Chapter 22 The Vietnam War - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Chapter 22

The Vietnam WarSlide2

The Vietnam War

20 years

Five presidents

164 billion dollars

58,132 Americans died/2million Vietnamese

150,000 Americans wounded

21,000 permanently disabled

3 million Americans served (avg. age 19)

100,000 fled U.S. to avoid conflict

830,000 PTSD reportsSlide3

Vietnam War

U.S. had the latest military technology

Could not defeat a poorly equipped peasant army

Why not??

Vietnamese fighting for their independence

Very difficult conditions to fight under (enemy, weather, terrain, etc)Slide4

Causes of Vietnam War

Depends on who you ask…………….

Americans—

Cold War

Stop spread of communism

Domino Theory

Political reasonsSlide5

Causes of Vietnam War

Vietnamese—

Imperialism

Western greed

Resources

Desire for independence/self rule

Internal Civil WarSlide6

History of Vietnam

Nearly 2000 years old

Imperialized for nearly all its existence

China controlled Vietnam for 1,000 years

Referred to the area as Indo China (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia)

1858 Vietnam occupied by France

1940 Vietnam occupied by Japan

1945 Vietnam reoccupied by FranceSlide7

IndoChinaSlide8

Indochinese Communist Party

Formed in 1930

Leader:

Ho Chi Minh

(he who enlightens)

Planned for Vietnam’s independence movement

Group combined with other nationalist groups and became the

VietminhSlide9

Vietminh

Vietnamese Nationalists

Determined to gain independence

France had no intention of giving up its rule

Pres. Truman sent 15 million in aid to France

Eventually paid for most of France’s war (2.6 billion) to defeat VietminhSlide10

France Defeated

Dien

Bien

Phu

falls to Vietminh

May, 1954 France surrenders and pulls out of Vietnam

Despite massive U.S. aid Slide11

Geneva Accords

May-July 1954

Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland

France, G.B., S.U., U.S., China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietminh, S.V. anti-communists

Agree to temporarily divide Vietnam at

17

th

parallel

until elections held in 1956Slide12

Division of Vietnam

Communist North Vietnam under

Ho Chi Minh

(Hanoi Capital)

Anti-Communist South Vietnam under

Ngo

Dinh

Diem

(Saigon capital)

Elections to be held in 1956: let the people decide who they want to lead VietnamSlide13

Time for Election

Ho very popular (land reforms)

Diem hated by many (anti-Buddhist)

Very corrupt, oppressive

gov’t

.

Diem cancels elections in 1956Slide14

Guerilla Warfare

Vietcong (Communist group formed in South Vietnam)

Teamed up with Vietminh in North Vietnam to fight against Diem’s Army

U.S. assisting Diem (military advisors, financial aid, etc.)Slide15

1963: A Very Bad Year

Diem’s army near defeat to communists

Nov. 1, 1963: Diem assassinated (military coup)

Nov. 22, 1963: Kennedy assassinated

JFK said “in the final analysis, it’s their war”Slide16

Lyndon Johnson’s Vietnam

Communists close to uniting Vietnam under one rule

LBJ does not want to be perceived as “soft on communism”

Election of 1964 approaching in U.S.

Appoints Gen. William Westmoreland as commander of U.S. forces in S.V.Slide17

Am. Soldiers committed to combat

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

Aug. 2, 1964

LBJ accuses N.V. of an unprovoked attack on USS

Maddock

patrolling off coast of Vietnam

“alleged” attacks prompted Johnson to strike backSlide18

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Aug. 7, 1964: Congress adopts this resolution (close to a declaration of war)

Gave Johnson the power to take “all necessary measures to repeal any armed attack against U.S. forces”Slide19

Operation Rolling Thunder

Feb. 1965: first sustained bombing of N.V.

U.S. air force conducted avg. of 5,500 bombing missions per month

Goal: break N.V. will to fight and force a surrenderSlide20

The War Escalates

June 1965: 50,000 U.S. soldiers in S.V.

Gen. Westmoreland asks for more soldiers to assist S.V. (ARVN)

1965: 61%

Ams

. Support the war/24% oppose it

Johnson told we could win the war in 2 yrs. Max.Slide21

War Escalates

1967: 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam

Death toll at 9,000

Ams

.

