Apush Chapter 30
Chapter 30: The Vietnam War Years Tina Ingram
Section 1: Moving Toward Conflict * -To stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, the US used its military to support South Vietnam.
America Supports France in Vietnam * -Americans became involved in Vietnam in 1950, during the French Indochina War, the name given to France’s attempt to reestablish its rule in Vietnam after WWII. * -To help France fight the spread of communism, the US provided the French with massive economic and military support.
French Rule in Vietnam * -From the late 1800’s until WWII, France ruled most of Indochina, including Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia. * -The …show more content…
Indo-Chinese Communism Party, founded in 1930, staged a # of revolts under the leadership of *Ho Chi Minh. * -He was condemned to death for his rebellion activity, but fled Vietnam & was exiled. * -In 1940 the Japanese took control of Vietnam. * -Ho Chi Minh returned to help form the *Vietminh- an organization whose goal it was to win Vietnams independence from foreign rule. * -France had no intention of relinquishing its former colony. * -French troops moved back in to Vietnam in 1945 & reestablish control in the cities & in the countries southern half.
* -In 1950, the US entered the Vietnam struggle. * Lt. Col. *A. Peter Dewey- was sent to assess the explosive situation in Vietnam. He believed that the French & British were not going to be able to hold on to it & that the US should clear out of SE Asia. * -He was presumed to be a French soldier by Vietnamese soldiers & was shot in the head. * -Dewey was the first American to die in Vietnam. * -President Truman sent $15 million in economic aid to France. * -Over the next 4 years, the US pumped more than $1 billion into the effort to defeat a man America had once supported. * -The US had come to view its one-time ally as a communism aggressor.
* -President Eisenhower continued Truman’s policy of supplying aid to the French war Effort in 1953. * -The US would just settle on a stalemate in communist Korea. (1950-1953) * -Ike’s *Domino theory- is where he linked the countries on the brink of communism to a row of dominoes waiting for one to fall after the other. * -Despite the massive US aid, the French could not retake Vietnam. * -French surrendered in May of 1954, when the Vietminh overran the French outpost at *Dien Bien Phu- in northwest Vietnam.
* *Geneva Accords- a 1954 peace agreement that divided Vietnam into communism controlled North Vietnam, lead by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, & a non-communist South Vietnam in Saigon until unification elections could be held in 1956. * -This temporally divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel.
The US Steps In * -An election to unify the country was called for in 1956. * *Ngo Dinh Diem- a strong anti- communist, who became the president of South Vietnam. * -Diem refused to take part in the countrywide elections of 1956. * -The US supported this because they sensed an election would spell victory for Ho Chi Minh. * -The Ike administration promised military aid & training to Diem in return for a stable reform govt in the South. * -Diem failed to hold up his end of the bargain. * -He ushered in a corrupt govt that suppressed opposition of any kind & offered little or no land distribution to peasants. * -Diem was also a devout Catholic who angered the country’s majority Buddhist population by restricting Buddhist practices.
* *Vietcong- the South Vietnamese communists, who, with North Vietnamese support, fought against the govt of South Vietnam in the Vietnam War. * -By 1957, the Vietcong had begun attacks on the Diem govt, assassinating thousands of South Vietnamese govt officials.
* -In 1959, Ho Chi Minh began supplying arms to the Vietcong via a network of paths along the borders of Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia which became known as the *Ho Chi Minh Trail. (Map p. 939) * -As the fighters stepped up, their surprise attacks, or guerrilla tactics, South Vietnam grew more unstable.
JFK & Vietnam * -Wary of accusations that Democrats were “soft” on communism, JFK increased financial aid to Diem’s teetering regime & sent thousands of military advisors to help train South Vietnam troops. (1963 = 16,000 US military personnel) * -Diem’s popularity plummeted b/c of ongoing corruption & his failure to respond to calls for land reform. * -To combat the growing Vietcong presence, Diem initiated the strategic Hamlet program, which meant moving all villagers to protected areas. * -This made many Vietnamese mad. * -Diem also intensified his attack on Buddhism. * -Diem went on to imprison & kill hundred of Buddhist clerics & destroyed their temples. * -To protest, several monks & nuns publicly burned themselves to death.
