in N. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia

22. My Lai Massacre 1969 • A platoon entered the small village of My Lai in search of Vietcong • Found no signs of the enemy and the troops rounded up the villagers and shot them • Protests erupted!!

23. Cambodia • By 1970 it seemed like the war was winding down • April 30, 1970, Nixon announced that US troops had invaded Cambodia to clear out Vietcong supply centers • Had not notified Congress • Congress passed the War Powers Act: the president must report to Congress within 24 hours after committing troops to a foreign conflict, or enlarging American combat units in foreign nations • College students burst into protest • Closed down some 1,200 campuses

24. Kent State University Shootings • May 4, 1970 Massive student protest in response to US involvement in Cambodia • Led to burning of the ROTC building • National Guard called in and fired into a crowd of students • 67 rounds in 13 seconds • 4 students dead (2 of which were not participating in the protest • 9 students wounded

26. War comes to and end • October 1972- Henry Kissinger (Sec of State) announced “Peace is at hand” • US would remove all troops • N. Vietnam could leave troops already in S. Vietnam • N. Vietnam would resume war • No provisions for POWs or MIAs • Last American troop left South Vietnam in March 1973 • 1975- N. Vietnamese defeated the South

27. Legacy of War • Veterans were not supported • Called “baby killers”, spit on, assaulted • Many POW/MIA • Returned home to no jobs and substance abuse • Many became homeless • Government passed the 26th Amendment- voting age 18 • War Powers Act- President MUST notify congress within 48 hrs of deploying troops • Must withdraw forces within 90 days unless Congressional approval

30. Cold War Part 2 Counterculture

31. Roots of the movement • Beat movement of the 50s- freedom from materialism • Civil Rights Movement- question traditional boundaries • Vietnam anti-war movement- social and political protest • Generation Gap- lack of understanding between older and younger generations

32. Hippies • Mostly middle class white kids • Promoted peace, love and freedom • Experimented with new styles, attitudes toward sexual relationships and the recreational use of drugs • Center of the movement was the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco

33. Activism • Free Speech Movement and Students for Democratic Society • Campaigns against the draft, discrimination, dress codes, etc.

34. Woodstock • August, 1969- “three days of peace, music, and love” at Yasgur’s 600 acre farm in Woodstock, NY • Pivotal moment in music history

36. Women’s Rights Movement • Betty Friedan- The Feminine Mystique • Outlined idea of feminism • Equality in jobs, pay, politics, etc. • “Glass ceiling” effect- An invisible but real barrier through which the next stage of advancement can be seen but not reached • National Organization of Women (NOW) • Encouraged women to run for political office • Roe v. Wade- Women have fundamental right to privacy- making abortion legal in the 1st trimester

37. Other Movements • United Farm Workers- Cesar Chavez • American Indian Movement- securing land, legal rights and self-government for Native Americans • Environmental Movement- Rachel Carson Silent Spring • Environmental Protection Agency • 4/22/1970- 1st Earth Day