Readiness standards comprise
65% of the U. S. History Test
8B&E
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(B) Describe how Cold War tensions
were intensified by the arms race, the
space race, McCarthyism, & the
House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC), the findings of
which were confirmed by the Venona
Papers
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(B) 1 Describe how Cold War
tensions were intensified by the arms
race (1941-1991)
Strategic nuclear missiles, warheads and throw-weights of
United States and Soviet Union, 1964-1982
Strategic nuclear missiles, warheads and throw-weights of United States and
Soviet Union, 1964-1982
Launchers
Year
Warheads
Megatonnage
United
States
Soviet
Union
United
States
Soviet
Union
United
States
Soviet
Union
1964
2,416
375
6,800
500
7,500
1,000
1966
2,396
435
5,000
550
5,600
1,200
1968
2,360
1,045
4,500
850
5,100
2,300
1970
2,230
1,680
3,900
1,800
4,300
3,100
1972
2,230
2,090
5,800
2,100
4,100
4,000
1974
2,180
2,380
8,400
2,400
3,800
4,200
1976
2,100
2,390
9,400
3,200
3,700
4,500
1978
2,058
2,350
9,800
5,200
3,800
5,400
1980
2,042
2,490
10,000
7,200
4,000
6,200
1982
2,032
2,490
11,000
10,000
4,100
8,200
The Cold War Arms
Race--Background
• The first nuclear weapon was created by U.S. during the World
War II & was developed to be used against the Axis powers.
• A ring of spies operating within the Manhattan Project,
(including Klaus Fuchs & Theodore Hall) had kept Stalin well
informed of American progress They provided the Soviets with
detailed designs of the implosion bomb and the hydrogen bomb.
• Fuchs’ arrest in 1950 led to the arrests of many other Russian
spies, including Harry Gold, David Greenglass, and Ethel and
Julius Rosenberg.
• In the years immediately after the Second World War, the United
States had a monopoly on specific knowledge of and raw
materials for nuclear weaponry. American leaders hoped that
their exclusive ownership of nuclear weapons would be enough to
draw concessions from the Soviet Union but this proved
ineffective.
The Cold War Arms Race
• Behind the scenes, the Soviet government was working on
building its own atomic weapons. While American experts had
predicted that the Soviet Union would not have nuclear weapons
until the mid-1950s, the first Soviet bomb was detonated on
August 29, 1949, shocking the entire world.
• Both governments spent massive amounts to increase the quality
and quantity of their nuclear arsenals. Both nations quickly began
the development of a hydrogen bomb and the United States
detonated the first hydrogen bomb on November 1, 1952.
• Again, the Soviets surprised the world by exploding a deployable
thermonuclear device in August 1953 although it was not a true
multi-stage hydrogen bomb. However, it was small enough to be
dropped from an airplane, making it ready for use. The
development of these two Soviet bombs was greatly aided by the
Russian spies Harry Gold and Klaus Fuchs.
The Cold War Arms Race
• The most important development in terms of delivery in the
1950s was the introduction of intercontinental ballistic
missiles, ICBMs. Missiles had long been regarded the ideal
platform for nuclear weapons, and were potentially a more
effective delivery system than strategic bombers, which was
the primary delivery method at the beginning of the Cold
War.
• On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union showed the world that
they had missiles able to reach any part of the world when
they launched the Sputnik satellite into Earth orbit. The
United States launched its own satellite on the October 31,
1959. The Space Race showcased technology critical to the
delivery of nuclear weapons, the ICBM boosters, while
maintaining the appearance of being for science and
exploration.
The Cold War Arms Race
• This period also saw some of the first attempts to defend
against nuclear weapons. Both superpowers built large
radar arrays to detect incoming bombers and missiles.
Fighters to use against bombers and anti-ballistic missiles to
use against ICBMs were also developed. Large underground
bunkers were constructed to save the leaders, and citizens
were told to build fallout shelters and taught how to react to
a nuclear attack.