* -The US supported a military coup to topple Diem’s regime. * *Tonkin Gulf Resolution- a resolution adopted by Congress in 1964, giving the president broad powers to wage war in Vietnam. * -LBJ used his newly granted powers in Feb 1965 when he authorized “Operation Rolling Thunder”; the first sustained bombing of North Vietnam.
* Section 2: US Inducement & Escalation * -The US sent troops to fight in Vietnam, but the war quickly turned into a stalemate. * -LBJ increases US inducement. * *Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara & *Secretary of State Dean Rusk- LBJ’s foreign policy advisors who formed the commitment policy.
* *General William Westmoreland- US commander in South Vietnam continued to request more troops. * -He was not impressed with the fighting ability of South Vietnam Army, or the *Army of the Republic of Vietnam. (ARVN) * -Fighting in the Jungle against the Vietcong’s guerrilla tactics soon turned the war into a frustrating stalemate.
* -In their attempts to expose Vietcong tunnels & hideouts, US planes dropped *napalm- a gasoline-based bomb that set fire to the jungle. * -They also sprayed *agent orange- a leaf-killing toxic chemical. * -Us soldiers conducted *search & destroy missions- uprooting civilians with suspected ties to the Vietcong, killing their livestock, and burning villages.
* -US morale dropped steadily as the war continued. * -The continuing corruption & unsuitability of the South Vietnam govt was another obstacle for the US.
* -LBJ’s administration believed that the war would end quickly. As it dragged on, support began to waver, & LBJ’s domestic programs began to unravel.
* -Vietnam became America’s first “living-room war”, thanks to the TV & the media. * -Americans were able to see the deadly images of war for the first time. * *Credibility gap- public distrust of statements made by govt- was growing b/t what the Johnson administration reported & what was really happening.
* Section 3: A Nation Divided * -An antiwar movement in the US pitted supporters of the govt war policy against those who opposed it. * -By 1967, Americans were split over the war.
* -One of the most common ways to avoid the draft was to receive a college deferment. Mainly white-males were in college at this time. * -AF’s served in disproportionate numbers as ground combat troops. * -In 1969, to correct that problem, the Defense Department had instituted a draft lottery system.
* The Roots of Opposition * *The New Left- a youth dominated political movement of the 1960’s which embodied is such organization such as *Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)- an anti-establishment new left group, founded in 1960, that called for greater individual freedom & responsibility & the *Free Speech Movement (FSM)- another anti-establishment new left organization that originated in a 1964 clash b/t students & administration at the University of California at Berkley.
* Hawks v. Doves- throughout the turmoil & division LBJ remained firm. In 1968 LBJ’s presidency would take a drastic turns for the worse.
* Section 4: 1968 A Tumultuous Year * -An enemy attack in Vietnam, two assassinations, & a chaotic political convention made 1968 an explosive year. * -MLK & RFK were killed.
* The Tet Offensive Turns the War * 1968- Vietcong’s surprise attacks on numerous cities in South Vietnam. * -While ending in military defeat for the communist’s guerrillas, the simultaneous strikes stunned the American public against the war. * *Tet offensive- Jan 30, the Vietnamese equivalent of New Years Eve- A massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on the South Vietnamese towns & cities. It continued for about a month before US & South Vietnam troops regained control of the cities.
* *Clark Clifford- Robert McNamara’s successor after his abrupt resignation, concluded that the war was unwinnable. * -LBJ’s popularity plummeted after the Tet Offensive.
* A Turbulent Race for President * -RFK decided to run – then was killed. * -LBJ decided not to run again. * -Hubert Humphrey ran against Eugene McCarthy in the democratic primary. * -Humphrey was to be the choice at the DNC in Chicago. Protesters came to voice their displeasure with the nomination. Others known as Yippies (members of the Youth Intervention Party) had come hoping to provoke violence that might discredit the democratic party. * -With TV cameras focused on them, police moved into the crowd, sprayed the protesters with mace, & beat them with nightsticks.
