The Vietnam War Years

The Vietnam War Years

Question 1 - 10 • This nation controlled Vietnam as a colony before World War II and after World War II

Answer 1 – 10 • France. • They fought in Vietnam to stop communism but concluded that the war was unwinnable and pulled out in 1954.

Question 1 - 20 • This theory once Vietnam fell to communism, other countries in the region would fall as well.

Answer 1 – 20 • Domino Theory

Question 1 - 30 • The first sustained bombing of North Vietnam by the Johnson administration was called…..

Answer 1 – 30 • Operation Rolling Thunder

Question 1 - 40 • These people set themselves on fire in protest to Ngo Dinh Diem’s regime.

Answer 1 – 40 • Buddhist Monks. • They were drawing attention to the plight of the South Vietnamese under the oppressive rule of Diem.

Question 1 - 50 • What action by North Vietnam draws American troops into the fighting?

Answer 1 – 50 • Two ships were fired upon in the Gulf of Tonkin. • President Johnson asks Congress to give him power to send troops and use bombing attacks to contain communism from spreading southward. • The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gives Johnson a blank check to operate in Vietnam.

Question 2 - 10 • In 1965, did most people support or oppose escalation in Vietnam?

Answer 2 – 10 • 65% supported President Johnson’s decision to send troops, only 24% opposed it at that time. • Only 2 dissenting votes in Congress on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Question 2 - 20 • The American Commander in South Vietnam was __________

Answer 2 – 20 • William Westmoreland. • He controlled over 500,000 troops by the mid 1960’s.

Question 2 - 30 • Name three types of controversial weaponry used in Vietnam

Answer 2 – 30 • Agent Orange – a leaf killing defoliant • Napalm – a gasoline based substance that set fire to the jungle and saturation bombing. • There was no use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam.

Question 2 - 40 • The difference between the images that most people watched on television and what the Johnson administration was saying became know as the ___________ gap.

Answer 2 – 40 • Credibility. • Senator William Fulbright charged the Johnson administration with a lack of candor in its telling of the war effort.

Question 2 - 50 • A majority of people at home were in favor of the war by 1968. True or false?

Answer 2 – 50 • False. By 1967 Americans were evenly split in their support for the war. • However, most students were opposed to the war.

Question 3 - 10 • This was characterized as “very manipulatable.” It placed 500,000 troops in Vietnam.

Answer 3 – 10 • The Draft • Over 200,000 draft dodgers avoided service. They were later pardoned by President Carter.

Question 3 - 20 • Despite being only 10% of the total U.S. population, this group represented 20% of the combat deaths in Vietnam

Answer 3 – 20 • African-Americans and the poor served at a higher percentage in Vietnam, making this “a working class war.”

Question 3 - 30 • Founded in 1960 by Tom Hayden and Al Haber, this organization wanted to restore participatory democracy in America. They charged that corporations and the government had taken over America.

Answer 3 – 30 • Students for a Democratic Society. • They coalesced several movements into SDS.

Question 3 - 40 • This organization was focused on “the machine,” the nations faceless and powerful business interests and governmental institutions. They advocated for more free speech.

Answer 3 – 40 • Free Speech Movement

Question 3 - 50 • He was Secretary for Defense under President Johnson and was the chief architect of the Vietnam plan. He later resigns his post and regretted participating in Vietnam.

Answer 3 – 50 • Robert McNamara

Question 4 - 10 • This attack on U.S. forces happened on New Years Eve in 1968 and lasted for more than a month.

Answer 4 – 10 • Tet Offensive • This turns the tide of the war against the Johnson Administration. “If we’ve lost Cronkite….”

Question 4 - 20 • These two civil rights leaders were assassinated within two months of each other in 1968.

Answer 4 – 20 • MLK and RFK

Question 4 - 30 • Protest over the Vietnam War, and Mayor Daley promising to keep order on the streets of Chicago lead to

Answer 4 – 30 • Disorder and chaos at Democratic National Convention • The negative images and the split of the party from the convention help Richard Nixon win the Presidency in 1968

Question 4 - 40 • This third party candidate helped Nixon win the Presidency

Answer 4 – 40 • George Wallace. • The Alabama governor was later shot and crippled.

Question 4 - 50 • This Presidential candidate dropped out of the race in 1968 when he wins the New Hampshire primary by only 48%

Answer 4 – 50 • President Johnson decided not to seek election nor accept nomination for the Democratic party.

Question 5 - 10 • The policy to withdraw U.S. troops and let the local troops defend their own nation is called….

Answer 5 – 10 • Vietnamization.

Question 5 - 20 • The slaughter of innocent civilians shocked Americans in this Vietnamese village.

Answer 5 – 20 • My Lai

Question 5 - 30 • Four Dead in Ohio refers to…..

Answer 5 – 30 • The Kent State Massacre where troops open fire on students protesting the bombing of Cambodia.

Question 5 - 40 • Date the Vietnamese war ends

Answer 5 – 40 • March of 1975

The Vietnam War Years