Johnson pledged that victory is near

Westmoreland’s strategy for defeating Vietcong: destroy their morale. Introduced “body count”Slide22

A Difficult War to Fight

Guerilla warfare (no front lines)

Jungle terrain

Landmines, booby traps, underground tunnels, heat, rain, leeches, secret supply routes

Hit-

n

-run tactics

Difficult to identify the enemy

Underestimated the enemy’s resolve to fightSlide23

Difficult conditions

Vietcong aided by China and Soviet Union

Televised war (little censorship)

High drug use and addiction

Racism among troops

Heavy use of chemicals (agent orange, napalm)Slide24

American support declines

1967: morale low among soldiers

Public support waivers

Credibility gap growing

Active protests on college campuses

Thousands searching for ways to avoid the draft (ages 18-26)Slide25

Anti-War Protests

College campus demonstrations increasing

Musicians singing anti-war songs

Burning draft cards

Conscientious Objectors (opposed war on moral or religious grounds)Slide26

1968: A Tumultuous Year!

Jan. 30, 1968:

Tet

, the Vietnamese New Year was traditionally celebrated by a cease-fire.

Instead 80,000 NVA + Vietcong launched an attack on key cities in S.V., 12 Am. Bases, & U.S. Embassy.Slide27

Results of Tet

Offensive

Four weeks of fighting to regain control of areas in S.V.

Vietcong deaths:32,000

U.S. & ARVN deaths: 3,000

Military victory

Psychological defeatSlide28

Effects of Tet

Offensive

Credibility Gap Grows

Walter Cronkite

Polls showed a majority of

Ams

. No longer supported Johnson’s policies in Vietnam

Johnson had 60% disapproval rating

Sect. State McNamara resigned

Media openly criticizing the war nowSlide29

President Johnson’s announcement

Mar. 31, 1968: “I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term of President”

V.P. Hubert Humphrey announces his candidacy for Demo. PartySlide30

1968: A Very Bad Year

2 Major Assassinations:

Democratic National Convention

April 4:

Martin Luther King

assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee

June 4

: Robert Kennedy

, top contender for Presidency in 1968, assassinated in Los Angeles HotelSlide31

Democratic National Convention 1968

Held in Chicago (Aug)

Several democratic candidates seeking the nomination

10,000 protestors showed up. Wanted democrats to adopt anti-war platform

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

Yippies

(Youth International Party)Slide32

Results of Chicago Riots

Riots broke out in Chicago

Mayor of Chicago ordered 12,000 police officers and 5,000 national guardsmen

Images captured made Democrats look bad.

Nixon (Rep.) triumphs from thisSlide33

Election of 1968

Hubert Humphrey: Demo. Candidate (V.P. under Johnson)

Richard Nixon: Republican Candidate (V.P. under Eisenhower)

George Wallace: Am. Independent Party (Gov. Alabama) Ran on platform of school segregation and state’s rightsSlide34

Election of 1968Slide35

Election of 1968Slide36

Election of 1968

Hubert Humphrey

George WallaceSlide37

Election of 1968Slide38

Nixon’s War

Nixon won by 800,000 more votes

Promised “an honorable end to the war”

“Peace with Honor”

Announces his “

Vietnamization

Plan”: gradual withdraw of U.S. troops in order for S.V. army to take control of war

Goal was to maintain dignity in face of withdraw from warSlide39

Protests continue

College campuses continue to protest the war

Nixon hates these protests (hippies)

Appeals to “the silent majority”: moderate, mainstream Americans who quietly supported the president’s strategies.Slide40

My Lai Massacre

Nov. 1969 New York Times reported on incident that occurred in March, 1968

Charlie Company (120 men) under Lt. William

Calley

, Jr. entered small village in northern S.V.

Orders to kill everyone in village (Vietcong rebels)Slide41

My Lai Massacre

No signs of Vietcong in village

Carried out the orders and proceeded to kill over 500 villagers (old men, women, children)

Lt.

Calley

charged and convicted of war crimes (Nixon reduced sentence to 3 yrs. House arrest)