BELLWORK
1. What were the advantages Americans had in the
Vietnam War?
2. What were the advantages the North
Vietnamese/VietCong had in the War?
3. What were the pros/cons of using Agent Orange?
4. How did the U.S. officially become involved in the
Vietnam War?
5. What is guerilla warfare? Do you think it is effective?
6. THINKER: In your opinion, why were so many
Americans unsupportive of U.S. involvement in
Vietnam?
Operation Rolling Thunder
American
Bombings
General Nguyen Van Thieu
U.S. Troops in Vietnam
Vietcong
Underground
Tunnels
Conditions in Vietnam War
Guerilla Warfare
Agent
Orange
Napalm Bombs
• COLD WAR QUIZ ON
MONDAY!!!
• Open-note
• One presentation from each Cold
War topic is on my website
Tet Offensive
• On January 30, 1968, Communist forces
launched a major surprise attack on civilian &
military targets in South Vietnam.
• The first day of the Vietnamese New Year, or
Tet.
• Within 24 hours, 84,000 Communist soldiers
had stormed more than 100 South Vietnamese
cities and towns, 12 U.S. military bases, and
the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.
• U.S. and South Vietnamese forces eventually
retook most of the targets, but it destroyed the
cities and landscape of South Vietnam.
Tet Offensive Aftermath
•
•
•
•
•
•
U.S. killed 33,000 VietCong
1,100 U.S. troops killed
2,300 South Vietnamese troops killed
12,500 Vietnamese citizens killed
More than 1 million Vietnamese became refugees.
Dozens of South Vietnamese towns and villages lay in
ruins.
• One army officer said: “We had to destroy the town to
save it.”
• Considered the turning point of the Vietnam War
because it showed that no place in South Vietnam –
not even the U.S. Embassy, was safe from attack.
• It shattered American confidence and raised doubts
about Johnson’s policies in Vietnam.
Vietnam Protest
• As the generation gap widened, youth
protested U.S. involvement in the
Vietnam War.
• Created a movement called the New
Left which believed that problems
called for radical change.
• Student activism and the free speech
movement were on the rise.
• Television and the media played a large
rule in influencing public opinion.
Draft Resistance
• A Selective Service Act passed in
1951 allowed the government to
draft men between the ages of 18
and 26.
• In 1965, Johnson quadrupled the
number of men drafted into the
armed forces.
• By the end of the war, 10,000 men
fled to Canada to escape the draft.
War Opposition & Johnson’s Unpopularity
• After the Tet Offensive, polls showed that the
majority of Americans disagreed with the war.
• Walter Cronkite (CBS newscaster) reported in
Saigon after the Tet Offensive:
– “What the hell is going on? I thought we were
winning the war! It seems now more certain than
ever that the bloody experience in Vietnam is to end
in a stale-mate. The only rational way out, will be to
negotiate”
• Johnson responded:
– “If I’ve lost Walter, then it’s over. I’ve lost Mr. Average
Citizen.”
War Opposition & Johnson’s
Unpopularity
• President Johnson rarely left the White
House for fear of being assaulted by angry
protestors.
• 6 weeks after Tet, his popularity rating was
only 36%.
• In 1968, he declared that he would not run
for another Presidential term.
• Nixon was elected as the new Republican
president.
Protest Music
• During the war, many artists protested
Vietnam by singing for peace and change.
• Today we will listen to clips from six protest
songs during the time period.
• On a sheet of paper, answer the three
questions for EACH song.
• Use evidence/quotes to back up your point!
• Be ready to discuss each song, its meaning,
and how it related to the Vietnam protest
movement.
Protest Music Questions
• Answer the following questions on your
OWN sheet of paper:
1. What message does the song send
about the Vietnam War? (Examples!)
2. What message does the song send
about protests and activism?
(Examples!)
3. What is the overall message of the
song?
Bob Dylan: “The Times are a
Changin”
Buffalo Springfield: “For what its Worth”
Edwin Starr: “War”
Barry McGuire: “Eve of Destruction”
Creedence Clearwater Revival
(CCR): “Fortunate Son”
Eric Burdon and The Animals: “Sky
Pilot”
CLOSURE
• What was the Tet Offensive? What
effect did it have on Johnson’s
popularity?
• What was the primary focus for the
protest movement of the 1960s?
• What media outlet showed the brutality
of the war to millions of Americans?
• In order to resist the draft, what did
many young men do?
War spreads to Cambodia
• In 1970, Nixon authorized the invasion of
Cambodia in order to clear out Communist
camps.
Kent State
• At Kent State University in Ohio, students
reacted angrily to Nixon’s move in Cambodia.
They broke business windows and burned the
army ROTC building.
• In response, the Ohio National Guard threw
tear gas at the students trying to break them
up. When this did not work, the guardsmen
began shooting the students.
• This attack horrified Americans and fueled
more activist movements.
Paris Peace Treaty
• As the war drug on, it was evident that neither
side would back down.
• In January 1973, the U.S, South Vietnam, North
Vietnam and the Viet Cong signed a peace
agreement in Paris.
• The provisions of the agreement were:
1. The U.S. would withdraw from Vietnam within 60
days.
2. All prisoners of war would be released.
3. All parties would end military activities in Laos and
Cambodia.
4. The 17th parallel would continue to divide North
and South Vietnam.
End of Vietnam War
• After the U.S. left Vietnam in 1973,
the south and north continued to fight
for two more years.
• The Vietnam War officially ended in
1975 when the whole country of
Vietnam fell to communism.
• Communism did NOT spread and
therefore, proved the Domino Theory
FALSE!
Vietnam War Protest Flyer
• For this art project, you will create a propaganda
flyer that either:
– Supports the Vietnam War and encourages
involvement
– Protests the Vietnam War and calls for its end
• This must be historically accurate and actually
relate to what we’ve been studying on the
Vietnam War.
• War, draft, Agent Orange, bombing, killing
citizens, money, increase U.S. troops, etc.
• Worth 20 points!