Vietnam Background Info

1. "No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now." --Richard Nixon

8. Vietnam Background Info • From late 1800s until WWII, France ruled most of Indochina • Japan took control of Vietnam during WWII • Vietminh- group whose goal was to win independence from foreign rule • Japan left Vietnam after being defeated in WWII • Ho Chi Minh- Communist leader of N. Vietnam; declared Vietnam independent in 1945

9. Post-WWII • France tried to re-establish it rule after WWII • Opposition began to grow • French extracted rice/rubber for their own profit • Restricted freedom of speech & assembly • Built plantations on peasant land • U.S. aided France under President Eisenhower with economic & military support to stop the spread of communism

10. Geneva Accords • Temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel in 1954 • Communist North & Nationalist South • Election in 1956 to unify the country

11. 1956 Elections • Ho Chi Minh won support in the North through land reform, war hero • Ngo Dinh Diem (South’s president) refused to take part, US supported this • Eisenhower promised military aid to Diem in return for a stable reform government in the South

12. Diem’s Corrupt Government • Suppressed opposition • Little or no land distribution to peasants • Restricted Buddhist practices • By 1957, the Vietcong, a pro-communistgroup, grew in the South and began attacking Diem’s government • Ho Chi Minh supported this group by sending supplies down a trail on the border of Laos and Cambodia. (Ho Chi Minh Trail) • South continues to become more unstable

13. Kennedy & Vietnam • Sent financial aid and military advisors to train South Vietnamese troops • Diem’s popularity continues to fall and instability continues • November 1, 1963- US supported military coup ousts Diem’s from power and he is assassinated

14. Kennedy & Vietnam • Before his assassination in 1963, Kennedy said: “In the final analysis, it’s their war.” • He announced his intent to withdraw all U.S. forces not long before he is assassinated

15. Johnson & Vietnam • Diem’s death made the South even more unstable • Vietcong’s influence was growing • LBJ thought a communist takeover would be a disaster and would make the U.S. look like appeasers

16. Johnson & Vietnam • August 2, 1964- a North Vietnamese patrol boat fires a torpedo at the USS Maddox, which was out on patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin • LBJ asks Congress for permission to carry out acts of war in Vietnam- Tonkin Gulf Resolution • LIES! • The Maddox was out gathering information on secret raids being carried out against the North • This information was not known to the public at the time • The resolution had been crafted months before the Maddox incident

17. On Our Way to War • An attack by the Vietcong kills 8 Americans • Operation Rolling Thunder: First sustained bombing of North Vietnam • In March 1965, the first US combat troops arrive to battle the Vietcong

18. Troop buildup in Vietnam

19. The Draft • As the war progressed thousands of soldiers were drafted & killed • Young men 18-26 were drafted for military service • Almost 80% of draftees were from lower socio-economic status (college deferment, working-class war)

24. The War Continues • At the height of the war (1968) there were over ½ million troops in Vietnam • About 10,000 women served in Vietnam • Racial tension & violence ran high in many platoons • Low troop morale

25. War Drags On… • Groups protested the war • Doves • The New Left • Students for Democratic Society (SDS) • Free Speech Movement • Others favored it- Hawks • Johnson remained determined to win the war and continues to send troops

26. The Living-Room War • Vietnam was the first televised war • TV created a credibility gap: public distrust of the government • Use of body counts • The nation’s youth became active in protesting the war

27. Robert McNamara Resigns • LBJ’s Defense Secretary resigned around 1968 • “I was trying to find out how the war went on year after year….when we had a very high body count…It just didn’t make sense.”

28. 1968 • LBJ has new defense secretary • MLK’s Assassination • Violence erupts at the Democratic National Convention • Tet Offensive turns public opinion against the war • Nixon is elected president

29. Why were the Vietcong so successful? • The Vietcong used: • Hit & run ambush tactics • Knowledge of terrain • Guerilla warfare • Extensive tunnel system • Land mines & booby traps • The U.S. fought back with: • Napalm • Agent Orange • Search & destroy missions

32. Tet Offensive • Week long truce due to Tet (Vietnamese New Year) • Funerals were being held for war victims • Attacked 100 cities, 12 military bases, & the U.S. embassy • Military victory for U.S.- Vietcong lost 32,000

33. 1968- After Tet • LBJ’s popularity plummets • Walter Cronkite announces to the American people that the war will most likely end in a stalemate. • “If I’ve lost Walter…then it’s over.” • Lyndon Johnson

34. Election of 1968 • Nixon defeats Humphrey • Vietnam policy: • Vietnamization: train the South to take over & withdraw U.S. troops • “peace with honor”

35. Invasion of Cambodia • Purpose was to clear out Vietcong supply centers • Many saw this as extending the war • Leads to violent student protests • At Kent State University, the National Guard kills 4

36. The Fall of Saigon • Last troops left on March 29, 1973 • March 1975- North invades South • April 1975- North captures Saigon & the South surrenders

37. Financial Cost of the War • Inflation increased- had tripled by 1969 • Tax increases • Reduced spending on Great Society Programs

38. Legacy of War • 58,000 killed • 303,000 wounded • North & South lost over 2 million • Cynical attitude towards government • Veterans struggle at home • Draft abolished • War Powers Act- restricts president’s war-making power

39. Counterculture Movement • White, middle-class college youth • Protested war • Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco (hippie capital)

40. Counterculture Movement • Hippie Culture • Tie-dye, long hair, communes, pop art • Sex, drugs, rock-n-roll • Timothy Leary • Harvard psychology professor • Promoted use of LSD • “Tune in, turn on, drop out.”

41. Nixon & the Hippies • Backlash against the counterculture propelled Richard Nixon into the White House • Conservatives demanded changes in society