Lessons One
-
The Vietnam War Part I
Outcomes (SWBAT)
Identify and discuss the reasons for and outcome of the Vietnam War

Activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Pre-lesson responder questions
Cognitive Dissonance – class discussion using examples given.
Important concept when considering the US involvement in Vietnam
Background – the French in Indochina – WWII and Ho Chi Minh vs the
Japanese… students are to use ledger map for the 2 lessons on
Vietnam.
Comparing Ho Chi Minh with Diem Bien Phu… a love versus hate
relationship
Cognitive Dissonance in the Vietnam War mindset… class discussion
Move onto American involvement in Vietnam – lecture notes on ledger
paper
“Dear America – Letters Home from Vietnam” – show first portion of
this DVD.
Cold War quiz tomorrow
Materials
1.
2.
3.
4.
Cognitive Dissonance – notes and examples
French in Indochina - notes
Ledger map for Vietnam War lessons
“Dear America” DVD from Pen-Hi library
History 12
Ms. Lacroix
name ____________________________________
Vietnam Part I – pre-lesson questions
Key Concepts:
Key Players:
containment
‘Titoist’ communism
nationalism
Cold war
domino theory
Vietnamization
Guerilla warfare
Nixon Doctrine
South Vietnam
North Vietnam
Diem Bien Phu
Ho Chi Minh
ARVN
North Vietnamese Army
United States
Viet Cong
NLF
(Eisenhower, Kennedy,
Johnson, Nixon)
Preamble: WWII demonstrated to the USA that isolationism based on a false
sense of security failed. Containment and intervention were the new policies.
Does this compromise the historical notion of national self-determination?
Is national security compromised by revolutionary independence movements?
South Vietnam under Diem 1954-63
Nepotism and graft
Key Notes
First Indochina War (Vietnam)
Vietnam Conflict
1946-54
1961-75
FRANCE
AMERICA (military action
from 1965-72)
Today there is one country called the Republic of Vietnam
Americans not defeated in the field but withdraw after 1973 truce
Are economically weak today
Vietnam in 1945
 The French, Japanese, Viet Minh and Emperor Bao Dai all claim rule over
Vietnam
 After fall of France in 1940, French Indochina under Japanese control
 VIET MINH opposed to French and Japanese imperialism, waged guerilla
warfare until Japanese are ousted in 1945

HO CHI MINH set up government in Hanoi, called Democratic People’s
Republic of Vietnam, but France returns to Indochina and gains control of
the South – North Vietnam refuses to be controlled by France and latter
would not grant independence – hence the conflict

Viet Minh – nationalist or communist?
THE FIRST INDOCHINA WAR – 1946-54
Reasons for?
(H 201)
Why victory for the Viet Minh?
(include Dien Bien Phu.
(D 215)
Geneva Agreements (Accord) of 1954
Provide specific details plus hist. sig.
(D 215)
(H 214)
(mapbook 128)
Eisenhower’s “domino theory”
(D 215)
ANZUS Pact (1951)
(H 215)
SEATO 1954
(H 215)
Purpose
Members
Weaknesses
Historical significance
Reasons for French loss in Indochina (in class)
Map Book page 128-29 – make sure you are familiar with this geographic
area…
CHINA
CAMBODIA
THAILAND
LAOS
VIETNAM (N and S)
Cognitive Dissonance
is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of
cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce
dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions.
Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying.
The phrase was coined by Leon Festinger in his 1956 book When Prophecy Fails,
which chronicled the followers of a UFO cult as reality clashed with their fervent
beliefs.
Examples:
The Fox and the Grapes
In the story, a fox sees some high-hanging grapes and wishes to eat them.
When the fox is unable to think of a way to reach them, he surmises that the
grapes are probably not worth eating, as they must not be ripe or that they are
sour. This example follows a pattern: one desires something, finds it
unattainable, and reduces one's dissonance by criticizing
Self-Evaluation
You, as a child, love a certain sport. You have posters on your bedroom wall, all
the magazines relating to said sport, idolize its international stars. As you enter
middle school, you start to see that on said sports team, you aren’t very good at
that sport, spend lots of time on the bench and eventually don’t make the high
school team. To reduce the dissonance you are experiencing, you blame your
coaches, take down all your posters in your room, and state that the game is
really quite “dumb”.
Buyer’s Remorse
You bought a Blackberry in the summer of 2011. For 3 days in October, you
couldn’t’ get any service, texts, nothing. You now have 2 options:
1. discount the new evidence as meaningless… you didn’t really get affected
negatively by the lack of service even though all your iPhone friends were
texting, on-line, phoning each other
2. truly regret and renounce the purchase, claiming that your Blackberry is a
piece of garbage and you should never have spent so much money on it.
*we will work this important concept into America’s rationalization of
the Vietnam War
Lecture Notes to include on ledger for Lesson 1
Concepts
French Imperialism vs Vietnamese national self-determination
Role of ANZUS and SEATO
-both treaty organizations set up to contain communism
USA under Truman, then Eisenhower, heavily funded and armed the French
Why did the French lose?
France was increasingly unable to afford the costly conflict in Indochina and, by
1954, the United States was paying 80% of France's war effort which was
$3,000,000 per day in 1952
A strong anti-war movement came into existence in France driven mostly by the
then powerful French Communist Party
Popularity of Ho Chi Minh (Father Ho) and General Giap (“Yap”)
FRENCH OUT… Geneva Convention, 1954
Independent Laos and Cambodia
Vietnam divided at 17th parallel… south to hold elections shortly
Unpopularity of Ngo Dinh Diem – corrupt tyrant… Catholic
He never held the promised elections… practiced nepotism and graft
Growing guerilla movement  National Liberation Front – supported by:
Communists
Buddhists
Vietnamese that resented both French and American involvement
Peasants – sheltered and fed the NLF
Question for class discussion…
To what extent would cognitive dissonance apply to America’s decision to get
involved in Vietnam in 1963?