The Vietnam War
and Presidency of Richard Nixon
Causes to the
Vietnam War
Policy of
Containment
Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution
Domino
Theory
Events of the
Vietnam War
Fighting the
Vietcong
Guerilla
Warfare
Napalm and
Agent Orange
TET Offensive
My Lai
Massacre
Results of the
Vietnam War
War
Protests
Fall of
Saigon
Pentagon
Papers
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The Cold War lasted from 1945-1991. The
Cold War was…..
The US adopted the policy of containment to
prevent the spread of communism.
President Kennedy was assassinated in
November 1963. The vice-president Lyndon
Johnson became president.
Vietnam is a
country in
Southeast Asia
on the continent
of Asia.
 Vietnam is below
China.
 Vietnam was
controlled by
France from
1887-1954.
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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Sou
theast_Asia.png
A peace conference was held in
Geneva, Switzerland in 1954 to
decide what to do in Vietnam
after France lost control of the
country.
 The US feared communist
leader Ho Chi Minh would take
power and establish a
communist government. .
 At the conference, Vietnam was
divided at the 17th parallel.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vietna
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m1954.jpg
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The domino theory was the belief that if Vietnam fell to
communism, the rest of Southeast Asia would fall to communism
too.
Eisenhower adopted this theory in the 1950s and sent a few
thousand military advisors to help South Vietnam fight off the
North Vietnamese communists.
President Kennedy sent 20,000 military advisors to South Vietnam
in the early 1960s.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domino_theory.svg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Map_of_Asia.svg
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In 1964, President Johnson told
Congress that two US destroyers were
bombed in the Gulf of Tonkin in North
Vietnam.
In response, Congress passed the Gulf
of Tonkin Resolution to authorize the
President to “take all necessary steps
including armed conflict,” in Vietnam.
By late 1964, 184,000 US troops were in
Vietnam. At the height of the war, in
1968, there were over 536,000 US
troops in the country.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
17_News_Fight_if_we_must_3-12-2601.png
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US troops were fighting the
North Vietnamese army as well
as the Vietcong.
Vietcong were South
Vietnamese who wanted to be
part of North Vietnam.
US troops were not able to
determine who was a friend
and who was an enemy among
those they were fighting and
the Vietnamese people.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MPs_escort_a_Vie
tcong_captive_out_of_the_US_Embassy_on_31_January
_1968.jpg
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The US used guerilla warfare.
Guerilla warfare is the use of
surprise attacks with a quick
retreat.
The US used chemicals to clear
the jungle
 Napalm is a chemical based
gasoline that stuck to and
burned everything it touched.
 Agent Orange is chemical
pesticide used to burn the
leaves off trees . By 1967, 1.5
million acres were being doused
annually
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agent_Orange_
Cropdusting.jpg
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munition
s/napalm.htm
http://www.ap.org/Content/AP-In-The-News/2012/AP-napalm-girl-photofrom-Vietnam-War-turns-40
On January 30, 1968, known as TET,
the Vietnamese New Year, a
ceasefire was called.
 Communist guerillas launched a
major offensive against the US and
South Vietnam violating the ceasefire.
 The US embassy in Saigon was
attacked.
 This event turned many Americans
against the war, as new coverage
showed the battles and thousands
of US soldiers bodies returning
home.
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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Arm
y_52777_Bringing_a_lost_Soldier_home.jpg
War protests spread across the
country.
 The Students for a Democratic
Society, or SDS helped organize
protests on college campuses.
 The Vietnam War became
known as the “living room war”
because Americans watched
coverage on television.
 Due to media coverage,
Americans were more aware of
the war and voiced their
opinions, which influenced US
government policies.
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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Student_Vi
etnam_War_protesters.JPG
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On March 16th 1968, the My
Lai massacre occurred.
US troops killed 300 unarmed
civilians including women,
children, and the elderly in the
village of My Lai.
News of the event, spread like
wildfire through the US media
and was misrepresented as
the norm for how US soldiers
behaved in Vietnam.
The My Lai Massacre
increased anti-war protests
across the nation.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:My_Lai_massacre.jpg
President Johnson lost the 1968
Presidential election to Richard
Nixon.
 Vietnamization: Nixon’s two part
plan to end the war.
 1. Phased withdrawal of US troops
 2. Training and equipping South
Vietnamese to replace US troops
 January 23, 1973—a cease fire was
signed and most US troops were
removed from South Vietnam.
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http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Richard_M._Ni
xon_during_a_press_conference_on_Vietnam_and_Cambodia__NARA_-_194674.tif&page=1
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The End of the War officially
occurred in January 1975.
The North Vietnamese
launched an attack and took
over the capital of Saigon in
South Vietnam.
As the North Vietnamese
moved into Saigon, supporters
of the US scrambled to get out
of the capital.
On July 2, 1975, North and
South Vietnam were united as
the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam - a communist country.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evacuation
_from_LZ39.jpg
• 58,220 American soldiers
were killed.
• 2 million Vietnamese
soldiers and civilians were
killed.
• Thousands of American
soldiers were wounded
both physically and
mentally.
• American soldiers were
treated poorly when they
returned home.
• Soldiers were harassed,
spit on, called “baby killers.”
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Sacrifices.jpg
 Détente
 Pentagon
Papers
 Watergate
Scandal
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RichardNixon.jpg
Détente is the easing
of tension between
nations.
 In 1972 President
Nixon visited China
and Soviet Union.
 Nixon eased tension
with these nations.
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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nixon_Mao_
1972-02-29.png
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In 1971 the New York Times began to
publish the Pentagon Papers.
The Pentagon Papers were secret
documents that exposed the
manipulation of the government and
the office of the presidency, to sell the
war to Congress and the public.
President Nixon tried to stop the
publication of the Pentagon Papers.
The Supreme Court ruled that the
documents could be printed.
The result was a lasting distrust of the
US government and the office of the
presidency.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nixon
_in_Pres_cabin_of_AFO.jpg
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The Committee to Re-Elect the
President (CREEP) ran Nixon’s
election campaign in 1972.
Members of CREEP broke into
the Democratic National
Committee headquarters.
The CREEP burglars were
caught and Nixon tried to cover
up the break-in. (Verbally
mention why he tried to cover
it up)
The break-in and the attempts
to cover it up became known as
the Watergate Scandal.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pr
esident_Nixon_and_chief_advisers_1970.
png
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Nixon was facing certain
impeachment.
Impeachment is the process of
bringing formal charges
against a president who is in
office.
On August 8, 1974, Nixon
resigned as president (Resigns
means to give up your job).
The Pentagon Papers and the
Watergate Scandal cast a
lasting suspicion over the office
of President and the US
government.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RNresigns
peech.jpg
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Vietnam was divided into communist north and non-communist
south.
The domino theory is one a reason the US went to war in Vietnam.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was the official starting point of the
war in Vietnam.
Guerilla and chemical warfare were used in Vietnam.
The TET Offensive turned Americans against the war and war
protests spread throughout the US.
Richard Nixon ended the war with his policy of Vietnamization.
President Nixon established détente with China and the Soviet
Union.
The Pentagon Papers revealed deception by the US government in
the Vietnam War.
Vietnamization-plan to
end war in Vietnam
ResignationNixon steps
down as
President
The Presidency
of Richard
Nixon
Watergate Scandalled to downfall of
Nixon
Détente-easing
tensions with
China and
Soviet Union