THE VIETNAM WAR
French in Vietnam
• By 1886-France gets control of Indochina (present day
Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam)
• When Germany occupied France during WWII, the
region was given to their Japanese allies weakening
French and spurring Vietnamese push for
independence.
French in Vietnam (cont.)
• The Vietnamese
Independence League
(Viet Minh) was
established by Ho Chi
Minh in 1941.
• August 25, 1945, Ho Chi
Minh asserts
independence with the
popular support of the
people.
• Ho Chi Minh hoped for
U.S. support but found
that the U.S. backed the
French.
Ho Chi Minh
French in Vietnam (cont.)
• FDR had supported colonial independence, but Truman
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was concerned with the spread of communism and had
been France’s ally in WWII.
Until 1949, Soviet communism in Europe was the U.S.
main concern, then Mao Zedong led the Communist
Revolution in China followed by Korean War.
Asia became the area of concern in the fight against
communism.
Despite U.S. aid, the French are defeated in 1954.
In the Geneva Accords-the French agree to leave Vietnam
and it is divided at the 17th parallel.
U.S. Intervention
• President Eisenhower concerned about the spread of
communism like his predecessor Truman.
• “Domino Theory”-if one country falls to communism, then
the rest will fall.
U.S. Intervention (cont.)
• After the Geneva Accords, the U.S. gives support to South
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Vietnam and its leader, Ngo Dinh Diem.
Diem turned out to be a very undemocratic leader and
unpopular with his people.
In 1961, Kennedy sends almost 1,000 military advisors.
In 1963, 16,000 military personnel were stationed there.
November 1, 1963 Diem is assassinated. (Kennedy
assassinated three weeks later)
U.S. Presence Escalates
• Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president after Kennedy’s
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assassination.
Despite personal doubts about the U.S. in Vietnam, he
pressured to increase our military presence.
Congress supported the war.
Johnson needed support from Congress for his career
and for the success of his “Great Society” programs to
end poverty and injustice.
In 1964, he begins to send more troops.
Gulf of Tonkin
• On August 2, 1964. The USS
Maddox, an American destroyer,
came under fire from three North
Vietnamese PT Boats, four miles
off the coast of North Vietnam.
• The Maddox returned fire and
received support from U.S. Navy
fighters, forcing the PT boats to
flee.
• Two days later, it was alleged that
the North Vietnamese again
attacked U.S. ships, which are
alleged to have counterattacked.
Gulf of Tonkin (cont.)
• Incident used to justify regular bombing of North Vietnam
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution-gave president power to make “all necessary
decisions”
Hardship on the Warfront
• Fighting unlike
anything U.S. troops
had experienced
before:
• Dense jungle terrain
• North Vietnamese and
Viet Cong guerilla
tactics
• Difficult to tell friends
from enemies.
War Drags On
• Ho Chi Minh Trail-Series
of paths and roads
connecting North and
South to transport troops
and equipment.
• Vietnamese called it the
“The People’s War” and
were willing to make
great sacrifices for their
cause.
• Civilians make up a
majority of the casualties
in North Vietnam.
American Support Wanes
• Horrific images and growing numbers of casualties
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reinforce the growing discontent.
“Credibility gap” develops questioning the government.
April 17, 1965-first major anti-war protest was held in
Washington D.C. and protests continue to grow.
War not seen as a “good war”
Resistance to the draft grows and major U.S. leaders
speak out against the war, including Martin Luther King Jr.
Vietnam the first war brought into homes through
television.
1968-war reaches its height.
Tet Offensive
• January 30, 1968
• North Vietnamese troops
surge into South Vietnam
cities and towns, including
Saigon.
• While the Tet Offensive
was a Viet Cong defeat,
it proved the U.S. was
vulnerable.
• Johnson does not seek
reelection in 1968.
Richard Nixon elected.
Violence at Home and Abroad
• August 1968, anti-war protest becomes violent when a riot
breaks out at the Democratic convention in Chicago.
• My Lai Massacre-U.S. soldiers stormed the village of My
Lai killing over 200 women, children, and old men in
March 1968. Story becomes public in 1969.
Nixon Responds
• Nixon proposes “Peace with Honor” (vowing to reduce
troops and negotiate with North Vietnam) and
“Vietnamization” (turning war operations over to the South
Vietnamese.)
• However, he authorizes increased activity in Vietnam and
Cambodia.
• May 1970, Kent State Shootings-protest turns deadly
when Ohio National Guardsmen open fire killing four
protesting students.
Kent State
Vietnam War Ends
• January 27, 1973, the U.S. and North Vietnam sign a
cease-fire agreement in Paris.
• U.S. combat forces leave Vietnam March 29, 1973 and the
North Vietnamese release American prisoners.
• North and South Vietnam soon violate the Paris Agreement
and begin fighting again.
• In April 1975, the last
Americans flee Saigon
and South Vietnam
surrenders.
Legacy
• Vietnam was a painful unpopular
war and highlighted the country’s
limits.
• Over 58,000 Americans and 4
million Vietnamese were killed.
• Has a tremendous physical and
psychological impact.
• 26th Amendment lowers voting age.
• War Powers Act (1973)-limits
presidential war powers.
• In 1982, the U.S. unveiled the
Vietnam Memorial
Vietnam War Memorial