Vietnam

• The US didn’t want South Vietnam to fall to the Communists

• If South Vietnam fell to communism, would cause a “domino theory”

• Other countries in southeast Asia would fall to communism

• First American troops in were advisors to teach the South Vietnamese to fight their own war

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• North Vietnamese attacked two American destroyers in international waters

• Johnson asked for authority to take action• Not a declaration of war

• Hawks – Americans who favored presence in Vietnam

• Doves – Americans who wanted to pull out of Vietnam

• US feared that if they declared war other countries would join in and cause a world war

Trouble for the Americans in Vietnam

• Bombing was difficult because:1. Jungles2. No large industrial plants3. Viet Cong was hard to identify

Viet Cong

• Vietnamese Communists in South Vietnam

Trouble for the Americans at home

Lack of unity at home

Tet Offensive

• Americans called a cease fire on Christmas 1967

• Vietnamese used it to their advantage and smuggled in troops and weapons

• Surprise attacks on January 30, 1968, the Chinese New Year (Tet)

• American losses: 3,845• South vietnamese 4,954• Civilians 14,300• North Vietnamese and Viet Cong 92,000

Vietnamization

• US would gradually turn over responsibility for the fighting to the South Vietnamese.

• US would still provide supplies and air support