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The Vietnam War. American History Harrison Career Center Mr. Leasure. Early American Involvement in Vietnam. Early American Involvement in Vietnam.
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The Vietnam War American History Harrison Career Center Mr. Leasure
Early American Involvement in Vietnam • Although little was known about Vietnam in the late 1940s and early 1950s, American officials felt Vietnam was important in their campaign to stop the spread of communism.
Early American Involvement in Vietnam (Cont.) • During the early 1900s, nationalism was strong in Vietnam. • As the Vietnamese sought independence or reform of the French colonial government, several political parties formed.
Early American Involvement in Vietnam (Cont.) • One of the leaders of the nationalist movement was Ho Chi Minh who, during his travels to the Soviet Union, had become an advocate of communism.
Early American Involvement in Vietnam (Cont.) • In 1930 Ho Chi Minh helped form the Indochinese Communist Party and worked to overthrow the French. • Ho Chi Minh was exiled to the Soviet Union and China.
Early American Involvement in Vietnam (Cont.) • Upon his return to Vietnam in 1941, Japan had control of the country. • He organized the nationalist group, Vietminh, which united Communists and non-Communists to force Japan out.
Early American Involvement in Vietnam (Cont.) • With the Allies’ victory over Japan in 1945, Ho Chi Minh and his forces declared Vietnam an independent nation. • France sent in troops to regain its colonial empire.
Early American Involvement in Vietnam (Cont.) • France asked the United States for help. American officials were against France controlling Vietnam, but they did not want Vietnam to be Communist either.
Early American Involvement in Vietnam (Cont.) • The United States, under the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, supported the French military and their campaign against the Vietminh.
Early American Involvement in Vietnam (Cont.) • Eisenhower defended the United States policy in Vietnam with the domino theory —the belief that if Vietnam fell to communism, other nations in Southeast Asia would do the same.
The Vietminh Drive Out the French • Despite aid from the United States, the French struggled against the Vietminh. • The Vietminh frequently used the tactics of guerrillas, or irregular troops who usually blend into civilian population and are difficult for regular armies to fight. • They used hit-and-run and ambush tactics.
The Vietminh Drive Out the French (Cont.) • In 1954 the French commander ordered his forces to occupy the mountain town of DienBien Phu. A huge Vietminh force surrounded the town. • The defeated French were forced to make peace and withdraw from Indochina.
The Vietminh Drive Out the French (Cont.) • Negotiations to end the conflict, called the Geneva Accords, divided Vietnam between the Vietminh controlling North Vietnam and a pro-Western regime in South Vietnam. • The Accords also recognized Cambodia’s independence.
The Vietminh Drive Out the French (Cont.) • In 1956 elections were held to form a single government. The United States stepped in to protect the new government in the South led by Ngo Dinh Diem, a pro-Westerner and anti-Communist. • The tension between North and South Vietnam escalated with the United States caught in the middle.
American Involvement Deepens • After Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold national elections, Ho Chi Minh and his followers created a new guerrilla army known as the Vietcong. • Their goal was to reunify North and South Vietnam.
American Involvement Deepens (Cont.) • The United States continued to send aid to South Vietnam. The Vietcong’s power, however, continued to grow because many Vietnamese opposed Diem’s government.
American Involvement Deepens (Cont.) • President Kennedy continued the nation’s policy of support for South Vietnam, agreeing with past presidents that Southeast Asia was important in the battle against communism.
American Involvement Deepens (Cont.) • The unpopularity of South Vietnam’s President Diem increased because his government was corrupt, he created strategic hamlets, and he discriminated against Buddhism, one of the country’s most widely practiced religions.
American Involvement Deepens (Cont.) • Diem was overthrown and later executed. This further weakened South Vietnam’s government, forcing the United States to become more involved. • After Kennedy’s assassination, President Lyndon Johnson inherited the problem of Vietnam.
Johnson and Vietnam • At first, President Johnson was cautious regarding Vietnam, yet he was determined to prevent South Vietnam from becoming Communist. • Politically, Democrats needed to keep South Vietnam from becoming Communist, or Republicans would use it against them.
