The VietnamWar YearsChapter 30

History of Vietnam• France had ruled Vietnam from late 1800s to

1940s• France also controlled Laos and Cambodia

• Natives of Vietnam resisted French rule, so France reacted harshly and took away rights and jailed many of the dissenters

• Vietnamese continued to resist• Revolutionaries moved to China where they organized under the communist leader: Ho Chi Minh

History of Vietnam• 1940 – Japan took over Vietnam•Ho Cho Minh returned and organized the Vietminh•When the US defeated Japan, Vietminh was able to take over

• France returned to Vietnam in 1945, took over South Vietnam•Ho Chi Minh vowed to take over the again

US in Vietnam • America’s involvement in Vietnam began in

1950, during the French Indochina War• France wanted to reestablish its rule over Vietnam• US viewed it as containment• Gave France military and economic support

• US had originally supported the Vietminh and their resistance to the Japanese

• US continued to support Diem (Eisenhower and Kennedy)

• 1963 – US committed 16,000 troops to Vietnam

Domino Theory• US had just reached a stalemate in Korea,

and was afraid of the spread of communism• Eisenhower explained the domino theory –

countries on the brink of communism were like a set of dominoes lined up and waiting to fall

• French could not take control of Vietnam

Geneva Accords• US, France, Great Britain, USSR, China, Laos

and Cambodia met with the Vietminh and the anticommunist Nationalists to create a peace agreement• Vietnam was divided along the 17th parallel• Ho Chi Minh controlled the north• Anticommunist Nationalists controlled the

south• An election in 1956 would take place to unify the country

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Division of Vietnam• Ho Chi Minh gained support from peasants

in the North (redistributed large estates)• Anticommunist candidate Ngo Din Diem

backed out of the election because Ho Chi Minh would most likely win

• Diem promised the US to set up a stable gov’t in South Vietnam• Ended up supporting a corrupt gov’t that did nothing to win the support of the peasants and restricted Buddhism, despite the country’s large Buddhist population

Vietcong• A communist group in the South, began

attacking the Diem gov’t, assassinated thousands of gov’t officials• Political portion of the group renamed themselves: National Liberation Front (NLF)

• Ho Chi Minh supported the Vietcong and began sending them supplies through the Ho Chi Minh Trail (paths along the borders of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia)

Diem’s Gov’t• Diem continued to lose power, and wanted to

move villagers to strategic towns around the country• People resented being moved from their ancestral homes• Diem stepped up his attacks on Buddhists• Captured and imprisoned Buddhist clerics• In protest, several Buddhist nuns and monks

burned themselves to death• In order for the South to remain stable – Diem

would have to go• November 1963 – US supported military coup

assassinated Diem

US Involvement Grows• Kennedy wanted to leave Vietnam (“it’s

their war”)• LBJ feared a communist take-over of South

Vietnam

Tonkin Gulf Resolution• Vietnamese patrol boat fired at the USS

Maddox, patrolling in the Gulf of Tonkin• A few days later the USS Maddox believed

they were under attack, but did not witness any gunfire• LBJ launched an attack on North Vietnam• Asked Congress to take “all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the US and to prevent further aggression”

• Adopted Tonkin Gulf Resolution – gave LBJ military powers in Vietnam, but was not a declaration of war

Tonkin Gulf Resolution• In reality•US was launching secret raids against North Vietnam, and the USS Maddox was collecting information

• LBJ drafted the resolution months before, and was waiting for a chance

LBJ Brings in Troops• February 1965 – LBJ used his powers

to launch a sustained bombing against North Vietnam, after a Vietcong attack killed 8 Americans• June 1965 – more than 50,000

American troops were in Vietnam

Support for Containment• During the Election of 1964 – LBJ

spoke for containment, but said he was against sending American troops to Asia• Sent troops anyway• Congress and 61% of Americans supported LBJ’s decision

Troop Buildup• By the end of 1965, US had sent 180,000

troops to Vietnam• General Westmoreland commanded in South Vietnam, wanted more troops• Did not want to depend on the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)• # of troops increased to 500,000

Sinking Morale• The conditions of the war lowered US

troops’ morale• Many soldiers did not believe in the

war•Turned to alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs•Soldiers would murder their superior officers

• Throughout the war, morale would only continue to get worse

Serving in Vietnam• Other soldiers did believe in the war and

stopping the spread of communism• Thousands were captured, and endured

years of torture as POWs

Living-Room War• Vietnam War was the first on TV – footage

appeared on the news• Credibility gap – Generals reported

Vietcong’s imminent surrender, but US body count continued to rise

• People began questioning the war – “I want to get out, but I don’t want to give in.”

