Vietnam - gardencity.k12.ny.us
Transcript of Vietnam - gardencity.k12.ny.us
Vietnam
American History 11R
Democratic Republic of Vietnam Established - 1945
• 1945 - With defeat and withdrawal of Japanese, Ho Chi Minh leads new state with 15,000 French soldiers present.
• 1947 - French seek to depose Ho who leads Viet Minh troops in opposition to French colonial presence
Dien Bien Phu• May 7, 1954 - French suffer huge defeat as
12,000 troops surrender and withdraw from Indochina
• U.S. paid 80% of French costs
• Eisenhower refused to send troops to Vietnam
Division - July 1954
• Vietnam is divided into two nations with Ho leading the north
• Ngo Dinh Diem leading the "free" South. Promise of free elections in 1956
• Geneva Accords establish temporary division of Vietnam at 17th parallel
South Vietnam• 1960 - Diem opponents form
National Liberation Front (NLF)
• Communists and others attempt to overthrow Diem and unify Vietnam
• November 2, 1963 - Diem overthrown and assassinated
• U.S. approval and support – Diem replaced with military junta.
• 16,000 American military advisors in Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• Following conflict between U.S. destroyers and North Vietnamese gunboats, Pres. Johnson is given authority to "prevent further aggression."
• Measure passes Congress 416-0 in House and 88-2 in Senate
Lyndon Johnson
• February 1965 - Johnson orders bombing of North Vietnam after attack at Pleiku kills 7 U.S. soldiers
• April 1965 - 20,000 U.S. troops sent to support South Vietnam
• Violating his promises, LBJ raises U.S. troop level to 100,000 to fight Viet Cong
Vietnam
• War of Attrition – wearing down the enemy
• Weapons – Napalm, Agent Orange, Search and Destroy Missions
• Sinking Morale of soldiers
• Credibility Gap – Between reports and what was really happening.
Buffalo Springfield – For What Its Worth
Tet Offensive – January 1968
• Viet Cong forces launch massive attack on American positions throughout Vietnam.
• LBJ's popularity ratings drop to 35%
My Lai Massacre
• March 1968 - Lt. William Calley leads unit which kills at least 175 unarmed Vietnamese civilians.
• Calley - court-martialed and convicted
• His superiors never charged
Vietnam War at Home
• Draft – African American disproportionate number of troops.
• Great Society programs suffer for lack of funding
• Opposition to war
– Students for a Democratic Society
– Free Speech Movement
• Campus Activism
Cambodia• March 1969 - U.S. begins secret bombing of North
Vietnam and Cambodia
• Nixon avoids antiwar protests by not telling Congress or people about bombings
• April 1970 - Despite Nixon pledges that U.S. troops were withdrawing from Vietnam, Cambodia invasion and bombing brought huge domestic opposition
Southeast Asia (Indo China)
Kent State Shootings
• May 4th, 1970
• Kent State University in Ohio
• Student’s protest the bombing of Cambodia by burning an
ROTC building on campus
• Governor sends in the National Guard
• Crowd of campus protesters throwing rocks are fired upon by
Guardsmen
• 4 people killed, 9wounded.
Pentagon Papers
• Department of Defense history of U.S.' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967.
• U.S. government lying about the success of war.
• Daniel Ellsberg - Leaks declassified report
• New York Times begins publication of secret war study.
• U.S. vs. New York Times – can’t stop publication of truth.
1970’s - Timeline
• May 4, 1970 – Kent State Massacre
• June 24, 1970 – Congress repeals Gulf of Tonkin
• Feb. 1971 – Laos invaded
• June 1971 – Pentagon Papers Released
• March 1972 – North Vietnam invades South
• Dec. 1972 – Largest Bombings of North Vietnam
• January 27, 1973 – Paris Cease Fire Accord
• August 1974 – President Nixon Resigns - Watergate
• April 30, 1975 – Communist take Saigon
End of U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
• U.S. Leaves Vietnam
POWs• POWs come home