Vietnam War
French Vietnam
• Vietnam colonized by French in
1700’s…French Indochina
• Imposed harsh taxes & limited
political freedoms
– No taxation without representation!
• Wanted to fight for
their independence
from France
Ho Chi Minh
• Vietnamese nationalist/patriot &
leader
• wanted a communist revolution to
combat French colonial
imperialism
• he organized the Vietminh – the
League for the Independence of
Vietnam
• during WWII, the Japanese
fought the French out of
Indochina Japanese lose WWII
 Vietnam becomes independent
in 1945 (but French insist its still
theirs)
Causes of Vietnam War
• fear of communism & the Cold War
• domino theory
– if Vietnam fell to communism, who would be
next
• containment
– contain communism to this single country
• internationalism
– communism would broaden to neighboring
countries because they share common cultures
Geneva Accords
• Geneva Accords – agreement to temporarily
divide Vietnam in 2 parts (North & South)
• North = communist; South = western culture
(but not democratic)
• Does this work???
• President Eisenhower supported S. Vietnam
(even though very
unjust leader)
Vietcong
• communist guerilla forces
• supported the National Liberation
Front in South Vietnam
• NLF – organization dedicated to
end S. Vietnam’s leader (Diem) rule
• Inevitably… CIVIL WAR!
• President Kennedy sent more
troops over to Vietnam to fight
communism & Vietcong
• Diem killed by military takeover 
S. Vietnam got worse
The Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution
• U.S. ships reported a torpedo attack from a
N. Vietnam naval ship in the Gulf of Tonkin
(on N. Vietnam coast)
• President Johnson declared this attack an
act of war & increased U.S. involvement in
Vietnam
• the resolution gave President Johnson the
authority to take all necessary measures to
repel any armed attack against U.S. forces
U.S. Military
• Operation Rolling Thunder –air strikes to
destroy war industries in N. Vietnam
– the Ho Chi Minh Trail (a network of paths that
supplied the Vietcong with weapons)
– goal: crush N. Vietnam’s ability to supply
Vietcong  war would end
– dropped napalm & chemical poisons to burn the
trail, which went through the jungle forest
• tactic: More bombs, more napalm, more air
raids
• Search & Destroy Missions
– find enemy camps & demolish
them
American War Effort
• TV & media shaped
public opinion
– saw images of the war &
casualties
– changed people’s minds
from pro war to antiwar
– Martin Luther King Jr.
= antiwar (focus on
home problems)
• College kids voice their
opinion & protest the
draft
Tet Offensive
• Tet – Vietnamese New Year; N.
Vietnamese & Vietcong attacked
American forces
• this surprise attack shocked
Americans & weakened public
confidence in the government’s
conduct of the war; however,
more troops were sent
• … we were losing the war
• this event resulted in the
increase of American opposition
to the war
Vietnamization
• President Nixon’s plan to gradually turn
over all of the fighting to the South
Vietnamese Army & pull out
• U.S. would continue to provide supplies
& training to S. Vietnam
• Nixon threatened nuclear war, but it did
nothing
• N. Vietnamese determined to unite all of
Vietnam
Consequences of War
•
•
•
•
1 million N. Vietnamese soldiers dead
185,000 S Vietnamese soldiers dead
500,000 Vietnamese civilians dead
Laos & Cambodia became communist
countries (neighbors to Vietnam)
• 60,000 American soldiers dead
• Led to American’s eyes being opened to govt.
deception
– War Powers Act
Legislation passed because of
Vietnam
• 26th amendment
• War Powers Act
of 1973
26th Amendment
• lowered the federal voting age from
21 to 18
• if you’re old enough to fight, you’re
old enough to vote
War Powers Act of 1973
• required U.S. President to get
congressional approval before
committing U.S. troops to an armed
struggle (i.e. Iraq); limits
President’s power
• this gave Congress increased
responsibility for setting U.S. war
policy
SUMMARY
• QUIZ TIME
•
•
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgW0o-Ui94k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R3fD-tl6xg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2IcmLkuhG0
• 1. What nation took control of Vietnam
in the 1700s and then again after
WWII?
• 2. Name the leader of the Communist
Revolution in Vietnam.
• 3. What was the U.S. foreign policy
towards communism?
• 4. Name the guerilla group that rebelled
against Diem’s regime.
• 5. Name the “surprise” attack that
caused the U.S. to officially enter the
Vietnam Conflict.
• 6. What tactic did the U.S. military use
to find the enemy and win the war?
• 7. What was the losing day for the U.S.
military in Vietnam that was broadcast
all over the media?
• 8. What is the process of gradually
leaving Vietnam called?
• 9. What law was passed that
decreased the voting age to 18?
• 10. Name two presidents who reigned
during the Vietnam War.