* Nixon Triumphs in one of the greatest political comebacks in American politics.
* Section 5: The End of the War & its Legacy * -President Nixon instituted his Vietnamization policy & American longest war finally came to an end.
* *National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger- a German emigrant, who had earned three degrees from Howard, was an expert on international relations. * -Kissinger & Nixon established a plan known as *Vietnamization- which called for the gradual withdrawal of US troops in order for the South Vietnam to take on a more active combat role in the war. * -At the same time, Nixon secretly ordered massive bombing campaigns against supply routes & bases in North Vietnam as well as Vietcong sanctuaries in Laos & Cambodia. * -Seeking to win support for his war polices, Nixon appealed to what he called the *Silent Majority- a name given by President Nixon to moderate, mainstream Americans who quietly supported his Vietnam War policies.
* *My Lai- a village in the northern section of South Vietnam where more than 200 unarmed civilians, including women & children, were massacred by US troops in May 1968.
* *The Pentagon Papers- a 7,000 page document that was leaked to the press in 1971 by the former Defense Department worker *Daniel Ellsberg- revealing that the US govt had not been honest about its intentions in the Vietnam War.
* -16 Dec 1972- talks b/t the US & North Vietnam broke off. Nixon unleashed a furious bombing campaign against Hanoi & Haphong. In the “Christmas Bombing”, the US dropped 100,000 bombs over course of 11 straight days, pausing only on Christmas day. * -27 Jan 1973- peace agreement was signed. * -Within a few months of the US departure, the cease-fire agreement b/t the N & the S collapsed. The North launched a full-scale invasion against the South. * -30 Apr 1975- North Vietnam tanks rolled into Saigon & captured the city. * -The south surrendered soon
after.
* -The US invasion of Cambodia had unleashed a brutal civil war in which a communist group known as the Khmen Rouge, led by PolPot, seized power in 1975.
* *War Powers Act- 1973 stipulated that the president must inform congress within 48 hours of sending forces into hostile areas without a declaration of war. * -The troops may remain there no longer than 90 days unless Congress approves the presidents’ actions or declares war.
Section 1: Moving Toward Conflict * -To stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, the US used its military to support South Vietnam.
America Supports France in Vietnam * -Americans became involved in Vietnam in 1950, during the French Indochina War, the name given to France’s attempt to reestablish its rule in Vietnam after WWII. * -To help France fight the spread of communism, the US provided the French with massive economic and military support.
French Rule in Vietnam * -From the late 1800’s until WWII, France ruled most of Indochina, including Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia. * -The …show more content…
Indo-Chinese Communism Party, founded in 1930, staged a # of revolts under the leadership of *Ho Chi Minh. * -He was condemned to death for his rebellion activity, but fled Vietnam & was exiled. * -In 1940 the Japanese took control of Vietnam. * -Ho Chi Minh returned to help form the *Vietminh- an organization whose goal it was to win Vietnams independence from foreign rule. * -France had no intention of relinquishing its former colony. * -French troops moved back in to Vietnam in 1945 & reestablish control in the cities & in the countries southern half.
* -In 1950, the US entered the Vietnam struggle. * Lt. Col. *A. Peter Dewey- was sent to assess the explosive situation in Vietnam. He believed that the French & British were not going to be able to hold on to it & that the US should clear out of SE Asia. * -He was presumed to be a French soldier by Vietnamese soldiers & was shot in the head. * -Dewey was the first American to die in Vietnam. * -President Truman sent $15 million in economic aid to France. * -Over the next 4 years, the US pumped more than $1 billion into the effort to defeat a man America had once supported. * -The US had come to view its one-time ally as a communism aggressor.
* -President Eisenhower continued Truman’s policy of supplying aid to the French war Effort in 1953. * -The US would just settle on a stalemate in communist Korea. (1950-1953) * -Ike’s *Domino theory- is where he linked the countries on the brink of communism to a row of dominoes waiting for one to fall after the other. * -Despite the massive US aid, the French could not retake Vietnam. * -French surrendered in May of 1954, when the Vietminh overran the French outpost at *Dien Bien Phu- in northwest Vietnam.