• The Nuclear arms race of the cold war lasted from 19411991. None of these defensive measures were secure, and in
the 1950s both the United States and Soviet Union had
nuclear power to obliterate the other side. Both sides
developed a capability to launch a devastating attack even
after sustaining a full assault from the other side (especially
by means of submarines), called a second strike.
The Cold War Arms Race
• This policy was part of what became known as Mutual
Assured Destruction: both sides knew that any attack
upon the other would be devastating to themselves, thus
in theory restraining them from attacking the other.
• In addition to the United States and the Soviet Union,
three other nations, the United Kingdom (1952),
People’s Republic of China (1964), & France (1960) also
developed far smaller nuclear stockpiles.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the very
brink of annihilation. That sober realization no doubt
contributed to the more balanced & rational diplomacy
that distinguished Soviet-American foreign policy in the
years that followed 1962.
The Cold War Arms Race
• Economic problems caused by the arms race in both
powers, combined with China’s new role and the ability to
verify disarmament led to a number of arms control
agreements beginning in the 1970s. This period known as
détente allowed both states to reduce their spending on
weapons systems. Strategic Arms Limitations agreements (I
in 1972 & II in 1979) limited the size of the states’ arsenals.
Bans on nuclear testing, anti-ballistic missile systems, and
weapons in space all attempted to limit the expansion of the
arms race through the Partial Test Ban Treaty.
• These treaties were only partially successful. Both states
continued building massive numbers of nuclear weapons
and researched more effective technology. Both
superpowers retained the ability to destroy each other
many times over.
The Cold War Arms Race
• Towards the end of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, and
continued strongly through the subsequent presidency
of Ronald Reagan, the United States rejected
disarmament and tried to restart the arms race
through the production of new weapons and antiweapons systems.
• The central part of this strategy was the Strategic
Defense Initiative, a space based anti-ballistic missile
system derided as “Star Wars” by its critics. However,
the SDI would require technology that had not yet been
developed, or even researched, such as space and earth
based laser battle stations sensors on the ground, in the
air, and in space with radar, optical, and infrared
technology to detect incoming missiles.
The Cold War Arms Race
• During the second part of 1980s, the Soviet
economy was teetering towards collapse and was
unable to match American arms spending. The
Soviets feared the SDI because the U.S. would have
an edge if it ever came to nuclear war.
• Numerous negotiations by Mikhail
Gorbachev attempted to come to agreements on
reducing nuclear stockpiles, but the most radical
were rejected by Reagan as they would also
prohibit his SDI program. However, due to
enormous costs and far too complex technology for
its time, the project and research was cancelled.
The Cold War Arms Race
• During the mid-1980s, the U.S-Soviet relations significantly
improved. Mikhail Gorbachev assumed control of the
Soviet Union after the deaths of several former Soviet
leaders, and announced a new era of perestroika and
glasnost, meaning restructuring and openness respectively.
• Much of the Soviet Union began to declare independence
and slowly became free of Soviet influence. One of the most
iconic events of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the
destruction of the Berlin Wall on November 10, 1989.
• On December 8, 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved and the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was
established. This event marked the end of the 50- year-long
Cold War.
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(B) 2 Describe how Cold War
tensions were intensified by the space
race
The Space Race
• The Space Race was a 20th-century (1955-1972)
competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet
Union (USSR) and U. S., for supremacy in spaceflight
capability.
• The technological superiority required for such
supremacy was seen as necessary for national security,
and symbolic of ideological superiority. The Space Race
spawned pioneering efforts to launch artificial
satellites, unmanned probes of the Moon, Venus, &
Mars, & human spaceflight in low Earth orbit & and to
the Moon.
• The Soviets won the first “lap” with the October 4,
1957 launch of Sputnik 1.
The Space Race
• The Race reached its zenith with the July 20, 1969,
U.S. landing of the first humans on the Moon
on Apollo 11, and concluded in a period
of détente (partial easing of strained relations) with
the April 1972 agreement on a co-operative ApolloSoyus Test Project, which resulted in the July 1975
meeting in Earth orbit of a US astronaut crew with
a Soviet cosmonaut crew.
• The Space Race had its origins in the missile-based
arms race that occurred just after the end of the
World War II, when both the Soviet Union and the
United States captured advanced German rocket
technology and personnel.
