Chapter 29 Section 4
The War’s End and Impact
President Nixon inherited an unpopular war and
increasing troubles on the home front.
Peace Talks Stall
• Formal peace talks began in May, 1968 in
Paris
• US wanted all VC out of South Vietnam and
release of POW’s
• North Vietnam wanted halt to bombings,
withdrawal of US troops, and recognition of
NLF (Vietcong) as a political party
• Neither side would budge on negotiations
• Both sides argued over shape of the
negotiating table.
Peace With Honor
• Nixon believed he
could achieve
“peace with honor”
• This was a U.S.
withdrawal from
Vietnam on
honorable terms
• US troops were
gradually being
pulled out of
Vietnam
Vietnamization
• Nixon expressed his faith in the South Vietnamese
Army (ARVN) to assume the burden of the war
• This was called Vietnamization
• The idea was to transfer front-line fighting to the
South Vietnamese
Bombing of Cambodia
•
The North Vietnamese
were continuing to supply
the Vietcong by way of the
Ho Chi Minh Trail
•
The trail ran through
neutral Laos and
Cambodia
•
Nixon secretly ordered the
bombing of the Ho Chi
Minh Trail in Cambodia to
reduce the flow of supplies
to the Vietcong
American Troops Attack Cambodia
•
Nixon was growing impatient at the pace of peace negotiations
•
In order to break the negotiations stalemate, Nixon ordered a
ground attack by U.S. soldiers on North Vietnamese bases in
Cambodia
•
He also hoped to aid the pro-American Cambodian government
in its fight against the communist Khmer Rouge
•
Nixon addressed the nation on TV and informed them of the
invasion
•
Although large quantities of supplies were seized, the North
Vietnamese continued their struggle
•
Anti-war activists immediately criticized Nixon for expanding
the scope of the war
US tank in Cambodia
Students Protest
•
At Kent State University
in Ohio, four students
were shot by National
Guardsmen.
•
A similar confrontation
at Jackson State
University in Mississippi
left two students dead.
•
Counterprotests were
held by those
supporting Nixon and
the war efforts.
Kent State
Jackson State
My Lai
• In 1971, Americans were stunned to
learn about the My Lai massacre.
• Four years earlier, U.S. soldiers
searching for Vietcong in the village
of My Lai had killed hundreds of
unarmed civilians.
• The unit commander, Lt. William
Calley, claimed he had been following
orders.
• The military was criticized for
covering up the incident and not
performing an adequate investigation.
• Lt. Calley was convicted by a military
court and sentenced to life
imprisonment,
• President Nixon commuted sentence
to house arrest and later granted him
a pardon.
The Pentagon Papers
• The publication of the
Pentagon Papers further
shocked the nation.
• The report revealed that
American leaders had lied to
Congress and failed to inform
the public fully about the
American involvement in
Vietnam.
• Nixon tried to stop
publication of the Pentagon
Papers, but The New York
Times published the report in
1971.
Nixon Wins in 1972
• In October 1972, the US
and North Vietnam came to
terms on a peace
settlement
• Nixon won reelection one
month later
• North Vietnam refused to
sign the agreement
• Nixon ordered the bombing
of North Vietnam to force
the Vietnamese to resume
negotiations
Paris Peace Accords
•
In January 1973, the war finally ended with the
signing of the Paris Peace Accords.
•
The United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam,
and the Vietcong would stop fighting.
•
U.S. troops would withdraw from South Vietnam.
•
North Vietnamese troops would remain in South
Vietnam.
•
South Vietnam’s noncommunist government would
remain in power.
•
US POW’s would be returned
The Fall of Saigon
• For the United States, the war was over, but
fighting continued in Vietnam despite the peace
agreement.
• In the spring of 1975, North Vietnam captured
Saigon and won the war.
More Problems in Southeast Asia
• In Cambodia, the communist Khmer Rouge
unleashed a genocide, killing more than 2
million people
• A communist government took control in Laos
• Vietnam, now unified and communist,
attacked Cambodia who were supplied by the
Chinese and supported by the US
The Killing Fields of Cambodia
The Cost of War
•
More than 58,000 Americans died in
Vietnam.
•
It would be years before Vietnam veterans
were acknowledged for their sacrifices.
•
The war undermined Americans’ trust in
their leaders.
•
Americans became reluctant to intervene in
other nations’ affairs.
Veterans Finally Remembered
• The Vietnam Veteran’s memorial was dedicated
in Washington, D.C. in 1982
• It lists the name of all Americans killed in
Vietnam in the order in which they died
Vietnam Changes American Policies
• The cost of fighting a war effectively killed
Johnson’s Great Society programs
• Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973.
• The act restricted the President’s ability to send
the nation to war.