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End of Vietnam. Review. 1. Identify the Cold War President with his policy in Vietnam 2. What was Khe Sanh ? 3. Explain the causes & effects of the Tet Offensive. 4. Discuss the candidates of the 1968 Presidential Election. Vietnamization. “Peace with honor”
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Review • 1. Identify the Cold War President with his policy in Vietnam • 2. What was KheSanh? • 3. Explain the causes & effects of the Tet Offensive. • 4. Discuss the candidates of the 1968 Presidential Election
Vietnamization • “Peace with honor” • Nixon & NSA Henry Kissinger plan secret peace negotiations • Vietnamization • Turn fighting over to S. Vietnamese • Gradual withdraw of US troops • Secretly expanded war > bombing Cambodia & Laos • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLhZryqKVZM
Protests • Nixon policy • April 1970 announced troops in Cambodia > protests • Kent State • May 1970 • Students set fire to ROTC • 4 killed, 9 injured • Jackson State • 9 days later • 2 killed, 9 injured • Public reaction • Shocked & horrified • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fopb-pr2mxM
My Lai Massacre • March 1968 • Lt William Calley led troops on a search & destroy mission • No Vietcong found • Massacre • US troops killed 450 women, children, elderly men
Pentagon Papers • NY Times 1971 • Published secret government documents tracing US military in Vietnam since Truman • Revealed government misled public • Leak angered & embarrassed Nixon • Daniel Ellsberg • Leak (Dept. of Defense)
Election of 1972 • Nixon v. George McGovern • McGovern • Outspoken critic of war • 26th Amendment ’71 • Voting age reduced from 21 to 18
End of U.S. Involvement • Peace talks stalled • Christmas Bombings • Around-the-clock bombing of N. Vietnam cities • Called off without major results • Settlement Jan ’73 • US withdraw troops & agree to help rebuild Vietnam • Both sides release POW’s • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdNnTGCrku0
Legacy • N. Vietnam • 1975 (2 years after US troops left) > N. Vietnam invades S. & captures Saigon • US rushed to evacuate Americans working in city • April 30, 1975 South Vietnam surrendered • Country reunified
Khmer Rouge • Cambodia • 1975 Communist forces (Khmer Rouge) controlled Cambodia • Killed 2 million (1/4 population) • Border dispute > Vietnam invaded in ’79 • Installed puppet gov’t • Vietnam occupied until ’89 when UN peace-keeping forces came
Effects on Vietnam • 185,000 S. Vietnamese soldiers killed • 450,000 S. Vietnamese civilians killed • 1 million Vietcong troops killed • Severe environmental damage
Effects in US • 58,000 US troops killed • Survivors exposed to dangers defoliants • Not welcomed upon return • Trouble readjusting • $150 billion spent • Increased national debt & inflation • War Powers Act 1973 • Affirmed Congressional constitutional right to declare war • Gave President 60-day limit on committing troops without special authority or declaration of war