Vietnam War Guided Notes
 PRESIDENT TRUMAN
o Situation in Indochina was part of Cold War struggle against communism
o Decided to support France in an effort to block Communist expansion in Europe
 PRESIDENT EISENHOWER
o Domino Theory: _______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
o U.S. sent _______________, ____________________, _________________ and ____________ to _____________
forces in Vietnam
 THE GENEVA CONFERENCE
o Goal: ________________________________________________________________________________________
o Meeting of representatives from France, Vietnam, Cambodia, Great Britain, Laos, China, Soviet Union and U.S.
gathered in Geneva, Switzerland
o Geneva Accords were signed _____________________________________________________________________
o Vietnam would temporarily be divided at the _________________________________________________________
 GENEVA ACCORDS
o Vietminh would control the northern part of Vietnam
o French would withdraw from the country
o A demilitarized zone along the 17th parallel would act as a buffer zone to prevent fighting between the north and the
south
 CONFLICT IN VIETNAM
o Civil war breaks out
o In 1960 Vietminh in South Vietnam formed the National Liberation Front
 Their military forces were called the _______________________, meaning Vietnamese Communists
o Pres. ________________________________ decides to intervene
o U.S. began supplying _________________________________ with ____________________ and
_____________________________
 PRESIDENT KENNEDY
o Believed in the ________________________ ________________________________
o Wanted to show off _______________________________ _______________________________
o Hesitated to send troops so he sent more ___________________________ ________________________
 THE TONKIN GULF RESOLUTION
o Pres. _____________________________ became convinced that only expanded U.S. military involvement would
prevent a ________________________ _________________________________
o The Tonkin Gulf Resolution
 ______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
 approved by Congress on _________________________________________________________
 PRESIDENT JOHNSON
o Did not want to appear ___________________________ on communism
o Tonkin Gulf Resolution: _________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
o Operation Rolling Thunder
o ________________________________ - more troops to Vietnam
o determination despite unpopularity
 AIR WAR
o _________________________________________________________________________ (March 1965)
o Pres. ____________________________ wanted to weaken the enemy’s ability and will to fight and wanted to
assure South Vietnam of his commitment to its independence
o This bombing campaign led many South Vietnamese to join the Vietcong
 GROUND WAR
o In response to _______________________ tactics, U.S. ground troops in South Vietnam undertook search and
destroy missions to drive enemy forces out of their hideouts
o U.S. troops inflicted enormous casualties on communist forces
o ______________________________________________
 THE DRAFT
o As the American forces in Vietnam increased, U.S. government depended on the draft
o 1969 lottery system implemented for the draft (men were drafted based on birth dates; drawn at random)
o draft ended in 1973
 1958: THE TET OFFENSIVE
o A series of coordinated attacks throughout South Vietnam
o
The Vietcong assault on the U.S. Embassy marked the start; showed that no part of South Vietnam was safe from
attack
o Shattered American beliefs that Communist forces were weakening and that the U.S. would soon win the war
 PRESIDENT NIXON/END OF THE WAR
o Pres. ____________________________ pledged he would _____________________ the war if elected
o _________________________________________: process of turning over more of the fighting in Vietnam to the
South Vietnamese while gradually bringing home some U.S. ground troops
 My Lai Massacre – mass murder of civilian women and children of South Vietnam conducted by U.S. army
March 16, 1968
 Caused outrage and reduced U.S. support for the war at home
 Invasion of Cambodia – U.S. had already been conducting bombing raids for over 1 year
 Happened as Pres. Nixon was promising de-escalation
o After all attempts to bomb the North Vietnamese into concessions failed, Pres. Nixon agreed to remove all U.S.
troops and help rebuild Vietnam
 CAUSES OF VIETNAM WAR
o Vietnam’s desire for freedom from colonial rule
o U.S. fears of the spread of communism (the domino theory)
o South Vietnam’s failure to comply with the Geneva Accords
o Efforts by North Vietnam to reunite the nation under communist rule
o U.S. support for the anti-communist government of South Vietnam
Describe each president’s war policy.
EISENHOWER
730-732
KENNEDY
732-734
JOHNSON
734-751
NIXON
753-759