Johnson and Vietnam (Cont.) • On August 2, 1964, President Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on two American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. • A similar attack reportedly occurred two days later.
Johnson and Vietnam (Cont.) • The Senate and the House passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolutionon August 7, 1964, authorizing the president to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack on U.S. forces. • Congress had given its war powers to the president.
Johnson and Vietnam (Cont.) • While the polls showed that Johnson’s approval rating had increased, some dissenters in the White House warned that if the United States became too involved, it would be difficult to get out.
Johnson and Vietnam (Cont.) • In March 1965, however, Johnson increased American involvement, and American soldiers were fighting alongside the South Vietnamese troops against the Vietcong.
A Bloody Stalemate Emerges • By 1965 some 180,000 American combat troops were fighting in Vietnam, with the number doubling by 1966. • Many Americans believed they could win in Vietnam.
A Bloody Stalemate Emerges (Cont.) • To take Vietcong’s hiding places away, American planes dropped napalm, a jellied gasoline that explodes on contact, and Agent Orange, a chemical that strips leaves from trees and shrubs. • Farmlands and forests were turned into wastelands.
A Bloody Stalemate Emerges (Cont.) • Americans underestimated the Vietcong’s strength, stamina, and morale. • Johnson refused to order a full invasion of North Vietnam, fearing China would get involved in the war.
A Bloody Stalemate Emerges (Cont.) • President Johnson also refused to allow a full-scale attack on the Vietcong’s supply line, known as the Ho Chi Minh trail. • This made winning the war very difficult.
A Bloody Stalemate Emerges (Cont.) • As American casualties increased, many American citizens began questioning the United States' involvement in the war.
A Growing Credibility Gap • When American troops first entered the Vietnam War, many Americans supported the military effort.
A Growing Credibility Gap (Cont.) • As the war in Vietnam continued to drag on, public support decreased. • Americans began to question the government and believed a credibility gap had developed, making it difficult to believe what the Johnson administration said about the war.
An Antiwar Movement Emerges • As the casualties increased, Americans, especially college students, began to publicly protest the war.
An Antiwar Movement Emerges (Cont.) • In March 1965, faculty and students at the University of Michigan abandoned their classes and formed a teach-in where they informally discussed issues of the war and why they opposed it. • This triggered teach-ins at many college campuses.
An Antiwar Movement Emerges (Cont.) • Young protestors focused their attention on what they felt was an unfair draft system. • While college students could delay military service until graduation, those with low income and limited education were called to serve.
An Antiwar Movement Emerges (Cont.) • As a result, minorities, especially African Americans, were called to war. Many draftees refused to serve. • Others moved to Canada and other nations.
An Antiwar Movement Emerges (Cont.) • By 1968 the nation seemed divided into two camps—the doves and the hawks. • Thedoves wanted the United States to withdraw from the war, and the hawks felt the United States should stay and fight.
1968: The Pivotal Year • On January 30, 1968, during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese launched a surprised attack known as the Tet offensive. • In the attack, guerrilla fighters hit American airbases in South Vietnam as well as the South’s major cities and provincial capitals.
1968: The Pivotal Year (Cont.) • Militarily, the TetOffensive was a disaster for the Communists, but it was a political victory that shocked Americans. • As a result, the approval rating for the president plummeted.
1968: The Pivotal Year (Cont.) • Eugene McCarthy and Senator Robert Kennedy entered the 1968 presidential race as “dove” candidates for the Democratic nomination. • Johnson withdrew from the presidential race, announcing his decision in an address to the nation on March 31, 1968.
1968: The Pivotal Year (Cont.) • In April Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated. Two months later, Robert Kennedy was also assassinated. • This violence, coupled with a clash between protesters and police at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, left the nation in a state of chaos.
1968: The Pivotal Year (Cont.) • The chaos benefited the Republican presidential candidate, Richard Nixon, and an independent, Governor George Wallace of Alabama. • Nixon promised to regain order and end the war in Vietnam.
1968: The Pivotal Year (Cont.) • Although Johnson attempted to help the Democratic campaign with a cease-fire, Democratic presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey lost by more than 100 electoral votes as well as the popular vote by a slim margin. • Richard Nixon became president.
