Prompt #2
What was the GLOBAL situation
like during the 60s & 70s?
(Think about: politics, society,
past units, etc.)
Include:
Dien
Bien
Phu
Countries
-Vietnam, China,
Burma, Laos,
Thailand, Cambodia
Cities
-all the cities in
Vietnam
Mekong R.
Mekong
Delta
Bodies of
Water/Rivers
-Gulf of Tonkin
-South China Sea
-Gulf of Thailand
-Mekong River
The Vietnam War
1964-1975
Background
• France controlled
“Indochina” since the late
19th century
• With U.S. aid, France
attempted
re-colonization in the
postwar period
• The French lost control to
Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh
forces in 1954 at Dien
Bien Phu
Background
• Divided into North Vietnam
(communist) and South
Vietnam (democratic) on 17th
parallel (Geneva Accords)
• Elections supposed to happen
in 1956 to unify country
• South Vietnam said “No” 
believed communists would
fix the election
• Civil War begins
Vietnamese Leaders
North Vietnamese president:
Ho Chi Minh
South Vietnamese president:
Ngo Dinh Diem
AGREE/DISAGREE,
PG. 792-796
Timeline
1954 – French defeated at Dien Bien Phu
and Geneva Accords
1956 – French leave Vietnam
1963 – Diem is assassinated
1964 – The Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• A response to the “Gulf of Tonkin Incident”
• The resolution gave Johnson the authority
to use whatever forces necessary to fight
the communist Viet Cong forces
• Expanded presidential power and allowed
Johnson to get troops involved in the
Vietnam conflict
• U.S. never declared war in Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin
Was the U.S. planning
to go to war before
August 1964?
Exit Pass
1.Where is Vietnam?
2.Who was Ho Chi Minh?
3.Who were the Viet Cong?
4.Why did the U.S. get
involved in Vietnam?
A Grunt’s WAr
• While reading…
• Highlight key words/tactics/experiences
unique to this war
• When finished…
• Let me know, then go in the hall and
draw something to represent this war
Prompt #3
• Describe the objective/goal
for each side fighting during
the Vietnam War.
Tug Of War
This game demonstrates the Vietnam
War…
• Who did the blue team represent? Who
did the red team represent? Why should
the blue team have won?
• What are the multiple reasons why they
didn't win? How do those reasons
represent what happened in Vietnam?
VIETNAM WARFARE
Soldiers
•By 1965 number
of draftees doubled
•Eligible at 18-26
years of age
Draft Resistance
• Burned draft cards
• Registering as conscientious objectors
• Received draft deferments
• College-15 million; low grades=possible draft
• Favored privileged
• Moving to Canada-100,000
• Medical deferment (sometimes fake)
Fighting the Vietnam War
Vietnamese Warfare
• Booby traps (punjii sticks), mines
• Heat, humidity, leeches, insects, snakes
• Tunnels and a lack of knowledge of terrain
• Not knowing the enemy
• Close fighting
• Not WWII (Could only see who you’re firing
at ~3% of the time)
Operation Rolling Thunder
Ho Chi Minh Trail
• Ho Chi Minh Trail: complex paths
and roads
• Ran from NV to SV via Cambodia
and Laos (both neutral)
• Transported military equipment
and troops from N to S
• Undetectable b/c of dense jungle
Agent Orange
Agent
Orange
Napalm
Napalm
Tug Of War
• Blue Team=U.S./S. Vietnam
• Red Team=N. Vietnam/Viet Cong
• Traitors on Blue=Viet Cong
• Different Goals (Blue  past the line, Red 
stop the Blue)
• Cheering Section=public
• Hawks, Doves, Silent Majority
• Nearby communist nations ready to join (China,
USSR)
• Outcome=Red won
Very Different War
• Terrain/Climate
• Enemy—didn’t want us there, knew the
land
• Warfare
• Guerilla tactics (booby traps, land mines,
ambushes)
• Saturation bombing
• Chemicals (Agent Orange, Napalm)
The Tet
Offensive
Tet Offensive
• January 1968
• N. Vietnamese brutally struck many targets
in S. Vietnam
• Despite this heavy losses, the N.
Vietnamese considered it a major
psychological and political win
• Turning point—lost support
• Hawks—for war
• Doves—against war
My Lai Massacre
•
•
•
•
•
March 1968
30 American soldiers
Lieutenant W. L. Calley in charge
500 women, children, and old men killed
Heroes: helicopter crew saved many
innocent lives
• Calley was eventually court-martialed for
the murders of 500 My Lai villagers
Role of the Media
• American media shows the fighting
up close
• “Living Room War”
• A lot of media turns against war
• Walter Cronkite  “Most trusted
man in America”
• Johnson decides he will not run
again
Protest
• College students and professors
began holding teach-ins and sit-ins
• “Hey! Hey! LBJ! How many kids did you
kill today?”
• 1969: Anti-war demonstration in DC
drew a record-setting 500,000 people
• Draft resistance
Song Analysis
“FORTUNATE SON”
VIETNAM IMAGE
IMPACT
Prompt #4
What role did the media
play in the Vietnam War?
Nixon & Vietnam
End of the War
• Read and discuss your topic
• Then EACH PERSON create a visual of the
important points someone should take away
1 & 6) Nixon’s Vietnam Policy
2 & 7) Law and Order
3 & 8) American Withdrawal
4 & 9) Aftermath in Asia
5 & 10) Legacy of the War
End of the War
Explain your visual to your new
group so group members will be
able to answer corresponding
questions on a separate sheet of
paper
nixon’s VietnAm Policy
• What did Nixon claim at the Paris
peace talks?
• What is Vietnamization?
• What did Nixon say he was doing
compared to what he was actually
doing?
• What did his actions in Cambodia
result in?
Nixon and Vietnam
Law & Order
• Who was the “silent majority”?
• What events were occurring in
1970 that created a lot of chaos
and turmoil?
• What was the reaction to the
events here in the U.S.?
Kent State University (May 1970)
Jackson State University (May 1970)
American Withdrawal
• In 1972 and 1973, what differences were
there between the idea the public was
getting and the actions being taken with
Vietnam?
• Which groups were a part of the formal
agreement in January 1973?
• What general issues did this formal
agreement attempt to resolve for those
involved in the conflict?
Aftermath in Asia
• What ultimately happened with
South Vietnam upon the U.S.
withdrawal?
• What government did Vietnam
have by 1975?
• Was the domino theory
accurate?
End Results in Vietnam
Legacy of the War
• What effects were there for the
soldiers of the Vietnam War?
• What is significant about the
Vietnam War compared to other
wars in American history?
• What were some of the costs of
this war?
Costs of the War
Vietnam
Veterans’
Memorial