using map on page 726 or 742in text, label the following: - countries: cambodia, china, laos, north...
TRANSCRIPT
Vietnam
Map assignment Using map on page
726 or 742in text, label the following:
- Countries: Cambodia, China, Laos, North Vietnam, South Vietnam
- Cities: Saigon, Hanoi- Political Features:
Ho Chi Minh Trial- Physical Features:
17th Parallel, Gulf of Tonkin
Domino TheoryIf one nation falls
under Communist control, nearby nations will also fall under Communist control.
Vietminh Gain Independence
Despite massive US aid French are ousted from Vietnam in battle of Dien Bien Phu.
Communist Party Rebels
Indochinese Communist Party organizes a revolution against French.
French Rule
French exploit Indochina (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam)
Roots of American Involvement
Geneva AccordsTemporarily divided Vietnam
along the 17th parallel.
Communists and their leader, Ho Chi Minh, Controlled North Vietnam
Anti-Communist nationalists controlled South Vietnam
North Vietnam
South Vietnam
Government
Communist Anti-Communist nationalists
Leader Ho Chi Minh Ngo Dinh Diem
Support among
Vietnamese
Won approval by supporting peasants and fighting Japanese and French
Little support; corrupt government with no approval of religions other than his own; attempted no land reform programs.
(Removed from power and assassinated – help of CIA)
Followed by a series of inept military leaders.
Why do you believe Ho Chi Minh was considered a people’s leader?
Communist infiltration! Communism in
Vietnam - Vietcong (Communist
opposition group in South) attack Diem government
- Ho Chi Minh Trial—a network of paths used by North Vietnamese to transport supplies to Vietcong in South
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - Resolution adopted in 1964 - Provided the President broad powers to
wage war in Vietnam - Greatly escalated America’s involvement in
the conflict.
Read pages 204-205 in your text. How does the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution expand
president al powers?
Great American Lie!
What events discussed in Rah thus far could have led to johnson’s fear of losing vietnam to communism?
Candy Question:
Big PictureAfter World War II, nationalist and communist
rebels in the French colony of Vietnam fought for their independence. A 1954 agreement ending the colonial war split the country into communist North Vietnam and democratic South Vietnam. When France pulled out the following year, the United States stepped in to prop up South Vietnam. Over the years, American involvement grew and led to the introduction of U.S. ground forces.
Themes in the Vietnam Conflict
The Draft 1945 - 1973Fill vacancies in the
armed forces Could not be filled
through voluntary means
Deferments and objectors.LBJ ended in 1965
100,000 Dodgers
The Lottery1969 LotteryIn 1973, the draft
ended All-Volunteer military.
Jimmy Carter Pardoned Draft Dodgers
Average Service Member2/3 were volunteers.79% had high school
education.Average age was 19 to
20 years old.The average infantryman
in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year.
Tour of Duty was 1 year.
A working class war A “Manipulatable” Draft- Most soldiers in war drafted (18-26) - Medical deferments - College deferments - Question arose: Why are the government
officials who support this war not sending their children to fight in this war?
One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty86% Caucasians12.5% Black1.2% Other races
Amputations or crippling wounds were 300% higher 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled
More Stats
A war in the jungle
Describe Vietnam's terrain.
Johnson Americanizes the War March 1965—3,500 Marines April 1965—60,000 combat troops July 1965—125,000 combat troops By 1967—500,000 U.S. troops
Vietcong’s tacticsGuerilla Warfare - Hit-and-run ambush- Booby traps - Land mines - Elaborate tunnel networks
United States’ tactics War of Attrition - Gradual wearing down of the enemy
by continuous harassment - Napalm - Agent Orange - Search-and-destroy missions
Effects of Defoliants
Body Count/Search and Destroy
Mi Lai massacre,
later.
The Living Room War Credibility Gap - Belief that there was a gap between what
government was reporting and what was really happening
- Although polls showed large majority of Americans supported the war, media images led America to question intentions
War of memorable images…
Fortunate Son Lyric analysis Do you believe CCR opposed or supported the
war in Vietnam based on the lyrics? In what way does the song criticize the
American government? How do the lyrics demonstrate the idea that
the Vietnam conflict was a working-class war?
“I Don’t see anyway of winning”Directions: - Actively read document - On a separate sheet of paper, answer the
following questions1.How did Johnson’s public actions contrast
with his private opinion regarding the Vietnam War?
2.What effect did the war in Vietnam have on Johnson?
3.How important is if for a President to have faith in a victory when he enters his country into war?
