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Campaigned on a pledge to end the war but to secure “peace with honor”

Richard M. Nixon and Vietnam. Campaigned on a pledge to end the war but to secure “peace with honor”.

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Campaigned on a pledge to end the war but to secure “peace with honor”

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  1. Richard M. Nixon and Vietnam Campaigned on a pledge to end the war but to secure “peace with honor” Even as he began the gradual withdrawal of troops and reduced the number of new draftees, he pursued “Vietnamization”: shifting the bulk of the combat to South Vietnam (as they became better trained and capable of assuming responsibility).

  2. “Peace with honor” • It was important to Nixon for the U.S. to exit the war honorably…to avoid the humiliation of having lost the war • The Paris Peace Talks had begun before Nixon took office but negotiations were difficult and often stalled • Nixon appointed Sec. of State Henry Kissinger to negotiate for the U.S.

  3. Main goals of the negotiations: U.S. Wanted: • All communist troops out of So. Vietnam • Return of American POWs N. Vietnamese wanted: • Immediate withdrawal of US troops • Coalition gov’t. in the South to include Vietcong

  4. Vietnamization • Refusing to accept N.Vietnam’s demands for peace, RMN continued his policy of Vietnamization…AND • To stop the flow of supplies to the Vietcong in the south, he ordered the secret bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail • The HCMT ran thru neighboring Cambodia

  5. 1970 • Trying to get the peace talks moving, RMN ordered U.S. troops to attack the Vietcong and NVA across the border into Cambodia. • Immediate reaction from the anti-war movement at home: infuriated, it blasted Nixon for widening the war !

  6. Kent State University • Student protesters set fire to the ROTC building… • The Ohio governor called in the Nat’l. Guard • On May 4, 1970 the 2 sides confronted one another: students threw rocks and bottles • Guardsmen answered by firing 65 shots into the crowd, killing 4 and wounding 13 others

  7. The Pentagon Papers • Classified gov’t. documents on U.S. in Vietnam • Docs leaked to the NY Times • Co-author Daniel Ellsberg at the eye of the storm • Nixon tried to block publication (NY Times v. United States)…Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Times

  8. End of the War • Paris Peace Accords: January, 1973 • American troops coming home • N Vietnam to keep troops in S vietnam • NLF to become legit political party in S. Vietnam • N. Vietnam to return American POWs (Sen. John McCain was one of them)

  9. Peace finally…or not • Spring of 1975, N. Vietnamese launched attacks against the South • Without U.S. support, the ARVN was doomed • American Embassy in Saigon overrun • Vietnam unified under 1 flag…the flag of communist North Vietnam

  10. Evacuation of the US Embassy: Saigon 1975

  11. Watergate Scandal • Nixon won re-election in 1972 BUT… • Scandal unfolded • The Committee to Re-Elect the President (“CREEP”) bugged the Democratic HQs at the Watergate Complex to spy on them • Other “dirty tricks” by CREEP • The cover-up of the illegal activities led all the way to the White House

  12. Nixon Resigns • About to be impeached, Nixon stepped down

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