The Space Race
• The Space Race sparked increases in spending on education and
pure research, which led to beneficial spin-off technologies. An
unforeseen effect was that the Space Race contributed to the
birth of the environmental movement by providing sharp color
images of the global Earth taken by astronauts in trans-lunar
space.
• By 1959 American observers believed that the Soviet Union
would be the first to get a human into space, because of the time
needed to prepare for Project Mercury's first launch.
• On April 12, 1961, the USSR launched Yuri Gargarin into orbit
around the Earth on Vostok 1. Although he had the ability to
take over manual control of his spacecraft in an emergency by
opening an envelope he had in the cabin that contained a code
that could be typed into the computer, it was flown in an
automatic mode as a precaution.
The Space Race
• Medical science at that time did not know what would
Yuri Gargarin—They
happen to a human in the weightlessness
of space.
Gagarin
themade
Vostok 1 orbited the Earth for dubbed
108 minutes
and
first cosmonaut,
roughly
its reentry over the Soviet Union,
with Gagarin
ejecting
translated from Russian
from the spacecraft at 7,000 meters
(23,000
ft),
and
and Greek as “sailor of
landing by parachute.
the universe.”
• Under Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
(International Federation of Aeronautics) FAI
qualifying rules for aeronautical records, pilots must
both take off and land with their craft, so the Soviet
Union kept the landing procedures secret until 1978,
when they finally admitted that Gagarin did not land
with his spacecraft.
The Book . . . & the Subsequent Movie
The Space Race
• When the flight was publicly announced, it was celebrated
around the world as a great triumph, not just for the Soviet
Union, but for all mankind. Yet it once again shocked and
embarrassed the United States.
• The United States called their space travelers astronauts
(“star sailors” from the Greek). On May 5, 1961, when Alan
Shepard became the first American in space, launched on a
suborbital mission Mercury-Redstone 3, in a spacecraft
named Freedom 7.
• Almost a year after the Soviet Union put a human into orbit,
astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the
Earth, on February 20, 1962. His Mercury-Atlas 6 mission
completed three orbits in the Friendship 7 spacecraft, and
splashed-down safely in the Atlantic Ocean, after a tense
reentry, due to what falsely appeared from the telemetry data
to be a loose heat-shield.
The Space Race
President Kennedy’s Rice Speech
• We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the
other things, not because they are easy, but because
they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize
and measure the best of our energies and skills, because
that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one
we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend
to win, and the others, too. It is for these reasons that I
regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space
from low to high gear as among the most important
decisions that will be made during my incumbency in
the office of the Presidency.
• Delivered at Rice University, Houston, September 12, 1962
The Space Race
The
United
States’
Apollo
11
was
“One small step for man .
. . onefirst
giant leapmanned
for
the
mission to land on
mankind.”
the Moon, on July 20, 1969
• There have been six manned U. S. landings (between 1969
and 1972) and numerous unmanned landings, with no soft
landings happening from 1976 until December 14, 2013.
• A total of twelve men have landed on the Moon. This was
accomplished with two US pilot-astronauts flying a Lunar
Module on each of six NASA missions across a 41-month
time span starting on July 20, 1969 UTC, with Neil
Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11, and ending on 14
December 1972 UTC with Gene Cernan & Jack Schmitt on
Apollo 17. Cernan was the last to step off the lunar surface.
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(B) 3 Describe how Cold War
tensions were intensified by
McCarthyism
The first recorded use of
the term McCarthyism was
in a political
cartoon by Washington
Post editorial
cartoonist Herbert
Block (aka Herblock),
published on March 29,
1950.
The cartoon depicted four leading Republicans
trying to push an elephant (the traditional
symbol of the Republican Party) to stand on a
teetering stack of ten tar buckets, the topmost of
which was labeled “McCarthyism.”
The “Red Scare”
& McCarthyism
• A national anxiety about
communism abroad and
5th column infiltration
at home
• The Soviets gained
atomic power in 1949
• The Rise of Joe
McCarthy and His Four
and a Half Year Crusade
McCarthyism
• McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty,
subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also
means “the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair
investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or
political criticism.”