4.What parallels does the writer make between Vietnam and the present day War in Iraq? What similarities can you draw between Iraq and Vietnam?
Letters Home Assignment When finished the documentary, you are required to write a detailed paragraph that addresses the following prompt:
How does the morale of the soldiers stationed in Vietnam progress throughout the war?
Growing opposition to the war
Quote Analysis “I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to death your right to say it”
- Many soldiers in Vietnam have the quote above a response when asked their opinion on the antiwar demonstrations back home. Put yourself in the place of a young draftee and answer the following questions.
1. What is the meaning of the quote? 2. Should freedom of speech be defended at
any cost?
The Vietcong Maintain Popular SupportDivision of South Vietnamese
Several in countryside joined Vietcong People in cities backed government of South
Vietnam Several remained neutral
Primary Account “Our people no longer want to take sides in
this war that is gradually but inexorably destroying us. We have no desire to be called an ‘outpost of the Free World’ or to be praised for being the ‘vanguard people in the world socialist revolution.’ We simply want to be a people—the Vietnamese people.”
Ly Qui Chung, Saigon newspaper editor, 1970
Primary Account“We would go through a village before dawn,
rousting everybody out of bed, kicking down doors and dragging them out if they didn’t move fast enough. They all had underground bunkers inside their huts to protect themselves against bombing and shelling. But to use the bunkers were Vietcong hiding places, and we’d blow them up with dynamite—and blow up the huts too. At the end of the day, the villagers would be turned loose. Their homes had been wrecked, their chickens killed, their rice confiscated—and if they weren’t pro-Vietcong before we got there, they sure as hell were by the time they left.”
New LeftStudents for a Democratic Society
equality, freedom, fight poverty
Counter CultureChipped away at war involvement
Only 20% of University Students participatedAverage American also protested
Peace Organizations
The New Left The New Conservatives
Who Students for a Democratic Society, Free Speech Movement
The National Review, John Birch Society
What Youth movement that encompassed several activist groups
Youth movement that opposed New Left
When
1960s 1960s
Where
Primarily college campuses
Primarily college campuses
Why Many youths believed nation needed to be in need of fundamental change; end Vietnam
Believed America needed to return to order; end Vietnam
Doves vs. hawks
Doves Against war, thought it was time to withdrawal
Hawks Supported war, should increase military force
Johnson remains determined “There has always been confusion, frustration,
and difference of opinion in this country, when there is war going on…You know what President Roosevelt went through, President Wilson in WWI. He has some senators from certain areas that gave him serious problems until victory was assured. We are going to have these differences. No one likes war. All people love peace. But you can’t have freedom without defending it.” –LBJ
Visit each of the three themed stations.Read the accompanying article.
Evaluate each of the artifacts, documents, pictures or posters. Select one to analyze.Use the accompanying sheets to assist you.
You must evaluate a different type of artifact for each Station. (One Document!)Poster, artifact, document or picture.
Directions
1968: A Year of Crisis
A turning point in the war TET Offensive - North Vietnamese attack on
cities in South Vietnam - 45,000 Viet Cong and NVA
soldiers died- Boosted U.S. opposition to the
war and undermined Johnson presidency
Johnson’s Decision - LBJ decides he will not run for
reelection - Claimed he would try to
“deescalate” the conflict
Election of 1968 (Nixon vs. Humphrey)
Nixon Platform - “Peace with Honor” - “Law and Order” - Won election of
1968
The End of a “War”
Vietnam
1968 – Nixon is elected presidentHenry Kissinger – Secretary of State
Platform of ending the war.Promised an end, but no explanation of how.
Peace with honor and VietnamizationRemoving troops, but still bombing!
Nixon and the Mad Man Theory
Nixon’s War Policy - “Peace with Honor” - Nixon and Kissinger’s policy that they would end
the war that left reputation of U.S. intact - Hoped to persuade N.V. to accept negotiated
end to war
- Vietnamization - South Vietnam would gradually take over
conduct of war (self-government, self-development, self-defense)
- American troops would slowly withdrawal
Invasion of Cambodia & LaosOperation MenuRemove communist
strongholds.Neutral nationsUS invasion caused
civil war.Khmer RougeKilled 2million
Emptied citiesLargest holocaust ¼ of population.
Killed all teachers, doctors and businessmenPol Pot was the leader.
Died in 1998 with no remorse.Vietnam invaded in 1979.
NO KHMER LEADER HAS EVER BEEN TRIED!
Several are still alive and living free today.
Cambodia – The Killing Fields
How Large?
How old?
