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The Home Front

The Home Front. American Life & Leaders in the Vietnam Period. 1950’s America. Social Theme: Obedience Post WWII America had a thriving economy and confidence in their abilities as a world power.

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The Home Front

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  1. The Home Front American Life & Leaders in the Vietnam Period

  2. 1950’s America • Social Theme: Obedience • Post WWII America had a thriving economy and confidence in their abilities as a world power. • Despite the competitive nature of the Cold War and the fact that the USSR “had the bomb”, the USA remained confident. • Families were renewed with the “Baby Boom” and family values were at the forefront. • Political leaders were trusted father figures who would protect their country from communism.

  3. Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961 • Personality: easy-going, gentle, decisive • First president to go head first into the Vietnam conflicts. • Did not support the Geneva Accords signed by France and Vietnam in the summer of 1954. Eisenhower and his secretary of state John Foster Dulles believed that the agreement gave the communist too much power in the north. • Instead Eisenhower decided to create the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). This treaty’s purpose was to stop any more communist influence in Southeast Asia. Using the SEATO as a cover, Eisenhower started to help build a new nation in South Vietnam. • In 1955 GVN was born, the government of the republic of Vietnam, the leader being Ngo Dinh Diem, after a landslide election rigged with the influence of the US government.

  4. 1960’sAmerica • The US Government increasingly involved themselves in the Vietnam conflict despite public fears of another war. • People (particularly the youth) became disenfranchised by constant escalation, conscription (draft) and violent responses to protest. • Civil Rights Movement: Showed the American people the power of protest and showed the youth that previous generations did not in fact “know it all”. • Skirts got shorter, music became more pointed and the US people decreasingly had faith in their leaders. Social Theme: Risk for Revolution

  5. John F. Kennedy 1961-1963 • Personality: charming, revolutionary, good humoured • By 1961 Kennedy was now in office and he had a new team to investigate the conditions in South Vietnam- “December 1961 White Papers”. • The content in the white paper was basically a cry for more aid to Vietnam. • Kennedy decided to send more advisors and machinery but would not send troops. • In 1963 Kennedy supported the South Vietnamese coup that killed Diem and his brother. • Three weeks later Kennedy was assassinated. US Troop Death Toll: 1961 to 1965- 1,864

  6. Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969 • Personality: serious, persuasive, threatening • Elected based on his promise to remove US troops from Vietnam. • President during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin attack: Two U.S ships were attacked off the coast of Vietnam in neutral water. Response: “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution”; a series of air strikes against the North Vietnam territory. • 1965: Johnson sent the first combat troops to Vietnam. • In 1965, the NFL attacked U.S. bases in South Vietnam and Johnson ordered a bombing mission called “Operation Rolling Thunder”. • The draft was instituted and anti-war movements reached an extreme. • In 1968: Tet Offensive. North Vietnam Army attacked South, to force American to the bargaining table. Seen as a loss for LBJ • 1968: Vietnam was costing $66 million a day • Johnson did not run for re-election US Troop Death Toll: 1961 to 1965- 1,864 1966- 6,053 1967- 11,058 1968- 16,511

  7. Recruitment Posters

  8. The Draft • Existed 1948-73 • At first- “Draft Board” • July 1965- LBJ doubled the number to be drafted per month (17,000 to 35,000) • August 31, 1965- LBJ signed a law making it illegal to burn a draft card • 1969- FIRST DRAFT LOTTERY

  9. Richard Nixon 1969-1974 • Personality: conservative, dry, shady • Claimed he had a secret plan to the war and won the election. • Escalation: During Nixon’s years the war was brought into Cambodia and Lao to try to find pockets of communism along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. • “Vietnamisation”: Method of training the South Vietnam troops to fight and then slowly pulling American troops out of Vietnam. • January 1973: Peace treaty signed ending the war for Americans at a loss. North Vietnam took over the south after the American troops left putting an end to the Vietnam War. US Troop Death Toll: 1969- 11,527 1970- 6,065 1971- 2,348 1972- 561

  10. Results: 1965- 24% 1966- 31% 1967- 45% 1968- 54% 1969- 58% 1970- 56% 1971- 61% 1973- 60% Gallop Poll Question: “In view of the developments since we entered the fighting in Vietnam, do you think the U.S. made a mistake sending troops to fight in Vietnam?” Public Support for the War

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