Download - The Vietnam War – The War Ends
The Vietnam War –The War Ends
1968 – Turning PointWhat was the Tet
Offensive? • Jan. 30, 1968 – Cease fire
during Vietnamese Tet celebrations (Lunar New Year)
• NVA/Vietcong launches surprise attack on S. Vietnam & U.S. forces
• 84,000 forces attack 12 U.S. military bases/100 cities.
• Attack stunned U.S. forces/1000’s of S. Vietnamese killed
• U.S. able to push back Vietcong/NVA
1968 – Turning PointSignificance of the Tet
Offensive• MAIN IDEA: Turns public opinion
against war!– After 3 years of bombing/500,000
soldiers, NVA/Vietcong still launching offensive attacks
– Time & Newsweek urge withdrawal – Walter Cronkite tells millions of American
viewers that Vietnam is “unwinable” – LBJ: “If I’ve lost Cronkite…then it’s over.
I’ve lost middle America.”
The Fall of LBJ
• LBJ’s popularity declines 35%• “Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids
did you kill today.”• Anti-War candidates challenge
LBJ for Presidency (Eugene McCarthy & Robert F. Kennedy)
• LBJ announces he will not seek reelection
Nixon Elected in 1968
• Campaigned on the promise to end the war . . . Honorably.
• “Peace with honor”• Claimed to have a
“secret plan” to get U.S. out of war.
• Appealed to Americans wanting “law and order”
Nixon appealed to the
“SILENT MAJORITY”
Regular working Americans who disliked the youth protests/activism of the 60’s and wanted to see . . .
• More “law and order” in America• A responsible end to the Vietnam
War without a U.S. defeat
Nixon Doctrine1. U.S. would honor all treaty
obligations2. U.S. would provide a shield
if a nuclear power threatened an ally
3. U.S. would provide military & economic aide to allies, but would expect the nation to be provide the majority of the manpower to defend themselves.
Johnson:Directly support South Vietnam by sending the U.S. military to fight to defend South Vietnam
Nixon:Provide support but expect the South Vietnamese to bear more of the burden to defend themselves.
How did their policies differ?
“Peace with honor”
Vietnamization Nixon’s policy to . . .
GRADUALLY turn over fighting to the South Vietnamese while gradually bringing U.S. Troops home.
• U.S. would focus on training the S. Vietnamese army
• Return to policy similar to JFK’s policies in the early 1960’s.
540,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam when Nixon
took officeNixon begins Vietnamization
immediately . . . • June 1969: Nixon brings 25,000 U.S.
troops home from Vietnam• By December 1969: 85,000 U.S.
troops brought home. (By 1970, 335,000 U.S. troops in
Vietnam)
Nixon DECREASES troop levels and INCREASES bombing campaigns
CAMBODIA• March 1969: Nixon begins
secret bombing campaign of Cambodia
• April 30, 1970: U.S. troops invade Cambodia to clear out N. Vietnamese/Vietcong sanctuaries
Invasion of Cambodia sparks NEW WAVE of
protests
Kent State Massacre
KSU – May 1970• May 2: Students set fire to the KSU
ROTC building. Slash firehouse. Governor James A. Rhodes sends National Guard to KSU
• May 3: Students hold another rally. Dispersed by tear gas.
• May 4: 2,000 students gather for rally. Throw rocks at National Guard. As students pursue Guardsman, Guardsman fire shots . . . Killing four students.
Paris Peace Talks
• Throughout the Nixon Administration, Kissinger and N. Vietnamese representatives met in Paris.
• January 1973: CEASE FIRE AGREEMENT– U.S. forces to withdrawal immediately.– All P.O.W’s released.– South Vietnam permitted to determine
future.– 17th Parallel would continue to be dividing
line.
Communist Victory• January 1975: N.
Vietnamese launch offensive on northern South Vietnam.
• In a few months, S. Vietnam crumbles. President flees to Thailand.
• April 30, 1975: South Vietnam surrenders.
Post War Vietnam
• Vietnam united as Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
• Capital: Hanoi• Saigon
renamed Ho Chi Minh City
The Story of the Hmong • During Vietnam War, CIA recruited the Hmong to fight “the secret war”• Hmong soldiers to fight North Vietnamese infiltrators in Laos and help block the Ho Chi Minh Trail. • Hmong were loyal to U.S. and were heroes in their sacrifice and bravery• 1967 – 1971:4,000 killed / 5,000 injured
Laos Turns Communist
• 2 years after Vietnam War ends, Laos is overthrown by Communists supported by Vietnam
• The Hmong became targets of Communist government because of their support of the U.S. during the Vietnam War
• Thousands of the Hmong forced to flee Laos
Thousands of Hmong live in Refugee Camps in
Thailand
Hmong Resettle in U.S.
• First Wave (1975 – 1978): 30,000 Hmong migrate to U.S. Mostly men who fought in Laos.
• Second Wave (1980 – present): Over 100,000 Hmong (mostly families) emigrate to U.S.
• Today over 209,000 Hmong
live in the United States!
AssignmentFist Bump a Hmong AECHS student
today and thank them for their ancestors help and support during
the Vietnam War!