Daily Comment & Card
1950s- 1980s
DOMINO
THEORY
-Guiding principle of US foreign policy
during the Cold War era
-Stated publicly by President Eisenhower in
1954
-Belief that if one area was overtaken by
communism, nearby nations would follow
-Used as a motivation for the U.S.
intervention in foreign conflicts throughout
the world
“No event in
American
History is
more
misunderst
ood than
the Vietnam
War.”
-Richard Nixon
SONG FOR THE DAY: FEEL LIKE I’M FIXIN’ TO DIE RAG
Daily Comment & Card
1964
GULF OF
TONKIN
RESOLUTION
-The North Vietnamese supposedly
fired on American ships in the Gulf
of Tonkin
-Congress passed a resolution
allowing President Johnson to use
military action in Vietnam
-Johnson retaliated against the Viet
Cong with bombing attacks in the
North followed by ground troops.
“No event in
American
History is
more
misunderst
ood than
the Vietnam
War.”
-Richard Nixon
SONG FOR THE DAY: BALLAD OF THE GREEN BERET
Daily Comment & Card
1950s- 1980s
DOMINO
THEORY
-Guiding principle of US foreign policy
during the Cold War era
-Stated publicly by President Eisenhower in
1954
-Belief that if one area was overtaken by
communism, nearby nations would follow
-Used as a motivation for the U.S.
intervention in foreign conflicts throughout
the world
1964
GULF OF
TONKIN
RESOLUTION
-The North Vietnamese supposedly
fired on American ships in the Gulf
of Tonkin
-Congress passed a resolution
allowing President Johnson to use
military action in Vietnam
-Johnson retaliated against the Viet
Cong with bombing attacks in the
North followed by ground troops.
“No event in
American
History is
more
misunderst
ood than
the Vietnam
War.”
-Richard Nixon
SONG FOR THE DAY: FEEL LIKE I’M FIXIN’ TO DIE RAG
Daily Comment & Card
Beginning 1954
VIETNAM WAR:
CAUSES
-Vietnam was divided into the
Communist North, led by Ho Chi
Minh, and the South, supported by
the United States
-The Viet Cong (Communist guerillas)
attempted to overthrow Saigon,
South Vietnam’s capital
-South Vietnam asked President
Kennedy for aid to fight the
Communists
“No event in
American
History is
more
misunderst
ood than
the Vietnam
War.”
-Richard Nixon
SONG FOR THE DAY: WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE
STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
-Define Domino Theory, TET 68
-Identify those on each side of the Vietnam
War
-Describe how we got involved in Vietnam
-Analyze the responses -of Kennedy, Johnson,
and Nixon
-Evaluate the effects of the war on the
American public
-Summarize how Vietnam was different from
other wars
-Locate Vietnam and it’s major cities
I. VIETNAM (THE NOTES)
A. HISTORY
B. KENNEDY & JOHNSON
C. ANTI-WAR PROTEST
D. NIXON
E. A DIFFERENT (UNIQUE) WAR
WHEN THE KOREAN WAR ENDED,
THE U.S. WAS ALREADY IN
VIETNAM.
WE BECAME
INVOLVED BECAUSE
THE FRENCH
WANTED TO REGAIN
CONTROL OF THEIR
COLONY AFTER
WORLD WAR II. WE
HELPED BECAUSE
WE WANTED THEM
TO JOIN NATO.
A. HISTORY OF VIETNAM
NATIONALISTS HAD STARTED A GUERILLA WAR
TO KEEP THE FRENCH FROM REGAINING
CONTROL OF THEIR COLONY AFTER WW2.
THEY WERE LED BY HO CHI MINH, A
COMMUNIST WHO UNITED THE
NATIONALISTS INTO AN ARMY KNOWN AS
THE VIET MINH.
THE FRENCH LEFT AFTER A DEFEAT IN THE BATTLE
OF DIENBIEN PHU (MAY 1954).
WE STAYED BECAUSE OF THE DOMINO THEORY.
IF ONE NATION FALLS TO
COMMUNISM, THEY ALL
FALL…
THE AREA KNOWN AS INDOCHINA WAS DIVIDED
INTO LAOS, CAMBODIA, AND VIETNAM IN THE
1954 GENEVA ACCORDS.
B. KENNEDY AND JOHNSON
WE GAVE OUR ASSISTANCE TO SOUTH VIETNAM UNDER THE
LEADERSHIP OF NGO DINH DIEM AND GRADUALLY INCREASED
OUR SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS.
1960= 900 ADVISERS
1961= 3,200
1962= 11,000
THEY WERE NOT
SUPPOSED TO
FIGHT!
IN SOUTH VIETNAM, GUERILLAS KNOWN AS VIET CONG
WERE SUPPORTED BY HO CHI MINH.
VIET CONG = VC OR CHARLIE
BY 1963, DIEM
WAS OVERTHROWN
BY S. VIETNAMESE
LEADERS AND THE
V.C. WERE GAINING
GROUND.
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
INDICATED HOPE OF
WITHDRAWING OUR TROOPS,
BUT HE WAS ASSASSINATED IN
NOVEMBER OF 1963…
LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON (LBJ) BECAME PRESIDENT (AND HE
COULD NEVER ACCEPT A LOSS TO “COMMIES”).
