Origins of the Vietnam War: Cold War Challenges and Consequences

1. Origins of the Vietnam War 11.9.2-Understand the role of military alliances, including NATO and SEATO, in deterring communist aggression and maintaining security during the Cold War. 11.9.3- Trace the origins and geopolitical consequences (foreign and domestic) of the Cold War and containment policy…the Vietnam War.

2. America and the War in Indochina • France ruled Indochina in Southeast Asia Indochina was a French colony, it included the modern countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. • WW II weakened France and other Imperial powers- Imperialism began to decline worldwide following WWII

5. The Vietnamese rebelled against French rule and were led by Ho Chi Minh • The U.S. sought to contain communism and wanted France as an ally, so the U.S. contributed $2.6 billion to help the French battle the Vietminh forces. • President Dwight D. Eisenhower continued Truman’s policies and aided the French

7. Ho Chi Minh

8. Domino Theory • The theory that if Vietnam fell to communism, its closest neighbors would follow and communism would spread.

9. America Opposes Communism In Vietnam • In 1954, the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu was placed under siege for 56 days, the French suffered 15,000 causalities and surrendered. • Next day, According to the Geneva Accords France granted independence to Indochina. Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam

10. Dien Bien Phu

11. Ho Chi Minh’s forces controlled the North and were supported by the Soviet Union—they were communist. • The U.S. backed the South • In 1954 the U.S. and seven other countries formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), it was similar to NATO its goal was to contain the spread of communism in southeast Asia.

12. Vietcong • In 1957, a communist rebel group known as the National Liberation Front began an effort to undermine the government in the South led by Diem. It was called the Vietcong. It was known to U.S. forces as “Victor Charlie” or VC its radio call sign. • Diem was an unpopular leader and would have been taken from power if the U.S. did not back him

13. A Buddhist Monk sets himself on fire to protest Diem’s rule in S. Vietnam

14. Kennedy sent troops to Vietnam in 1961 • They were Special Forces intended to train the South Vietnamese army which was known as ARVN • The U.S. realized that Diem had to go so they plotted to have him removed from power • He was removed and later assassination on November 1, 1963

15. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

16. Three weeks after Diem fell, President Kennedy was assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson became president. • In 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats fired upon the USS Maddox in the Gulf Of Tonkin. • Johnson asked Congress for the authority to use U.S. troops—Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- which allowed the use of U.S. armed forces w/o declaring war-increased Presidential power

17. U.S. Involvement Grows 11.9.3-Trace the origins and geopolitical consequences (foreign and domestic) of the Cold War and containment policy, including the following…The Vietnam War

19. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave President Johnson increased power to use the military. • In response to a Vietcong attack that killed American troops, Johnson ordered Operation Rolling Thunder- sustained bombing campaign against N. Vietnam

21. U.S. military and civilian leaders hoped air campaign would force communists to negotiate for peace—it did not work. • American Pilots dropped 6 million tons of bombs on enemy positions 3X the tonnage use during WWII. • In addition to conventional bombs the U.S. used Napalm and Agent Orange

22. Napalm Napalm is gasoline mixed with jellified plastic, When dropped it explodes and sticks to people and burns

23. Images like this were shown on the nightly news and changed America’s opinion about our involvement in Vietnam

24. White Phosphorus Causes severe chemical burns

25. Agent Orange Agent Orange was the name of A chemical defoliant it was meant to kill all plant life and expose enemy positions.

26. Agent Orange has been linked to birth defects and cancers in Vietnam and in U.S. personnel exposed to it during the war

27. North Vietnamese tactics were to slowly bleed the U.S. military, they engaged in guerilla hit and run operations, bombings, and roadside bombs. • They did not engage the U.S. in large scale operations because the U.S. was superior in this sort of warfare. • By 1965 there were 184,000 troops in Vietnam and only 636 U.S. deaths • By 1968 there were 500,000 and 30,000 U.S. casualties

28. Ho Chi Minh Trail -supply route used by the North to move supplies to the South

29. The leaders of N. Vietnam and the Vietcong believed that if they could lengthen the war Americans would eventually leave • Their troops avoided direct confrontation, they set booby traps, dug tunnel systems, and ambushed U.S. forces at night when air power could not be used

30. Mouth of Tunnel Complex

36. Tunnel Rats

39. Booby Traps

42. Doubt on Home Front Grows • Americans expected a quick victory-we were militarily powerful, technologically advanced and Vietnam was poor and backward • The war weakened the economy Johnson Great society programs were costly they had to be cut back to pay for war

43. Antiwar Movement Began • As the war increased a America was divided into two camps • Hawks- supported Johnson’s war policy wanted to contain communism, believed in Domino theory, accepted rising troop levels and battlefield deaths • Doves-were pacifists, student radicals, and civil rights leaders, questioned war on both moral and strategic grounds-saw war as civil war not part of Cold War

44. The War Divides America

45. Americans initially supported Johnson’s bombings and troop deployments, but by 1966 critics began to speak out • By 1965, most troops in Vietnam were draftees-young men drafted into service • All males had to register for the draft when they were 18, critics argued it was unfair; gave deferments to college students and men who worked in designated occupations • Most men who served were from working class families.

46. First Vietnam Draft Many young men protested by burning their draft cards

48. The number of African-Americans fighting in Vietnam was disproportionately high nearly 20% of total combat deaths were African-Americans • Anti-war activism spread on college campuses-students and professors spoke out against the war • Vietnam was the first “living-room” war because it was televised on the nightly news-every night body counts were given which showed U.S. and Vietnamese deaths-and other images

50. The Johnson Administration tried to spin the news media and make every news release sound positive like we were winning. • The media reported the truth and soon a credibility gap developed and people began to not trust the government