• The term has its origins in the period in the United States known
as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from 1950 to 1956 and
characterized by heightened fears of communist influence on
American institutions & espionage by Soviet agents.
• Originally coined to criticize the anti-communist pursuits
of Republican U. S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin,
“McCarthyism” soon took on a broader meaning, describing the
excesses of similar efforts. The term is also now used more
generally to describe reckless, unsubstantiated accusations, as
well as demagogic attacks on the character or patriotism of
political adversaries.
McCarthyism
• During the McCarthy era, thousands of Americans
were accused of being communists or communist
sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive
investigations and questioning before government or
private-industry panels, committees and agencies.
• The primary targets of such suspicions were
government employees, those in the entertainment
industry, educators and union activists. Suspicions were
often given credence despite inconclusive or
questionable evidence, and the level of threat posed by a
person’s real or supposed leftist associations or beliefs
was often greatly exaggerated.
McCarthyism
• Many people suffered loss of employment and/or destruction
of their careers; some even suffered imprisonment. Most of
these punishments came about through trial verdicts later
overturned, laws that would be declared
unconstitutional, dismissals for reasons later declared illegal
or actionable or extra-legal procedures that would come into
general disrepute.
• The most famous examples of McCarthyism include the
speeches, investigations, and hearings of Senator McCarthy
himself; the Hollywood blacklist, , associated with hearings
conducted by the House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC); and the various anti-communist
activities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under
Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(B) 4 Describe how Cold War
tensions were intensified by the
House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC)
House Un-American
Activities Committee
• The House Committee on Un-American
Activities (HUAC) was an investigative committee of
the U. S. House of Representatives. It was created in 1938
to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities
on the part of private citizens, public employees, and
those organizations suspected of having Communist ties.
• The House Committee on Un-American Activities
became a standing (permanent) committee in
1945. Under the mandate of Public Law 601, passed by
the 79th Congress the committee of nine representatives
investigated suspected threats of subversion or
propaganda that attacked “the form of government
guaranteed by our Constitution.”
House Un-American
Activities Committee
• Under this mandate, the committee focused its
investigations on real and suspected communists
in positions of actual or supposed influence in the
United States society. A significant step for
HUAC was its investigation of the charges of
espionage brought against Alger Hiss in 1948.
This investigation ultimately resulted in Hiss’s
trial and conviction for perjury, and convinced
many of the usefulness of congressional
committees for uncovering communist
subversion.
House Un-American
Activities Committee
• In 1947, the committee held nine days of hearings into alleged
communist propaganda and influence in the Hollywood motion picture
industry. After conviction on contempt of Congress charges for refusal
to answer some questions posed by committee members, the
“Hollywood Ten” were blacklisted by the industry. Eventually, more
than 300 artists—including directors, radio commentators, actors and
particularly screenwriters—were boycotted by the studios.
• Made U. S. government the object of suspicion in the eyes of the world;
it appeared it was trying to combat totalitarian methods by totalitarian
means
• In the wake of the downfall of Senator McCarthy (who never served in
the House, nor HUAC), the prestige of HUAC began a gradual decline
beginning in the late 1950s. By 1959, the committee was being
denounced by former President Truman as the “most un-American
thing in the country today.”
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(B) 5 Describe how Cold War
tensions were intensified by the
findings of which were confirmed by
the Venona Papers
The Venona Papers
• The Venona project was a counter-intelligence program initiated
by the United States Army Signal Intelligence Service that lasted
from 1943 to 1980. The program attempted to decrypt messages
sent by Soviet Union intelligence agencies, including its foreign
intelligence service and military intelligence services.
• During the program's four decades, approximately 3,000
messages were at least partially decrypted and translated. The
project produced some of the most important breakthroughs for
western counter-intelligence in this period, including the
discovery of the Cambridge spy ring and the exposure of Soviet
espionage targeting the Manhattan Project.
• The project was one of the most sensitive secrets of United States
intelligence. It remained secret for over a decade after it ended
and was not officially declassified until 1995.