HE NEEDED AN ALL OUT WAR,
AND IN 1964 THE GULF OF
TONKIN RESOLUTION GAVE
HIM A “BLANK CHECK” TO
“TAKE ALL NECESSARY
MEASURES” TO PROTECT
AMERICAN LIVES AND
INTERESTS.
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE HIT
2 AMERICAN DESTROYERS
WITH THEIR TORPEDO BOATS.
(AMERICANS DID NOT KNOW
THAT THEY HAD VIOLATED
NORTH VIETNAMESE
TERRITORIAL WATERS).
JOHNSON WAS RE-ELECTED AND WE
CONTINUED TO SEND IN GROUND
TROOPS (NOW WE ARE FIGHTING)!!
WE TOOK OVER FROM ARVN (ARMY OF
REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM), THE SOUTH
VIETNAMESE ARMY.
We call this
1964=23,000
1965=184,000
1966=485,000
1967=536,000
“escalation”
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TURNING POINT OF THE WAR CAME IN
1968 WITH THE TET OFFENSIVE.
TET WAS THE VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR AND
TRADITIONALLY FIGHTING STOPPED FOR
THIS CELEBRATION.
THEY SHOCKED US BY LAUNCHING
SIMULTANEOUS ATTACKS
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY
(AMERICAN EMBASSY SAIGON,
AMERICAN MILITARY HQ, TAN SON
NHUT AIRBASE.
IT WAS A PSYCHOLOGICAL VICTORY FOR THE
NORTH AND THE VC.
C . ANTI-WAR PROTEST
AS JOHNSON’S POPULARITY FELL, ANTI-WAR
PROTEST SEEMED TO BE ON THE RISE…
IN 1965, AS MANY AS 80% OF AMERICANS SUPPORTED
THE WAR, BUT THINGS CHANGED AS TIME WENT ON…
COLLEGE CAMPUSES WERE THE
CENTER OF PROTEST
GROUPS LIKE SDS (STUDENTS
FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY)
STAGED DEMONSTRATIONS.
AMERICANS LEARNED OF
INCIDENTS LIKE THE 1968
MY LAI MASSACRE.
D. NIXON
Under Nixon, the anti-war
movement increased in intensity.
Anti-war protesters were shocked
by the bombing of Cambodia. In
1969, national guardsmen fired
on and killed four student
demonstrators at Kent State,
Ohio. Students marched in
Washington D.C. and other major
cities…
Nixon insisted that most Americans still supported the war.
They referred to their supporters as the “silent majority.” The
PENTAGON PAPERS published in 1971 proved that several
Presidents had lied to the American public about the war and
that although they felt they could not win, they did not want
defeat associated with their presidencies.
D. NIXON
THE WAR POWERS ACT PASSED OVER NIXON’S
VETO IN NOVEMBER 1973 REDUCED THE
PRESIDENT’S ABILITY TO INVOLVE THE U.S. IN
AN UNDECLARED WAR!
REQUIRES PRES TO REPORT TO
CONGRESS WITHIN 48 HOURS
AFTER COMMITTING AMERICAN
TROOPS TO FOREIGN CONFLICT.
WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL
APPROVAL THE PRES HAS 60 DAYS
TO BEGIN WITHDRAWING THE
TROOPS.
NIXON BEGAN THE PROCESS OF “VIETNAMIZATION”
WHICH MEANT TURNING THE WAR BACK OVER TO SOUTH
VIETNAMESE TROOPS.
HE BEGAN BRINGING OUR TROOPS HOME.
HE WAS LOOKING FOR
“PEACE WITH HONOR.”
THE DRAFT ENDED IN 1973
IN MARCH OF ’73 THE LAST U.S. FORCES
LEFT VIETNAM
IN 1975 SOUTH VIETNAM FELL (the Fall
of Saigon) TO THE NORTH (COMMUNISM)
E. A DIFFERENT WAR!!
HOW WAS THIS WAR DIFFERENT?
 AVERAGE AGE OF SOLDIER WAS 19-20
DAILY NEWS COVERAGE (TELEVISION)
MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY (SOLDIERS
SURVIVED WOUNDS)
NO FRONT LINES/ COULDN’T IDENTIFY
ENEMY
NO DEBRIEFING (DOWNTIME)
365 DAY TOUR OF DUTY
In May 1968, Roy Benavidez,
facing constant enemy fire
carried wounded members of his
platoon to rescue-helicopters.
Benavidez was critically
wounded, but he refused to stop
gathering survivors and saved
the lives of eight men. At first he
was awarded the Distinguished
Service Cross, but when the full
story became known, he was
awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor by President
Ronald Reagan in 1981. (He
died in San Antonio in 1998)
Long Binh
ANALYZE THE WAYS IN WHICH THE VIETNAM
WAR HEIGHTENED SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND
ECONOMIC TENSIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.
FOCUS YOUR ANSWER ON THE PERIOD 1964 TO
1975.
SOCIAL
POLITICAL
ECONOMIC