Vietnam and American Society

1. Vietnam and American Society

2. France owned Vietnam as A Colonial Power • 1800s – France controlled French Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam)

3. Ho Chi Minh • 1945 – Ho Chi Minh wanted Vietnam to become independent. • Ho Chi Minh was Communist.

4. 1954 – Battle of Dien Bien Phu – French were defeated and pushed out of Vietnam At the Geneva Conference – Vietnam was divided into two nations. Divided at the 17th parallel North Vietnam – Communist – Ho Chi Minh South Vietnam – Republic (backed by the US) Ngo Dinh Diem

5. 1955-1975 – the US was involved to protect South Vietnam from Communism! US involvement

6. Eisenhower sent 675 U.S. Advisors to assist the South Vietnamese

7. Kennedy sent 16,000 U.S. Advisors to assist the South Vietnamese

8. Ngo Dinh Diem The United States supported Diem. • He imprisoned people • He moved peasants to hamlets • He persecuted Buddhists • Diem was Catholic The U.S. realized he wasn’t a great leader to support… In November, 1963, Diem was overthrown And assassinated. Click on the picture of Buddhist ThichQuangDuc burned to death in protest of Diem in June 1963

9. Robert McNamara Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and Johnson Came up with “Flexible Response” idea to military Crises

10. Johnson’s War • When JFK was assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson became President. • He “inherited” the Vietnam issue. • Eventually, Johnson sends combat troops to Vietnam. • Viet Cong – Communist Guerillas in South Vietnam • Viet Cong posed a problem for South Korea.

11. Johnson and McNamara

12. Gulf of Tonkin Attack • August 1964 – • North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin

13. Click on Johnson’s Photo for a short video About the Gulf of Tonkin

14. August 7, 1964 Congress passed this to allow Johnson to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.” It allowed Johnson to do what he wanted in Vietnam….. It “covered everything”! Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

15. Gradual Escalation of War in Vietnam • Ho Chi Minh Trail – supply line for North Vietnam that ran through Laos and Cambodia • February 1945 – U.S. began bombing North Vietnam

16. Build-Up of Troops in Vietnam • 1965- 25,000 – 184,000 • 1966 – 385,000 • 1967 – 485,000 • 1968 – 536,000

17. Tet Offensive January 30, 1968 • Vietnamese New Year • North Vietnamese and Viet Cong take part in a major offensive in South Vietnam • The U.S. Embassy was attacked in Saigon • LBJ popularity plunged! Click on map for a Tet Offensive Water Cronkite Video

18. Eddie Adams's Pulitzer Prize-winning photo taken on the streets of Saigon during the Tet Offensive sent shock waves through America

19. Brutality of War • Guerilla warfare • Swamps, jungles • Men carried 60 pound packs through rice paddies, etc. • Men had to deal with leeches, jungle rot (feet), fever • Underground tunnels, land mines, grenades

20. Effects on Civilians • Saturation bombing – dropped 1000s of tons of explosives… • Agent Orange – herbicide dropped on dense jungle landscapes • Killed leaves and undergrowth and exposed Viet Cong hiding places Killed crops, but caused severe health problems for humans and livestock Click on the aerial photo for Agent Orange video

21. Napalm • Jellylike substance dropped from planes as firebombs • Stuck to bodies and seared off flesh

22. My Lai Massacre • Click on picture below for video. Investigative reporting lead to the truth about this massacre. • March 1968 • Reports that My Lai village in South Vietnam was harboring 250 Viet Cong • Instead, women, children, and old men • US army under Lt. Calley “cleared out the village” • 175-400 dead • Lt. Calley got life in prison with hard labor • Nixon eventually reduced it to 20 years (only served 3)

23. Pentagon Papers – study of US involvement in Vietnam by New York Times (June 1971) Baby boomers graduating high school College enrolled had grown Generation gap from young to old New Left – wanted radical change Student Protest

24. University of California Berkeley – most radical campus • Teach In Movement – University of Michigan March 1965 • Students protesting the war • 50-60 professors did small night sessions that focused on the issues of the Vietnam War Student Protest cont…

25. Student Protest Continued… • 18-26 yrs old – draft • 1965 – LBJ doubled the draft • Deferment if in college • 1966 – if grades dropped, could be drafted • 1967 – resistance movement geared up • 100,000 men – crossed border to Canada

26. Counter Culture • Rejected most of the conventional social customs • HIPPIES • Rejection of traditional relationships • Psychedelic drugs, marijuana • Soldiers had access to drugs in Asian and brought them home • Burned their draft cards! Click on picture to left for video

27. Musicians of the 1960s Folk and rock music Beatles, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Creedance Clearwater Revival A lot of music from the period became anti-war Click on the picture to the right for a song.

28. Three day peace and music festival in Bethel, New York Woodstock August, 1969 Click below to see interview with Jimi. Click Jimi to hear his National Anthem

29. Division in the Democratic Party March 1968 – LBJ told America he would not run again for President. Click picture for his speech to the nation. LBJ

30. 1968 Election • Democrats • Robert F. Kennedy (assassinated) • Eugene McCarthy • Hubert Humphrey * • Republican • Richard Nixon * winner Click on RFK for video

31. The idea of removing American forces and replacing with S. Vietnamese soldiers 1968 – 1972 – 536,000 to 24,000 troops However, Nixon resumed bombing raids April, 1970 – we secretly bombed Cambodia to clear out Communist hide-outs OUTRAGED AMERICANS! Vietnamization

32. Students reacted to the Cambodia bombing in protest They burned the ROTC building on campus The Ohio National Guard was called in The NG opened fire on students and killed 4. Kent State (Ohio) 1970

33. March 1972 – Bombing of Hanoi, North Vietnam Continued Bombing

34. 1. withdraw troops in 60 days 2. all POWS to be released 3. End activities in Laos and Cambodia 4. divided at the 17th parallel Peace Agreement in Paris 1973

35. North attacked South Vietnam U.S. personnel were evacuated from Saigon Airlift evacuation at the US Embassy of 1,000 Americans and 6,000 S. Vietnamese April 29, 1975 Click picture to watch A quick video about The evacuation.

36. 58,000 dead 300,000 wounded $150 billion More bombs were used than in WW2 Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam became Communist Longest and Least Successful US War

37. Cambodia – Khmer Rouge • Killed 1.5 million Cambodians • Many fled to the US Legacy

38. No welcome home for our soldiers Many Vietnam Veterans changed from their uniforms before getting off the plane. Many Vets had tomatoes thrown at them by protestors Vietnam Veterans Memorial was completed in 1982 Legacy

39. We began trading with Vietnam in 1994 We restored diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1995.

40. He focused on the “silent majority” majority of Americans (hard working people – non-hippies) Détente – easing of relations with the Communist nations of China and USSR. Nixon LEgacy