Vietnam: The Land
 1000
miles long
 80 miles wide
 Located in SE Asia
 Tropical Climate (80/80)
Vietnam: The Land
 Borders
Laos and Cambodia
 Truong Mts. Western Border
Subsistence Agriculture is
#1 Economic Activity.
Vietnam: The People
 Homogeneous
Society
 Own distinct culture for over
2,000 years.
 Cities in the Red River Delta
since before the birth of Christ.
Long History of Conflict
 Vietnam
was part of China
for 1,000 years.
 Many rebellions and uprising
required to get the Chinese
out.
Long History of Conflict
 1884
France controls all of
French-Indo China.
 French consider their
colonization of Vietnam to
be a Civilizing mission.
Imperialism in Vietnam
 French
occupation benefited
Vietnam, and hindered it at the
same time.
 French thrown out of Vietnam
by the Japanese in WWII.
Imperialism in Vietnam
 1945
Japanese Surrender.
 French return to Vietnam.
 Viet Minh are fighting for
Independence against the
French. (80%)
Viet Minh
 Led
by Ho Chi Minh.
 Supported with money and
weapons from China and
USSR.
 US supports French.
Domino Theory
 If
Vietnam fell to the
communists the rest of SE Asia
would also fall to the
Communists.
 US was committed to
containment.
Viet Minh
 Consider
the war with
France to be a war of
Independence.
 French Defeated at Dien
Bien Phu 1954. (12,000)
The Geneva Accords 1954
 Peace
settlement between
France and the Viet Minh.
 Ends the War.
 Divided the Country at the
th
17 parallel.
The Geneva Accords 1954
 Free
election to follow in
1956 to unite the entire
country under one
government. (selfdetermination)
The Geneva Accords 1954
 Provisional
govt. set up in
South Vietnam under Ngo
Dinh Diem.
 North Vietnam is ruled by Ho
Chi Minh.
The Geneva Accords 1954
 US
influenced the Accords
but did not sign them.
 Ho Chi Minh never accepted
the division of the country.
Ngo Dinh Diem
 Christian
(catholic)
 Born in Vietnam
 Educated in the US
 Corrupt govt.
 Unpopular in Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh
 Wants
Self determination for
Vietnam.
 Rejected by US
 Turns to USSR.
 Communist tendencies
Election
 1956
Election does not take
place.
 Ho Chi Minh would have won.
 Viet Cong start working to take
over South Vietnam.
Election 1956
 Diem
asks the US for help
against the Communist
forces.
 Aid, supplies, advisors are
sent. (Eisenhower)
Containment
 JFK
is committed to fighting
Communism.
 More money and advisors
sent to Vietnam.
1960 – National Liberation Front
 Viet
Cong = Vietnamese
Communists.
– Want
the US out of Vietnam.
War
 Fighting
between North and
South Vietnam from 19561964 with the US in an
advisory capacity. (war is
being lost)
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
 US
destroyers were
attacked by Torpedo boats
from North Vietnam in
International waters.(12)
 Details are dubious.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
 “take
all necessary
measures to protect US
forces and prevent future
Vietnamese aggression.”
 416-0, 88-2.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
 Works
as a declaration of
war.
 Expands the power of the
President.
 Americanization of the War.
Viet Cong = Defensive War
 Can
obtain their goal without
defeating the Americans.
 Viet
Cong greatly
overmatched.
Viet Cong = Defensive War
 Strategy
– “If
we survive to fight another
day they will get tired, and
their own people will demand
that the war be ended.”
Tactics = Guerilla War
 VC
impossible to distinguish.
 Civilians and militants look
alike.
 No front lines.
 War of attrition.
Napalm
 Jellied
gasoline mixed with
White Phosphorous and put
into bombs.
 Dropped from the air.
Agent Orange
 Herbicide/defoliant
sprayed
on the jungles to make it
easier to spot VC from the
air.
 Birth defects.
Tour of Duty = Americans
 Amount
of time spent in
Vietnam.
 365 days.
 Average age 19.5 years old.
 3 million serve in Vietnam.
American Advantages
 Better
weapons.
 More supplies.
 More Structured leadership.
Vietnamese Advantages
 Familiar
with Geography.
 Soldiers more motivated.
 Defensive War.
 Culture/Language.
 Chinese/Soviet support.
Support for the War
 Public
support of the
Vietnam war was strong
from 1964-1968.
Protest against the War
 1966-67
A few congressmen
begin to question the war.
 College Students and
Professors begin to question
the morality of the war.
Protest against the War
 Berkeley
Free Speech
movement 1964.
– First
anti war demonstration.
– U of C censored student
protest of the war.
Protest against the War
 US
govt. assures the public
that we are winning the war.
That the VC are wearing
down and progress is being
made.
Tet Offensive 1968
 Tet
= Vietnamese New Year.
 End of January
 A major offensive started by
the VC, and Regular Army of
North Vietnam.
Tet Offensive 1968
 VC
show great strength and
gain an early advantage.
 US military victory.
 The offensive was covered
in depth on TV.
Kent State
 May
4, 1970
 Four college students shot
and killed by the National
Guard. (9 wounded)
 Protests greatly diminish.
Jackson State
 Police
and protesters clash.
 Two dead
 Eleven wounded.
Credibility Gap
 The
difference between
what the govt. said was
going on in Vietnam and
what was really happening.
Credibility Gap
 JFK
 RFK
 MLK
 These
assassinations added
to the gap.
Credibility Gap
 People
did not believe the
govt. , and public support for
the war greatly diminished.
 The Defensive strategy was
working.
Pentagon Papers
 Department
of Defense Report
leaked to the press by Daniel
Ellsberg.
 Reported unethical practices by
the govt. regarding Vietnam.
 Added to Credibility Gap.
My Lai Massacre
 William
Calley Jr.
 400 plus killed.
 Women, children, old
people.
 Shot down by rifle fire.
Election of 1968
 LBJ
chooses not to run
again. (unpopular)
 Richard Nixon – R- 43.4%
 Hubert Humphrey-D- 42.7%
 RFK assassinated
Richard Nixon Campaigns on
 Law
and Order
 Less Government
 Peace with Honor in
Vietnam.
Lottery System
A
new approach to the draft.
 Ended college deferments.
 Ended economics as an
issue in the draft.
Vietnamization
 US
troops slowly being
withdrawn.
 SV must take over the
burden of the fighting again.
 Bombing of NV intensified.
Vietnamization
 War
is now being lost again.
 Last Americans leave in
1975.
 South Vietnam is overrun
shortly after.
War Powers Act 1973
 Notify
congress within 48 hours
of sending in combat troops.
 Must end combat in 60 days
unless congress permits more.
 Congress can over ride
President with legislation.
Robert McNamera
 Secretary
of Defense for
Kennedy and Johnson.
 Reflections on the war
question our strategy and
presence there.
William Westmoreland
 US
General in charge in
Vietnam.
 Time Magazines man of the
year 1968.
Henry Kissinger
 Secretary
of State, and
National Security Advisor for
Richard Nixon.
 Nobel Peace Prize 1973 for
ending Vietnam War.
Carlos Hathcock
 Marine
Sniper
in Vietnam.
 93 confirmed
kills.
 Longest one
at over 2500
yards.
Barry Sadler
 Medic
for the Green Berets.
 Wrote the Ballad of the
Green Berets.
 Pro war song.