* *Geneva Accords- a 1954 peace agreement that divided Vietnam into communism controlled North Vietnam, lead by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, & a non-communist South Vietnam in Saigon until unification elections could be held in 1956. * -This temporally divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel.
The US Steps In * -An election to unify the country was called for in 1956. * *Ngo Dinh Diem- a strong anti- communist, who became the president of South Vietnam. * -Diem refused to take part in the countrywide elections of 1956. * -The US supported this because they sensed an election would spell victory for Ho Chi Minh. * -The Ike administration promised military aid & training to Diem in return for a stable reform govt in the South. * -Diem failed to hold up his end of the bargain. * -He ushered in a corrupt govt that suppressed opposition of any kind & offered little or no land distribution to peasants. * -Diem was also a devout Catholic who angered the country’s majority Buddhist population by restricting Buddhist practices.
* *Vietcong- the South Vietnamese communists, who, with North Vietnamese support, fought against the govt of South Vietnam in the Vietnam War. * -By 1957, the Vietcong had begun attacks on the Diem govt, assassinating thousands of South Vietnamese govt officials.
* -In 1959, Ho Chi Minh began supplying arms to the Vietcong via a network of paths along the borders of Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia which became known as the *Ho Chi Minh Trail. (Map p. 939) * -As the fighters stepped up, their surprise attacks, or guerrilla tactics, South Vietnam grew more unstable.
JFK & Vietnam * -Wary of accusations that Democrats were “soft” on communism, JFK increased financial aid to Diem’s teetering regime & sent thousands of military advisors to help train South Vietnam troops. (1963 = 16,000 US military personnel) * -Diem’s popularity plummeted b/c of ongoing corruption & his failure to respond to calls for land reform. * -To combat the growing Vietcong presence, Diem initiated the strategic Hamlet program, which meant moving all villagers to protected areas. * -This made many Vietnamese mad. * -Diem also intensified his attack on Buddhism. * -Diem went on to imprison & kill hundred of Buddhist clerics & destroyed their temples. * -To protest, several monks & nuns publicly burned themselves to death.
* -The US supported a military coup to topple Diem’s regime. * *Tonkin Gulf Resolution- a resolution adopted by Congress in 1964, giving the president broad powers to wage war in Vietnam. * -LBJ used his newly granted powers in Feb 1965 when he authorized “Operation Rolling Thunder”; the first sustained bombing of North Vietnam.
* Section 2: US Inducement & Escalation * -The US sent troops to fight in Vietnam, but the war quickly turned into a stalemate. * -LBJ increases US inducement. * *Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara & *Secretary of State Dean Rusk- LBJ’s foreign policy advisors who formed the commitment policy.
* *General William Westmoreland- US commander in South Vietnam continued to request more troops. * -He was not impressed with the fighting ability of South Vietnam Army, or the *Army of the Republic of Vietnam. (ARVN) * -Fighting in the Jungle against the Vietcong’s guerrilla tactics soon turned the war into a frustrating stalemate.
* -In their attempts to expose Vietcong tunnels & hideouts, US planes dropped *napalm- a gasoline-based bomb that set fire to the jungle. * -They also sprayed *agent orange- a leaf-killing toxic chemical. * -Us soldiers conducted *search & destroy missions- uprooting civilians with suspected ties to the Vietcong, killing their livestock, and burning villages.
* -US morale dropped steadily as the war continued. * -The continuing corruption & unsuitability of the South Vietnam govt was another obstacle for the US.
* -LBJ’s administration believed that the war would end quickly. As it dragged on, support began to waver, & LBJ’s domestic programs began to unravel.
* -Vietnam became America’s first “living-room war”, thanks to the TV & the media. * -Americans were able to see the deadly images of war for the first time. * *Credibility gap- public distrust of statements made by govt- was growing b/t what the Johnson administration reported & what was really happening.
* Section 3: A Nation Divided * -An antiwar movement in the US pitted supporters of the govt war policy against those who opposed it. * -By 1967, Americans were split over the war.
