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Vietnam War: Causes, Escalation, Turning point, & Effects

Explore the background, escalation, turning point, & aftermath of the Vietnam War, including the reasons for U.S. involvement, media role, opposition, Tet Offensive, Nixon's strategies, long-term effects on both Vietnam and Americans.

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Vietnam War: Causes, Escalation, Turning point, & Effects

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  1. Chapter 24 WAR IN VIETNAM Section 1: Background to Conflict Section 2: The War Escalates Section 3: A Turning Point Section 4: The War Ends

  2. Section 1: Background to Conflict Objectives: • Why did China and France want to control Vietnam? • Why did the United States refuse to support Vietnamese independence in the 1940s and 1950s? • Why did President Kennedy increase U.S. involvement in Vietnam?

  3. Section 1: Background to Conflict Reasons for wanting control of Vietnam • China wanted Vietnam’s agricultural resources. • France was imperialistic and wanted colonial possessions.

  4. Section 1: Background to Conflict Lack of American support for Vietnamese independence • valued France as an ally against communism • disliked Ho Chi Minh’s affiliation with Communist Party • feared the domino effect in Southeast Asia

  5. Section 1: Background to Conflict Reasons for increasing American involvement • Kennedy believed in the domino theory. • Kennedy wanted to improve U.S. image in the world.

  6. Section 2: The War Escalates Objectives: • What constitutional issue did the Tonkin Gulf Resolution raise? • What strategies did U.S. forces use in the Vietnam War? • What role did the media play in the Vietnam War? • Why did some Americans oppose the war, and how did the government respond?

  7. Section 2: The War Escalates The Tonkin Gulf Resolution and the Constitution The Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave the President the power to respond to aggression without Congressional approval, which meant Congress gave up its constitutional power to declare war.

  8. Section 2: The War Escalates U.S. strategies • escalation • bombing of targets in the North, then areas of Laos and much of South Vietnam • use of defoliants and napalm • search-and-destroy missions • pacification

  9. Section 2: The War Escalates Role of the media • fewer press restrictions than ever before • showed graphic images of the horror of war • gave information concerning corruption in Diem regime and ineptitude of South Vietnamese troops • caused Americans to doubt whether the war was right • caused Americans to doubt if the war could be won

  10. Section 2: The War Escalates American opposition to the war • opposed all wars • thought Vietnam War took money from social programs • believed Vietnam was not crucial to U.S. security • feared that nuclear weapons would be used Government response The government insisted that the U.S. was defending an ally against aggression.

  11. Section 3: A Turning Point Objectives: • Why did the Tet Offensive weaken many Americans’ confidence in their government? • What were the key events of the 1968 presidential campaign? • How did President Nixon attempt to end the war? • How did Americans react to President Nixon’s plan to end the war?

  12. Section 3: A Turning Point The Tet Offensive • revealed that no part of South Vietnam was secure • exposed how few South Vietnamese supported their own government • revealed how determined the North Vietnamese were

  13. Section 3: A Turning Point Key events in 1968 campaign • March: McCarthy nearly ties Johnson in the New Hampshire primary. • March 31: Johnson withdraws. • June: Robert Kennedy wins California primary and is assassinated. • August: Police attack antiwar protesters at Democratic convention in Chicago. • November: Nixon wins.

  14. Section 3: A Turning Point Nixon’s attempts to end the war • begins Vietnamization and gradual withdrawal of American troops • orders widespread bombing in Cambodia

  15. Section 3: A Turning Point American reaction • Bombing and invasion of Cambodia caused outrage. • Campus unrest escalated, including the Kent State shootings. • Congress repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

  16. Section 4: The War Ends Objectives: • Why did the United States agree to a cease-fire in January 1973? • What long-term effects did the war have on Vietnam and the Vietnamese people? • What long-term effects did the war have on Americans?

  17. Section 4: The War Ends The cease-fire of 1973 • In October of 1972, North Vietnam and the U.S. agreed on a peace plan. • South Vietnam’s president, afraid of losing power, rejected the agreement. • North Vietnam demanded the agreement be reinstated, but Nixon ordered round-the-clock bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong instead. • Intensive bombing did not sway the North Vietnamese. • A new agreement, not very different from the first, was reached in January, 1973.

  18. Section 4: The War Ends Long-term effects on Vietnam and its people • Estimates of dead, orphaned, and disabled ran into millions. • Economy devastated. • North Vietnam united with South Vietnam in 1975.

  19. Section 4: The War Ends Long-term effects on Americans • More than 60,000 killed and missing, more than 300,000 wounded. • Veterans badly treated for years. • Americans lost faith in their government. • Congress passed the War Powers Act. • National debt grew and inflation was fueled.

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