“Manipulatable” Draft• Many soldiers were drafted into the war,

men from 18-26 could be called into service•Men began finding ways to get out of service• Sympathetic doctors• Changed residencies to an area with a more

lenient draft board• Joined Coast Guard or National Guard• Attend college

• These options were expensive – so mostly lower-class whites and minorities served• African-Americans died in large numbers, despite their lack of status in the country

New Left • Growing youth movement – disliked the

power that corporations and government had•Wanted to restore democracy and greater freedoms

Campus Activism• Students argued against campus issues

(dress codes, curfews, mandatory ROTC programs)

• Young people began to join together in protest, found that they could make a difference

Protest Movement • Many college groups began to protest the Vietnam

War• Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized

a march on Washington DC• Gov’t changed the rule on academic deferment for drafts –

students had to be in good academic standing (making it difficult to protest)

• SDS began protesting using civil disobedience, and encouraged people to move to Canada or Sweden

• Reasons for protesting:• Vietnam was a civil war – US should not be involved• US should not police the world• War was draining American strength from other important

locations

Protest to Resistance • By 1967, the protest movement

intensified, but did not feel that they were making any difference• Protestors gathered in Central Park,

tossed draft cards into a bonfire• 1970 – Nixon phased out the draft•Accused 200,000 men of draft-dodging• Arrested and put in jail

Doves and Hawks• Doves – opposed war, believed US should

withdraw from Vietnam • Hawks – supported the war, wanted the US

to increase military force in Vietnam• Majority of Americans were committed to

the war, some were surprised that people would protest a war that Americans were dying for

Tet Offensive• Tet – Vietnamese New Year festival• Truce existed during this time, chance for soldiers and villagers to celebrate and hold funerals for war victims

• Vietcong disguised themselves as villagers and hid weapons in coffins• Attacked 100 towns and 12 US air bases in South Vietnam

• Lasted about a month• Greatly affected American’s opinions on the

war – thought enemy was close to defeat• Faith in the war began to drop, most citizens believed it was a mistake

LBJ Withdraws• March 31, 1968 – LBJ announced that he would

seek negotiations to end the war • Based on his loss of popularity, LBJ did not plan on

running for re-election in 1968• Upset that the Vietnam War undid the Great Society plan

Violence and Protest • Robert Kennedy (who had just won the

Democratic primary) was assassinated• 200 demonstrations occurred on college

campuses protesting the Vietnam War and other social issues

Turmoil in Chicago• August 1968 – thousands of antiwar

demonstrators protested at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago•Wanted to protest the nomination of Hubert Humphrey• Hoped to provoke violence that would discredit the Democratic Party

• Protest turned into a riot• Police sprayed the protestors with Mace and beat them, some protestors fought back

• Meanwhile, the delegates were fighting at the National Convention over who would be nominated as the Democratic candidate

Election of 1968• Democratic candidate - Humphrey• Republican candidate – Nixon (had vaguely

promised to end the Vietnam War)• American Independent - George Wallace

(supported by Southerners and people who feared the riots and protests)

• Nixon is elected

Kissinger and Vietnamization • Summer 1969 - Nixon announced troop

withdrawals from Vietnam• Continued to fight North Vietnam

• Negotiations to end the war were at a stalemate (both sides wanted the other to withdraw)

• Kissinger, an expert in international relations, was called in to solve the problem• Vietnamization – gradual withdrawal of US troops, while South Vietnamese take a more active combat role

“Peace with Honor”• Nixon and Kissinger wanted the US to

maintain its dignity even while withdrawing troops

• South Vietnam gov’t needed to stay intact• Nixon secretly ordered bombs to be dropped

on supply routes and bases in North Vietnam, as well as Vietcong bases in Cambodia and Laos

• Wanted to appeal to the “silent majority”•Moderate, mainstream people who quietly agreed with the Vietnam War

My Lai Massacre• November 1969 – news of a massacre

from March 1968 was leaked•US platoon fired on a small fishing village (My Lai) in South Vietnam

• Looking for Vietcong, US troops rounded up villagers and shot them• Only the commanding officer was

convicted and imprisoned

Invasion of Cambodia• April 1970 – US troops invade

Cambodia to destroy North Vietnam and Vietcong supply centers• College students began protesting across 1200 campuses

Kent State University• Students protested and burned down an

ROTC building• National Guard was called in, shot at protesters who were throwing rocks at them•Wounded 9,killed 4

• Similar events happened at other colleges across the country

Pentagon Papers • Congress felt Nixon overstepped his bounds

by attacking Cambodia• Repealed Tonkin Gulf Resolution

• June 1971 – 7,000 page document showed gov’t plans for the war• Planned to enter the war even when LBJ said he would not• Planned to fight until North Vietnamese resistance ended 

End of the Vietnam War• After trading bombings, North Vietnamese and US

reached a stalemate• October 1972 - Kissinger negotiated peace terms

with North Vietnam• Peace remained elusive

• US bombed 2 cities in North Vietnam (Hanoi and Haiphong) for 11 days straight

• January 1973 – US signed the agreement to end the Vietnam War

• Cease-fire between North and South Vietnam did not occur until 1975, when North Vietnam captured the South Vietnam capital of Saigon

Veterans Return Home • Americans did not embrace Vietnam

War vets - indifferent at best, hostile at worst•Many developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), began abusing drugs and alcohol or committed suicide• Many had to deal with the long-term effects of Agent Orange

Turmoil in Southeast Asia • North Vietnamese forced many South

Vietnamese into labor and reeducation camps• Some South Vietnamese tried to flee

the country, over 50,000 of these died• In Cambodia, US invasion led to a civil

war•Communist group (Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot) took over – executed over 1 million

Legacy of the Vietnam War • Still a controversial subject (hawks vs

doves)• Gov’t abolished the draft• Curbed president’s ability to make war•War Powers Act – president must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending troops to a hostile area without a declaration of war, troops can only remain for 90 days unless Congress approves of the action

• Vietnam Syndrome – Americans now think about risks to their own interests before deciding to intervene between other countries

• People became cynical about the gov’t and politicians• Especially when they can withhold vital information or conceal illicit activities