The Venona Papers
• Significance: The decrypted messages gave important insights
into Soviet behavior in the period during which duplicate onetime pads were used. With the first break into the code,
Venona revealed the existence of Soviet espionage at Los
Alamos National Laboratories.
• Identities soon emerged of American, Canadian, Australian,
and British spies in service to the Soviet government. Others
worked in Washington in the State Department, the Treasury,
Office of Strategic Services, and even the White House.
• The decrypts show the U.S. and other nations were targeted
in major espionage campaigns by the Soviet Union as early as
1942. Among those identified are Julius & Ethel Rosenberg;
Alger Hiss; Harry Dexter White, the second-highest official in
the Treasury Department; Lauchlin Currie, a personal aide to
Franklin Roosevelt; and Maurice Halperin, a section head in
the Office of Strategic Services.
The Venona Papers
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
• Venona has added significant information to the case of Julius
and Ethel Rosenberg, making it clear Julius was guilty of
espionage, but also showing that Ethel was probably no more than
an accomplice, if that. Venona and other recent information has
shown, while the content of Julius’ atomic espionage was not as
vital as alleged at the time of his espionage activities, in other
fields it was extensive.
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(E) Analyze the major issues & events
of the Vietnam War such as the Tet
Offensive, the escalation of forces,
Vietnamization, & the fall of Saigon
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(E) 1 Analyze the major issues &
events of the Vietnam War such as
the Tet Offensive
Tet Offensive—Jan.
30-Feb. 25, 1968
• The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military
campaigns of the Vietnam War, launched on January
30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong and North
Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam, the U. S., &
their allies. It was a campaign of surprise attacks
against military & civilian commands and control
centers throughout South Vietnam.
• The operations are referred to as the Tet Offensive
because there was a prior agreement to “cease fire”
during the Tet Lunar New Year celebrations. Both
North and South Vietnam announced on national radio
broadcasts that there would be a two-day cease-fire
during the holiday.
Tet Offensive—Jan.
30-Feb. 25, 1968
• Nonetheless, the Communists launched an attack that began
during the early morning hours of January 30, 1968, the first
day of Tet. In Vietnamese, the offensive is commonly called
Tết Mậu Thân (Tet, year of the monkey). Military planners
called it the “General Offensive and Uprising” (Cuộc Tổng
tiến công và nổi dậy).
• When the main communist operation began the next
morning, Jan. 31, the offensive was countrywide and wellcoordinated, eventually more than 80,000 Communist troops
striking more than 100 towns and cities, including 36 of 44
provincial capitals, five of the six autonomous cities, 72 of 245
district towns, and the southern capital. The offensive was the
largest military operation conducted by either side up to that
point in the war.
Tet Offensive—Jan.
30-Feb. 25, 1968
• The initial attacks stunned the US and South
Vietnamese armies and caused them to temporarily
lose control of several cities, but they quickly
regrouped to beat back the attacks, inflicting massive
casualties on Communist forces.
• Although the offensive was a military defeat for the
Communists, it had a profound effect on the US
government and shocked the U.S. public, which had
been led to believe by its political and military
leaders that the Communists were, due to previous
defeats, incapable of launching such a massive effort.
Tet Offensive—Jan.
30-Feb. 25, 1968
• Although the Tet Offensive was a significant victory
for allied forces, in terms of casualties and control of
territory, it was a sound defeat when evaluated from
the point of view of strategic consequences: it became
a turning point in America's involvement in the
Vietnam War because it had a profound impact on
domestic support for the conflict. Despite the
military failure for the Communist forces, the Tet
Offensive became a political victory for them and
ended the career of president Lyndon B. Johnson,
who declined to run for re-election as his approval
rating slumped from 48 to 36 percent.
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(E) 2 Analyze the major issues &
events of the Vietnam War such as
the escalation of forces
Escalation
as
reflected
by U. S.
war
deaths in
Vietnam
The war dead peak in
1968, the same year
that Richard Nixon
was elected as the
new president.
Escalation—
Background
• It was David vs. Goliath, with U.S. playing Goliath.
