Vietnam War Escalation 1. Review: Using your notes from a previous lecture discuss the origins of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War America first started getting involved in the Vietnam War when at the time North Vietnam was communist. Since the US did not want communism to spread, America started “containment” to make sure other countries wouldn't turn communist. Americans took Southern Vietnam in order for North Vietnam to no spread communism, eventually leading up to the Vietnam War. 2. Using the following 2 links discuss when and why we dramatically escalated the amount of troops in Vietnam Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Vietnam not only for American pride but also to prove that Communism cannot defeat capitalism. LBJ pleaded with the UN to greatly increase the amounts of effort and troops in Vietnam. Johnson said, “We intend to convince the communists that we cannot be defeated by force of arms or by superior power.” He also explained that many of his decisions were responses from requests made by the US Commander in South Vietnam and recalled the unsuccessful attempts of 40 other countries to end the struggle. Martin Luther King Jr and Vietnam Read the following speech dictated by MLK. Explain his war position and his reasoning. The speech is long, skim through it and get the gist. The speech dictated by MLK included MLK proposing that the United States stop all bombing of North and South Vietnam and declare a unilateral truce in the hope that it would lead to peace talks. Although he was a President Johnson’s supporter, MLK disliked the US involvement in Vietnam. Additionally, he believed that the Vietnam War diverted money and attention from domestic programs created to aid the black poor. Furthermore, he said, ‘the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home…We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem.'” https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/beyond-vietnam My Lai Massacre http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/vietnam/vietnam_myl ai.cfm 1. Identify the diverse factors that contributed to the My Lai massacre. The My Lai massacre happened because of hatred towards the type of corrupt ruling the country had. One could argue that it also happened because people would confuse good people with bad or vise versa, due to the lack of uniforms for identification. 2. In what ways did the soldiers at My Lai actions violate the laws of war? Some of the ways soldiers would violate the laws of war were that many of them simply attacked and constantly killed people without any thinking whatsoever. Many of them also disobeyed commands from their chiefs because they grew tired of fighting and trying to save and free people from South Vietnam 3. Describe the cover-up that followed the massacre. Why did the cover-up fail? Following the massacre, soldiers would fake report the amount of innocent people murdered and also lie about the amount of weapons or guns they had at that time of the massacre. This, of course, did not make sense which is why many grew suspicious. Later on, this was leaked into a newspaper article. 4. Who should have been held accountable for events at My Lai? Researchers believe that Calley was responsible for these events. Col. Oran Henderson, and the commanding officer, Lt Col Frank Barker, had substantial knowledge of the war crime, but did nothing about it. 5. How did newspapers respond to reports of the My Lai Massacre and the subsequent investigation and trial? Newspapers leaked the truth about these attacks as well as the people involved and those who had knowledge of the attacks. These people were extremely upset of what had happened. Eventually, more research allowed them to get the real statistics about the events. https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/tet-offensive 1. What was the Tet Offensive? This was a planned series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities in South Vietnam. 2. Describe the goals of the North Vietnamese and why this attack was so impactful. North Vietnamese would try and provoke the South Vietnamese population to fight, at the same time, pressure the United States into being less involved in the Vietnam War. These attacks from the Tet Offensive were so impactful that it caused a turning point in the Vietnam War. This eventually lead to the US decision to back away from the Vietnam War and accept their loss in the war. Read the speech by Walter Cronkite above (first link). What was his reaction to the Tet Offensive. Now do a little research. Why was his opinion so important? As Walter Cronkite continued to watch the Vietnam War, he concluded that he was certain the bloody events of Vietnam were to end in a stalemate. His opinion was important because he was a very trusted figure in America, due to his career. He was famous for helping launch the CBS evening news and known for his honesty and impartiality. Kent State Massacre-watch the video https://houstonpbs.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/7b71a93c-7f5a-47c8bb29-f21050962e8b/unrest-at-kent-state-the-day-the-60s-died/ 1. Describe the feeling preceding the shooting at Kent State. Indeed, the Kent State shooting remains symbolic of the division in public opinion about war in general, and the Vietnam War specifically. Many believe it permanently changed the protest movement across the American political spectrum, fostering a sense of disillusionment regarding what, exactly, these demonstrations accomplish, as well as fears over the potential for confrontation between protesters and law enforcement. 2. How might the National Guard be seen as the aggressor? The National Guard could be seen as the aggressor because they opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. These students were simply practicing their freedom of speech. And as a student from Kent State said, “these Guardsmen were now an intrusive presence.” 3. How might the student demonstrators be seen as the aggressors? In the eyes of the government, the students protesting may be seen as the aggressors because they are protesting against the Vietnam War and supposedly they were elevating tensions amongst everybody. For example, some students even tried to burn down the ROTC hall at the University of Kent and students try to attack firefighters once they arrived to the burned down ROTC hall. 4. Why 18-22 year old college students would be so passionate about a war on the other side of the world? 18-22 year old college students would care so much about the Vietnam War and oppose to it because of drafting. The draft was another major source of resentment among college students. The age of the average American soldier serving in Vietnam was 19, seven years younger than its World War II counterpart. Students observed that young Americans were legally old enough to fight and die, but were not permitted to vote or drink alcohol. So it wasn’t considered fair for college students. Which is why many college students would repeat their classes and fail on purpose or study another major just so they wouldn’t be sent to fight in the Vietnam War. 5. Why did anti-war protests often took place on college campuses? Anti-war protests often took place on college campuses because many college students were being sent to war right after they finished college. As other students observed what was happening in the Vietnam War and that some of their very friends were not returning, they would get frustrated and would eventually go on strikes, riots, and protest on college campuses because of the unfairness of drafting.
