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The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War. Pre-Assessment: Take 1 minute to write down everything you know about the Vietnam war. I will call on students randomly to share, if anything. The Background: Before World War II  Vietnam controlled by French

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The Vietnam War

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  1. The Vietnam War

  2. Pre-Assessment: Take 1 minute to write down everything you know about the Vietnam war. I will call on students randomly to share, if anything.

  3. The Background: Before World War II  Vietnam controlled by French During World War II  Vietnam controlled by Japanese, US supports Vietnamese nationalists who fight against Japanese After World War II  The French return. The Vietnamese don’t want them there. The US is in a dilemma! Why?

  4. The Dilemma: • US wants Vietnam to be able to do their own thing because they support democracy and freedom and don’t want colonial control anymore. • BUT • 2) The Vietnamese nationalists (Vietminh) are getting support and supplies from China and the USSR (COMMUNISTS) • What’s the problem here? The stage is set for conflict: Ho Chi Minh leads Vietminh (supported by Communists) against French troops in Vietnam

  5. US chooses to support French – first under Truman then under Eisenhower. Let’s read a short selection from Eisenhower … The Domino Theory – The belief that if Vietnam fell to communism, so would the other nations in Southeast Asia.

  6. Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954) – Long story short – French get their butts kicked – beginning of the end for the French. Geneva Accords – End conflict – divides Vietnam – election to be held in 1956.

  7. Ho Chi Minh and North Vietnam -----Vietnam Divided----- Ngo Dinh Diem and South Vietnam

  8. So here’s the summary. Post World War II .. Ho Chi Minh tries to kick French out. US supports French …. French still get butts kicked Geneva Accords = Peace. French leave. Vietnam Split. Communist supported North.

  9. Chapter 30-2 Expansion of US Involvement “I may have made a boo boo.” --President Johnson, on the phone with his mother

  10. Okay, so this guy Diem … he’s not the most popular dude… Doesn’t hold the elections he promised - Ho Chi Minh organizes Vietcong to fight against south US supports Diem with money and military advisors. Meanwhile, in South Vietnam, Diem discriminates against Buddhism (Vietnam’s biggest religion). Becomes extremely unpopular.

  11. Buddhist monk protests Diem’s anti buddhist policies by lighting himself on fire.

  12. 1963 – Diem overthrown – Military coup supported by US. Many say the US organized the assassination of Diem because he wasn’t getting the job done (wasn’t popular, didn’t have the support of the people … blah blah blah). Protecting and Spreading Democracy … by assassinating a leader and supporting a military coup. Hmm…. Three weeks later … JFK assassinated

  13. Now the mess is LBJ’s … poor guy… Your job: You are LBJ. You have just become President unexpectedly. Eisenhower and JFK have committed millions of dollars and thousands of military advisors to preventing communism from spreading into Vietnam. The US is in a real mess, having supported an assassination, leaving a weak and unstable South Vietnamese government against an aggressive north which is staging guerilla attacks. What the heck do you do? Come up with a plan, present it to your cabinet (the class). We will critique your plan and come up with a solution together.

  14. The Tonkin Gulf Incident August 1964: Two US destroyers attacked by North Vietnamese. US claimed it was “unprovoked.” What should LBJ’s response be? North Vietnamese patrol boats. Picture taken from USS Maddox

  15. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution You are LBJ. The situation in Vietnam has (apparently) changed after the Incident in The Tonkin Gulf. Of course, LBJ doesn’t have the authority to use the US military wherever and whenever he pleases…. Write a bill that you, as LBJ, want the Congress to pass that would request the authority to use the military in Vietnam as well as explain why. Be prepared to present it to the class.

  16. US starts massive bombing campaign – 1965 – Operation Rolling Thunder

  17. New Tactics: How to combat Guerilla Warfare… Napalm Agent Orange

  18. 30-3 30-4 The Continuing Conflict and the Response at Home "Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids have you killed today?" "Draft Beer, not boys“ "Hell no, we won't go"

  19. Teach Ins – gatherings of teachers and students to talk about the war … started at University of Michigan, spread nationwide.

  20. Protests against the Draft Public draft card burnings. Draft dodging – Go to Canada! Refusal to serve. What would YOU do?

  21. Hawks vs. Doves

  22. The War Takes a Turn for the Worse 1968 - Tet Offensive – VC launch surprise attack all over South Vietnam Walter Cronkite – CBS anchorman – says on the air war might not be won. Johnson quoted as saying “If we’ve lost Cronkite, we’ve lost the country.” South Vietnamese General executes VC prisoner during Tet Offensive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i214f5-w19w

  23. My Lai Massacre … In class reading and discussion …

  24. 1968 Election Richard Nixon defeats Hubert Humphrey Nixon continues conflict in Vietnam Invasion of Cambodia and Laos in order to cut off North Vietnamese supplies sparks additional protest.

  25. When are public protests appropriate? When is it appropriate for government officials to use force to break up protests? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYQqiyR2THs

  26. 1970 – Riots at Kent State University lead to National Guard opening fire, killing four students.

  27. Kent State – primary source analysis – NY times article

  28. The War Winds Down Vietnamization – Nixon wants the South Vietnamese forces to take more responsibility for the fighting. Nixon starts to withdraw soliders. Pentagon Papers – Documents from Johnson administration revealed many government officials had questioned the war. 1973 - US helps negotiate peace between North and South. 1975 – North invades South – South falls under Communist Rule Death Tolls – US – 58,000 Vietnam (North and South) – 1,000,000 military, unknown numbers of civilians

  29. Vietnam was tragic because ______________________. Vietnam was not tragic because ______________________.

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