• On August 2, 1964, gunboats of North Vietnam allegedly fired
on ships of the United States Navy stationed in the GULF OF
TONKIN. They had been sailing 10 miles off the coast of North
Vietnam in support of the South Vietnamese navy.
• When reports that further firing occurred on August 4,
President Johnson quickly asked Congress to respond. With
nearly unanimous consent, members of the Senate and House
empowered Johnson to “take all necessary measures” to repel
North Vietnamese aggression. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution
gave the President a “BLANK CHECK” to wage the war in
Vietnam as he saw fit. After Lyndon Johnson was elected
President in his own right that November, he chose escalate the
conflict.
Escalation—1965-68
• Emboldened by the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, in
February 1965, the United States began a long program
of sustained bombing of North Vietnamese targets
known as OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER. At first
only military targets were hit, but as months turned into
years, civilian targets were pummeled as well.
• The United States also bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a
supply line used by the North Vietnamese to aid
the VIETCONG. The trail meandered through Laos and
Cambodia, so the bombing was kept secret from the
Congress and the American people. More bombs rained
down on Vietnam than the Allies used on the Axis
powers during the whole of World War II.
Escalation—1965-68
• Additional sorties delivered defoliating agents such as AGENT
ORANGE and napalm to remove the jungle cover utilized by the
Vietcong. The intense bombardment did little to deter the
communists. They continued to use the Ho Chi Minh trail despite
the grave risk. The burrowed underground, building 30,000 miles
of tunnel networks to keep supply lines open.
• By the end of 1965, there were 189,000 American troops stationed
in Vietnam. At the end of the following year, that number
doubled. Casualty reports steadily increased. Unlike World War
II, there were few major ground battles.
• Most Vietnamese attacks were by ambush or night skirmishes.
Many Americans died by stepping on landmines or by
triggering BOOBY TRAPS. Although Vietnamese body counts
were higher, Americans were dying at rate of approximately 100
per week through 1967. By the end of that year there were nearly
500,000 American combat troops stationed in Vietnam.
Escalation—1965-68
• As historian Robert Dallek writes, “Lyndon Johnson’s escalation
of the war in Vietnam divided Americans into warring camps. . .
cost 30,000 American lives by the time he left office, (and)
destroyed Johnson's presidency. . . . His refusal to send more
U.S. troops to Vietnam was seen as Johnson's admission that the
war was lost. It can be seen that the refusal was a tacit admission
that the war could not be won by escalation, at least not at a cost
acceptable to the American people. As Secretary of Defense
Robert McNamara noted, “the dangerous illusion of victory by
the United States was therefore dead.”
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(E) 3 Analyze the major issues &
events of the Vietnam War such as
Vietnamization
Vietnamization
• Severe communist losses during the Tet Offensive allowed U.S.
President Nixon to begin troop withdrawals. His plan, called
the Nixon Doctrine, was to build up the Army of the Republic of
Vietnam (ARVN), so that they could take over the defense of South
Vietnam.
• The policy became known as “Vietnamization.” The new approach
had much in common with the policies of the Kennedy
administration. One important difference, however, remained.
While Kennedy insisted that the South Vietnamese fight the war
themselves, he attempted to limit the scope of the conflict.
• Vietnamization was a policy of the President Nixon administration
during the Vietnam War to end the U.S.’ involvement in the war
and “expand, equip, and train South Vietnam’s forces and assign to
them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily
reducing the number of U.S. combat troops.” The new policy did
not, however, reject combat by the U. S. Air Force.
Vietnamization
• Nixon said Vietnamization had two components. The first was
“strengthening the armed force of the South Vietnamese in
numbers, equipment, leadership and combat skills,” while the
second was “the extension of the pacification program [i.e.
military aid to civilians] in South Vietnam.”
• Nixon said in an announcement, “I am tonight announcing plans
for the withdrawal of an additional 150,000 American troops to
be completed during the spring of next year. This will bring a
total reduction of 265,500 men in our armed forces in Vietnam
below the level that existed when we took office 15 months ago.”