* -One of the most common ways to avoid the draft was to receive a college deferment. Mainly white-males were in college at this time. * -AF’s served in disproportionate numbers as ground combat troops. * -In 1969, to correct that problem, the Defense Department had instituted a draft lottery system.
* The Roots of Opposition * *The New Left- a youth dominated political movement of the 1960’s which embodied is such organization such as *Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)- an anti-establishment new left group, founded in 1960, that called for greater individual freedom & responsibility & the *Free Speech Movement (FSM)- another anti-establishment new left organization that originated in a 1964 clash b/t students & administration at the University of California at Berkley.
* Hawks v. Doves- throughout the turmoil & division LBJ remained firm. In 1968 LBJ’s presidency would take a drastic turns for the worse.
* Section 4: 1968 A Tumultuous Year * -An enemy attack in Vietnam, two assassinations, & a chaotic political convention made 1968 an explosive year. * -MLK & RFK were killed.
* The Tet Offensive Turns the War * 1968- Vietcong’s surprise attacks on numerous cities in South Vietnam. * -While ending in military defeat for the communist’s guerrillas, the simultaneous strikes stunned the American public against the war. * *Tet offensive- Jan 30, the Vietnamese equivalent of New Years Eve- A massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on the South Vietnamese towns & cities. It continued for about a month before US & South Vietnam troops regained control of the cities.
* *Clark Clifford- Robert McNamara’s successor after his abrupt resignation, concluded that the war was unwinnable. * -LBJ’s popularity plummeted after the Tet Offensive.
* A Turbulent Race for President * -RFK decided to run – then was killed. * -LBJ decided not to run again. * -Hubert Humphrey ran against Eugene McCarthy in the democratic primary. * -Humphrey was to be the choice at the DNC in Chicago. Protesters came to voice their displeasure with the nomination. Others known as Yippies (members of the Youth Intervention Party) had come hoping to provoke violence that might discredit the democratic party. * -With TV cameras focused on them, police moved into the crowd, sprayed the protesters with mace, & beat them with nightsticks.
* Nixon Triumphs in one of the greatest political comebacks in American politics.
* Section 5: The End of the War & its Legacy * -President Nixon instituted his Vietnamization policy & American longest war finally came to an end.
* *National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger- a German emigrant, who had earned three degrees from Howard, was an expert on international relations. * -Kissinger & Nixon established a plan known as *Vietnamization- which called for the gradual withdrawal of US troops in order for the South Vietnam to take on a more active combat role in the war. * -At the same time, Nixon secretly ordered massive bombing campaigns against supply routes & bases in North Vietnam as well as Vietcong sanctuaries in Laos & Cambodia. * -Seeking to win support for his war polices, Nixon appealed to what he called the *Silent Majority- a name given by President Nixon to moderate, mainstream Americans who quietly supported his Vietnam War policies.
* *My Lai- a village in the northern section of South Vietnam where more than 200 unarmed civilians, including women & children, were massacred by US troops in May 1968.
* *The Pentagon Papers- a 7,000 page document that was leaked to the press in 1971 by the former Defense Department worker *Daniel Ellsberg- revealing that the US govt had not been honest about its intentions in the Vietnam War.
* -16 Dec 1972- talks b/t the US & North Vietnam broke off. Nixon unleashed a furious bombing campaign against Hanoi & Haphong. In the “Christmas Bombing”, the US dropped 100,000 bombs over course of 11 straight days, pausing only on Christmas day. * -27 Jan 1973- peace agreement was signed. * -Within a few months of the US departure, the cease-fire agreement b/t the N & the S collapsed. The North launched a full-scale invasion against the South. * -30 Apr 1975- North Vietnam tanks rolled into Saigon & captured the city. * -The south surrendered soon
after.
* -The US invasion of Cambodia had unleashed a brutal civil war in which a communist group known as the Khmen Rouge, led by PolPot, seized power in 1975.
* *War Powers Act- 1973 stipulated that the president must inform congress within 48 hours of sending forces into hostile areas without a declaration of war. * -The troops may remain there no longer than 90 days unless Congress approves the presidents’ actions or declares war.