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Vietnam: Americanization

Vietnam: Americanization. Gulf of Tonkin Incident Johnson was not soft on Communism US attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin ; allowed President Johnson to send more troops to Vietnam without a declaration of war Was it a hoax ???. Escalation

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Vietnam: Americanization

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  1. Vietnam: Americanization

  2. Gulf of Tonkin Incident • Johnson was not soft on Communism • US attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin; allowed President Johnson to send more troops to Vietnam without a declaration of war • Was it a hoax???

  3. Escalation • US troops were led by General William Westmoreland • Due to the draft, US troops numbered 540,000 by 1968 • Draft was seen as unfair to blacks and poor

  4. The Fighting • Fighting was very difficult due to: • Intense heat • Dense jungles with razor sharp leaves • Invisible enemy: Vietcong blended in with South Vietnamese • Vietcong used elaborate tunnel systems to hide and move troops • US soldiers torched whole villages and destroy food supplies so as to remove supplies that could be used by VC • US soldiers often became addicted to drugs • Some US soldiers killed innocent civilians due to uncertainty of enemy whereabouts

  5. Vietcong Tunnels

  6. 1968 • US low point – public support began shifting against the war due to: • Intense media coverage (TV) • Tet Offensive: simultaneous NVA attack on nearly every major SV city; public opinion questioned were we winning or not? • Skyrocketing US casualties (14,000+ died in 1968 alone) • President Johnson dropped out of election race on March 31 • My Lai Massacre: mass murder of 300-500 innocent unarmed citizens in South Vietnam; ordered by Lt. Calley; not publicized until 1969 and made many wonder if US was the “bad guys”

  7. Election of Richard Nixon • Nixon is elected in 1968 after Johnson decides not to run for reelection • Nixon promises troop withdrawal and to turn war back over to SV • This begins the Vietnamization phase of the conflict

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