Warm Up 1 Complete the Vietnam War DBQ assignment 2 You may work with the people around you 3 Complete documents 1-4 before beginning today s notes
Causes Of The Vietnam War I. The Cold War: the battle between capitalism and communism II. Containment/Domino Theory: the USA wanted to stop the spread of communism in Asia III. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolutions: the U.S. government believed that N. Vietnam attacked American ships IV. LBJ was given the power to take the USA to war and so he did
Fighting In Vietnam I. The goal of U.S. military was to defeat the Vietcong & support capitalism II. The Problem: A. The Vietcong lived like civilians in Vietnamese in cities B. The enemy was not clear and U.S. soldiers mentally struggled C. The Vietcong used guerilla warfare to counter U.S. military superiority D. Jungles made fighting difficult
American Victories in Vietnam I. The air force bombed Vietcong supply lines (Ho Chi Minh Trail) to force an enemy surrender II. The military used napalm to destroy villages & pesticides (Agent Orange) to destroy crops III. Soldiers were sent on search & destroy missions into the jungles to find the Vietcong and kill them
Fighting In The Jungle I. The majority of the war in Vietnam was fought in the jungles A. Ambush: hiding & attacking B. Guerilla tactics C. No battle lines à enemy was everywhere D. Booby-traps, mines, tunnels II. The North Vietnamese used psychological warfare to demoralize their enemies
The Tet Offensive I. In 1968, the Vietcong launched the Tet Offensive against U.S. forces in Vietnam A. North Vietnamese forces launched a large scale attack on major South Vietnamese cities and U.S. military bases II. The Tet Offensive was the turning point in the Vietnam War A. The attack went against U.S. media reports that the U.S. was winning B. American attitude toward the war changed and the anti-war movement grew in the USA C. Americans grew unhappy with the war and anti-war protests became popular
The War in America I. The Vietnam War had a major impact on American society II. III. IV. The increased need for soldier led the USA to begin using the Selective Service A. Men between 18-26 were eligible for the draft B. Men could be exempt from the draft if they were in college or had bad health Americans grew unhappy that Vietnam was becoming a rich man s war and a poor man s fight Anti-Vietnam protests grew more and more popular as Americans watched a losing fight on TV
Anti-War Movement I. As the death toll grew and more American soldiers left for Vietnam, LBJ was hit with large scale anti-war protests II. Anti-Vietnam protests, speeches and rallies became popular throughout the nation III. Protests largely began on college campuses but spread to include all Americans IV. The majority of Americans believed we had no reason to be in Vietnam
Campus Protests & Shootings I. The escalation of the war in 1968 led to campus protests across America II. At Kent State Univ. in Ohio, four peacefully protesting students were killed by National Guard soldiers III. Students protested the killing of civilians, the reason for war & the draft, A. The major concern was the large numbers of high-school dropouts and minorities being drafted
Nixon Elected President in 1968 I. By 1968 the U.S.A. was strongly divided over the war in Vietnam A. Hawks = strongly supported war B. Doves = strongly supported peace II. The stress of the war led LBJ not to run for President in 1968 III. Richard Nixon won the election of 1968 promising to end the riots and protests in the USA along with the Vietnam War
Nixon Wanted Peace With Honor
Vietnamization I. In 1969 the US began pulling American troops out of Vietnam II. Nixon developed a plan called Vietnamization: A. This strategy replaced American troops with South Vietnamese soldiers III. Nixon then secretly tried to win the war and ordered troops to Cambodia & Laos IV. When Americans found out about Nixon s attacks it set off the largest protest in U.S. history
Paris Peace Accords 1973 I. On January 27, 1973 a cease-fire was finally signed by the USA, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam II. The three parts: A. Cease-fire in-place and troop withdrawal B. All parties committed to no further acts of force on ground, in the air, and on the sea C. North and South Vietnam to begin peaceful negotiations on establishing normal relations and reunification.
American Withdrawal From Vietnam I. In March 1973, the last U.S. forces left Vietnam II. In 1975 the North Vietnam violated the cease fire and invaded South Vietnam III. Vietnam was then unified under a single communist government IV. Communist forces captured the presidential palace in Saigon (renamed Ho Chi Minh City) ending the Vietnam War
The Impact of the Vietnam War I. The conflict in Vietnam was the longest & divisive war in U.S. history II. Of the 3.3 million U.S. soldiers who served: A. 58,000 were killed B. 303,000 were wounded C. 15% were diagnosed with posttraumamc stress disorder aner the war D. Many vets faced hosmlity from other U.S. cimzens when they returned home
The Impact of the Vietnam War I. The war changed America at home A. People began to lost faith in the government B. America spent 176 Billion on the war C. The 26 th Amendment lowered the vomng age to 18 years old D. Vietnam soldiers returned home and suffered from PTSD i. Suicide and violence were common amongst Vietnam vets E. The War Powers Act 1973 limited the president s ability to take the USA to war II. The war changed American foreign policy A. USA ended the containment policy (failure)