“There’s Only One Thing I Can Say About the War in

Vietnam…”Honors U.S. History

Geography

• Located in Southeast Asia

• That’s all I have to say about that

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XD Lol, jk XD

• Domino Theory – Cold War idea that if one new country fell to Communism, another would fall soon after– Communism comes

from the outside, not internally

Origins of the War

• US sending advisors to divided Vietnam to support capitalism

• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – President Johnson claims US ship fired upon– Congress authorizes funding to support

military action

• Selective Service Act begins drafting young men to serve

The TV War

• Vietnam was televised so the war was seen by the majority of Americans– Morley Safer's Report

• Tet Offensive – North Vietnamese and Viet Cong (N.V. guerilla army from South Vietnam)– Coordinated attack on Lunar New Year, an

agreed upon cease fire• Huge loss for N.V. and Viet Cong (40,000 vs.

1,600 American)• Press coverage made it appear as an American

loss• Lowered American support for the war

My Lai Massacre (1968)

• US destroys village of My Lai then covered it up– Viet Cong suspected of hiding there

• When uncovered, Americans questioned the morality of the war

• These events plus lack of real progress diminish support

The Anti-War Movement• “New Left” – Stressed

participatory democracy and issues that affected the lower class– As opposed to “Old

Left” of 1930’s that affected workers

• Vietnam Veterans Against the War (1967)

• Overall considered a vocal minority– Richard Nixon easily

elected President in 1968 and 1972

Issues at Home

• Protests at Kent State and Jackson State Universities result in six students killed

• Publishing of the Pentagon Papers revealed deception by the government to run the war

Nixon and Vietnamization

• President Richard Nixon promises Vietnamization (1969)– Replacing American soldiers with

Vietnamese • Seeing supply lines from Cambodia,

President Nixon orders its bombing (1970)

• 1973 – Nixon begins pulling Americans out of Vietnam

• 1975 – South Vietnam falls to North; country united under Communist govt.

End of slide show, click to exitFor real this time XD