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The War in Vietnam

War on the Horizon•Ho Chi Minh- Vietnamese nationalist who wanted a communist state free of the French

•Vietminh- Movement for Vietnamese independence

•After battling Japanese in WWII, Ho Chi Minh wrote the Vietnamese “Declaration of Independence”

•Domino Theory- American thought that if one nation became communist, neighboring nations would fall too

•French fought Vietnamese but surrendered at Dienbienphu in 1954

•17th Parallel- Temporary border dividing North and South Vietnam

“The last time the Chinese came, they stayed a thousand years. The French are foreigners. They are weak. Colonialism is dying. The white man is finished in Asia.

But if the Chinese stay now, they will never go. As for me, I prefer to sniff

French [expletive] for five years than to eat Chinese [expletive] for the rest of my

life.”

— Ho Chi Minh, 1946

American Involvement•War lasted from 1959-1975

•Ngo Dinh Diem: President of South Vietnam who was supported by US

•Diem oppressed Buddhist majority leading to his assassination inn 1963

•Strategic Hamlets: Fortified villages encouraged by the US to prevent insurgent influence

•Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Series of Naval “incidents” where US naval ships were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin

•Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Declared by Pres. Johnson after American Naval ships being attacked in 1964 to take “all means necessary”

"I can scarcely believe the Americans would be so stupid… The consequences of the 1 November coup d'état will be contrary to the calculations of the U.S. imperialists ... Diem was one of the strongest individuals resisting the people and Communism. Everything that could be done in

an attempt to crush the revolution was carried out by Diem. Diem was one of the most competent lackeys of the U.S.

imperialists ... Among the anti-Communists in South Vietnam or exiled in other countries, no one has sufficient

political assets and abilities to cause others to obey. Therefore, the lackey administration cannot be stabilized. The coup d'état on 1 November 1963 will not be the last.“

-Ho Chi Minh and the North Vietnamese Politboro

Draft•April 1965 = Selective Service notified 13,700 draftees and 40,000 by December

•2.6 million Americans served in Vietnam with an average age of 19

•¼ of draftees were exempt for medical reasons

•About 1/3 were exempt for college

•In 1965 African-Americans accounted for 24% of all deaths when they were only 11% of the population

Escalation•Operation Rolling Thunder: Air assault in 1965-1968 by US that was well defended by North Vietnamese

•Ho Chi Minh Trail: Target of ORT, supply line for Vietcong that went through Laos and Cambodia\

•300,000 people maintained the HCM Trail at all times

•Defoliants: Chemicals designed to strip the land of vegetation (ex) napalm, agent orange

•Agent Orange: About 5 million Vietnamese exposed resulting in about half a million deaths

Napalm

AGENT ORANGE VICTIM

AGENT ORANGE VICTIM

AGENT ORANGE VICTIMS

War Tactics•Search-and-Destroy Missions: Ground troops would clear an area searching for Vietcong followed by air assaults

•Pacification: Removing residents to refugee camps and destroying villages

•Success was measured in enemy deaths, although they may have been inflated (about 1,000,000)

•One US officer…“If it’s dead and Vietnamese, it’s Vietcong

America Divided•By 1962, many Americans were against the war and supporting Diem

•Doves: Opposed War; Believed we should stay out of Vietnam at all costs

•Hawks: War supporters; Believed the military should use all its power

•Silent Majority: Americans that were not part of the anti war movement

Specific Incidents•1968 Democratic National Convention: Huge anti war protest held in Chicago where police battle protestors

•1970 Kent St. Shootings: The ROTC shot and injured 9 students, killing 4, some of whom were just walking across campus

•1970 Jackson St. Shootings: Police injured 9 students, killing 2 during an anti war protest, leading to a strike by faculty and students

Tet Offensive•Tet: January 30, 1968 Vietnamese New Year

•Tet Offensive: 70,000 Communist soldiers attempt at taking over South Vietnamese strongholds

•Gen. Westmoreland: Commander of US forces in Vietnam, declared victory after the Tet Offensive (40,000 deaths to only 6,000)

•In reality, the Tet Offensive established a greater presence in the South and shook American confidence

1968•Started w/ the Tet Offensive

•LBJ announced he would not run for re-election as ¾ of Americans disapproved of his measures

•Anti-War Democrat Eugene McCarthy and Robert (RFK) Kennedy were aiming for the seat

•MLK Jr. was assassinated then RFK 2 months later

•1968 Democratic National Convention met in Chicago among rioting

•Republican Richard Nixon easily defeated LBJ’s VP Humphrey in election

Vietnamization•Vietnamization: Nixon’s foreign policy of pulling out American troops and leaving Vietnam for the Vietnamese

•Nixon hoped that this would leave a democratic South Vietnam

•Amidst “Vietnamization,” Nixon ordered secret bombings of the Ho Chi Minh trail in neutral Cambodia

•Once news spread of this, protestors broke out on college campuses

•Pentagon Papers: Leaked government documents showing that the public was misled througout the entire war

Ending the War•1972 Election: Nixon defeated McGovern (D)

•A cease-fire was agreed upon the basis that Americans would leave and help rebuild the country along with a P.O.W. exchange

•2 years (1975) after American withdrawal, Saigon fell to the Communists as Americans were rescued

•Overall, the domino theory never really prevailed

•North Vietnam forced a “re-education” of South Vietnam

“If the tiger ever stands still, the elephant will crush him with his mighty tusks. But the tiger does not stand still…He

will leap upon the back of the elephant, tearing huge chunks from his hide, and then the tiger will leap back into the dark jungle. And slowly the elephant will bleed to death. That will

be the war of Indochina.”-Ho Chi Minh

1946

1. Who is the “tiger?”2. Who is the “elephant?”

3. Do you agree or disagree with Ho Chi Minh?