Silent Majority and Middle AmericaNixon announced invasion of Cambodia.Student protests began again.Called out the National Guard.
Young and untrained.Crowed attacked.Fired into the crowd killing 4 wounding others.
Many not even protesters
Kent State
Papers enacted by request of state department.
Leaked to New York TimesNixon v. New York Times.
People saw government lies.Began to distrust the govt.
Pentagon Papers
Questioning our government - Pentagon Papers - Leak to N.Y. Times a top-secret study of U.S. role
in Indochina - Revealed secrecy and deceit on the part of U.S.
presidents
- War Powers Resolution - Congress’s reaction to Nixon’s activities in
Cambodia - Limited a president’s ability to send armed
forces into combat
Nixon ran on a platform claiming an end to the War.
No real strategy, never planned to let Vietnam become communist.
North Vietnam (communists) would stay in the South.
US would protect if North violated agreement.
Removed last combat troops in March 1973.
Election of 1972
Nixon’s silent majority speechWhat is the purpose of Nixon’s speech?
Peace with Honor
Paris Peace Accords of 1973
Kissinger and Le Duc Tho negotiated peace treaty.
Both men awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
1975 – North Vietnam overran the South.US diplomats and thousands of
Vietnamese escaped.Nixon’s promise was unanswered by Ford.Vietnam has been communist since.
Fall of Saigon
The ArgumentsUS should not have
entered Vietnam.Not our war to fight.Could not win a
guerilla war.
US could have won the war if fought properly.
More troops and $$$Invaded the North.
The war’s legacy Effect of Vietnam - Vietnam Syndrome—reluctance to become
involved in overseas conflicts - Post-traumatic stress syndrome—soldiers
show signs of mental illness - Lack of confidence in government - Support for troops in wars after
Primary Account "I haven't really slept for twenty years. I lie down, but I
don't sleep. I'm always watching the door, the window, then back to the door. I get up at least five times to walk my perimeter, sometimes it's ten or fifteen times. There's always something within my reach, maybe a baseball bat or a knife, at every door... Once when my daughter was younger and I was that way, she came up behind me and before I knew it I had her by the throat up against the wall. I can still see her eyes. I put her down and just walked out of the house without saying anything to anybody and didn't come back for a week." Anonymous account from a Vietnam veteran (Shay, 1995)
Applying the Lessons of Vietnam - People have long debated whether the study of
history can provide useful lessons to guide future behavior. The American philosopher George Sanatayana warned that “those who cannot remember the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat it.” In contrast, the American inventor and father of the assembly line, Henry Ford, declared that “history is bunk!” Just as people learn from their experiences, so nations, it is argued, learn lessons from history. Many lessons from the American experience in Vietnam have been put forth by historians, politicians, and media commentators.
Lesson 1: Fight to win; there is no substitute for victory. Lesson 2: Make it quick, make it decisive. Lesson 3: There is no point in thinking about Vietnam, it
cannot happen again. Lesson 4: Once you have climbed onto the back of the
tiger, you have lost your ability to determine where and when you will dismount.
Lesson 5: If you do not level with the people in the beginning, they will not follow you in the end.
Lesson 6: The United States is not all-powerful. Lesson 7: A team will not win if the players are
continually squabbling with the coach, refusing to execute his or her plays, and insisting that theirs be tried instead.
Lesson 8: Do not go it alone when you go to war
Possible Lessons
You assignment - Individually read summary of lessons and
decide whether or not you believe each lesson to be valid or invalid—remember to justify your answers
- Working in debate groups, identify the top three most important lessons we need to take away from the conflict in Vietnam
- Decide as a group whether or not you believe the U.S. has applied these lessons to the present-day War in Iraq—be sure to justify your answers
- Be prepared to share your findings with the entire class and challenge your classmates answers!
As a nation, do you believe the united states has done a “good” job of learning
from our mistakes and applying the lessons history has taught us to present-
day conflicts? Why or why not?
Miss L's top writing pet peeves1. Contractions—DO NOT use any type of contraction
2. There, their, they’re; two, too, to; know and no. KNOW the difference!
3. Watch your verb tense—in most cases you will use the past-tense. Be consistent!
4. DO NOT end sentences in prepositions (For, to, from, with, at, etc.)
5. The comma is your friend however be careful not to overuse him!
6. NEVER EVER start a sentence with BUT!
7. Many, many, many students are very, very, very attached to using these two words. Please do not.
8. Avoid using rhetorical statements, too many questions, conversational tones and flowery introductions and conclusions. GET TO YOUR POINT AND MAKE IT STICK!