The Vietnam War

1. What was the background to American involvement?

Domino Theory

China

Korea

1. What was the background to American involvement?

French Indochina

US Aid Dien Bien Phu

(1954) The Geneva

Conference 17th Parallel

Cease Fire Line

1. What was the background to American involvement? US runs South Vietnam as a puppet state

South Vietnamese regime is propped up by US finances and military advisors

No popular support among the South Vietnamese people

No Election – Civil War…

1. What was the background to American involvement?

Laos

Communist uprising -- 1961

Reinforces Domino Theory

1. What was the background to American involvement?

US backed a coup on Nov. 2, 1963

Diem killed in coup

Kennedy killed three weeks later

2. How did the US become involved?

Johnson’s Choices

Pull Back

Accelerate “I am not going to lose Vietnam. I am not going to be the

president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.” -- LBJ

2. How did the US become involved?

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

3. How did the war progress from 1965 to 1968?

Operation Rolling Thunder Escalation of American troop levels

US Troop Deployments in Vietnam

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

1961 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968

U.S. Troops

4. Who was “the enemy”?

North Vietnamese Army Vietcong

GuerrillaBased in local population

Meant lack of progress and popular support

5. What was the turning point in the Vietnam War?

Tet Offensive

Military Defeat

PR Victory

5. What was the turning point in the Vietnam War? Ends LBJ’s

Presidency

6. What was Nixon’s strategy?

Bombing Campaigns North Vietnam Cambodia

Vietnamization Direct Negotiations

7. How did US involvement in the war end? Truce stalemate since 1968 NVA Easter Offensive of 1972

US Bombing in response Truce in October 1972

South Vietnam did not approveLed to more bombing and assurances to

South Vietnam

7. How did US involvement in the war end?

Treaty of ParisWithdrawal of

US troopsReturn of POWsNVA could stay

in South Vietnam

8. What impacts did the war have?

Over 58,000 Americans killed

Over 300,000 Americans wounded

Approximately $150 billion spent

8. What impacts did the war have?

North Vietnam wins the war in 1975 Over two million Vietnamese killed

Bibliography Slide 2 Image: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/BEN/ST6312~Domino-Theory-II-Posters.jpg Slide 3 Photo: http://cla.calpoly.edu:16080/~lcall/dien_bien_phu.jpg Slide 4 Map: http://www.history.navy.mil/pics/vietnam_map.jpg Slide 6 Photo: http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF1202/Prochnau/Prochnau02.jpg Slide 7 Map:

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no1/html_files/laos_map.jpg

Slide 8 Cover: http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1955/1101550404_400.jpg Slide 9 Photo: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/images/viet4.jpg Slide 10 Image: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_warmaking_files/Gulf.jpg Slide 11 Photo: http://www.vietnam-war.0catch.com/vietnam_war_pics/rolling_thunder_p3.jpg Slide 13 Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Vietcong1968.jpg/300px-

Vietcong1968.jpg Slide 14 Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/TetMap.jpg/464px-TetMap.jpg Slide 15 Photo: http://drx.typepad.com/psychotherapyblog/images/2007/07/26/lbj_2.jpg Slide 15 Photo: http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/viet/LBJNoRun2.jpg Slide 16 Photo: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/04/16/arts/17dall.jpg Slide 18 Photo: http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/2666014.jpg?

v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=6E41E83E90A345BD81141871583779D2A55A1E4F32AD3138 Slide 19 Photo: http://www.atpm.com/7.01/washington-dc/images/vietnam-memorial.jpg Slide 20 Photo: http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/204/8-10/fall_of_saigon.jpg