• Nixon also began to pursue détente with the Soviet Union
and rapprochement with China. This policy helped to decrease
global tensions. Détente led to nuclear arms reduction on the part
of both superpowers. But Nixon was disappointed that China and
the Soviet Union continued to supply the North Vietnamese with
aid. In September 1969, Ho Chi Minh died at age seventy-nine.
Vietnamization
• Revelations of the My Lai Massacre, in which a U.S. Army
platoon raped and killed civilians, and the 1969 “Green Beret
Affair” where eight Special Forces soldiers, including the 5th
Special Forces Group Commander were arrested for the
murder of a suspected double agent provoked national and
international outrage.
• Beginning in 1970, American troops were being taken away from
border areas where most of the fighting took place, and instead
put along the coast and interior, which is one reason why
casualties in 1970 were less than half of 1969’s totals.
• President Nixon took the opportunity to launch a massive
bombing campaign, called Operation Menu, against communist
sanctuaries along the Cambodia/Vietnam border. Only five highranking Congressional officials were informed of the operation.
Vietnamization
• U.S. and ARVN forces launched an incursion into Cambodia to attack NVA
and Viet Cong bases and end the communist encirclement of Phnom Pehn.
This incursion sparked nationwide protests as Nixon had promised to
deescalate the American involvement, including the Kent State Protest in
which four students were killed.
• The reaction to the incident by the Nixon administration was seen as
callous and indifferent, providing additional impetus for the anti-war
movement. The U.S. Air Force continued to heavily bomb Cambodia in
support of the Cambodian government as part of Operation Freedom Deal.
• On January 15, 1973, Nixon announced the suspension of offensive action
against North Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accords on “Ending the War and
Restoring Peace in Vietnam” were signed on January 27, 1973, officially
ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. A cease-fire was
Henry
Kissinger
and
Le Duc Tho
shake
hands
declared across North and South
Vietnam.
U.S.
prisoners
of war
were
initialing
the Vietnam
Peace
Agreementofreleased. Accords stipulated aafter
sixty-day
period
for the total
withdrawal
Paris, 1/22/1973.
U.S. forces.
The next day President Nixon would
announce the end of the war
Readiness Standard (8)
The student understands the impact of significant
national & international decisions & conflicts in the
Cold War on the United States.
The Student is expected to:
(E) 4 Analyze the major issues & events of the
Vietnam War such as the fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
• The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital
of South Vietnam, by the People’s Army of Vietnam & the
National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (aka Viet
Cong) on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of
the Vietnam War & the start of a transition period leading to
the formal reunification of Vietnam into a Socialist
Republic governed by the Communist Party.
• The fall of the city was preceded by the evacuation of almost
all the American civilian and military personnel in Saigon,
along with tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians
associated with the southern regime. The evacuation
culminated in Operation Frequent Wind, the largest
helicopter
evacuationrefugees
in history.
South Vietnamese
arrive on a U.S. Navy vessel
during Operation Frequent Wind.
Fall of Saigon
The
Evacuation
• Various names have been applied to these events. The
Vietnamese Government usually calls it the Reunification
throwingused
Day (Ngày Thống nhất), but Fall of SaigonMarines
is commonly
Vietnamese back over the
in Western accounts.
American Embassy wall,
• The rapidity with which the South Vietnamese
Saigon, R. position
South Vietnam
collapsed in 1975 was surprising to most American and South
Vietnamese observers, and probably to the North Vietnamese
and their allies as well.
• The rapid North Vietnamese advances of March and early
April led to increased concern in Saigon that the city, which
had been fairly peaceful throughout the war and whose
people had endured relatively little suffering, was soon to
come under direct attack. Many feared that once communists
took control of the city, a bloodbath of reprisals would take
place.
Fall of Saigon
A North Vietnamese tank rolls
through the gate of the Presidential
Palace in Saigon, signifying the fall
of South Vietnam.
Smoke rises from the southwestern part of
Saigon on May 7, 1968 as residents stream
across a bridge leaving the capital to escape
heavy fighting between the Viet Cong and
South Vietnamese soldiers. (AP Photo)
Fini