Objectives: TLW…

1) Summarize Vietnam’s history as a French colony and its struggle for independence.

2) Examine how the U.S. became involved in the Vietnam conflict.

3) Describe the expansion of U.S. military involvement under President Johnson.

THEMES

1) EXPANDING DEMOCRACY:America’s mission in Vietnam was to halt thespread of communism-a threat o democracy.

2) CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS:Among the constitutional issues of the Vietnam War era were the president’s powers as commander inchief and First Amendment rights. Both the Tonkin GulfResolution and the Pentagon Papers sparkedcontroversy.

THEMES

3) CIVIL RIGHTS: Initially, mainstream civil rights leaders werereluctant to criticize the Vietnam War, fearingthey would jeopardize President Johnson’ssupport for their cause. When the warthreatened Great Society reforms, Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr., and other civil rights leadersvoiced their opposition.

THEMES4) THE AMERICAN DREAM:In the 1960’s, members of the counterculturerejected the American dream and chose to dropout of mainstream society. Hippies sought toredefine the American dream by creating asociety based on love.

5) MEDIA:The media can sway public opinion and dictateevents.

Anticipation Guide

INSTRUCTIONS:Before reading, mark whether or not you agreewith each statement. After reading, fill in the pagenumber where you found the answer to eachstatement, tell whether or not you were right, andreflect upon what you found.

THE VIETMINH vs. FRANCE• Ho Chi Minh declares

Vietnamese independence from ALL foreign rule.

• Ho forms the Vietminh, a military organization, to fight for independence against foreign rule.

• Ho vows to liberate South Vietnam from French rule and oppression.

U.S. Unofficial Involvement in Vietnam• In 1950 President Truman

begins to provide economic aide to France in Vietnam to defeat the Vietminh.

• $15 million sent in 1950.• Spent $1 Billion over

between 1951-1954• Domino Theory=If Vietnam

falls to communism then all other Asian countries will also fall. Therefore, the U.S. must take a stand against communism in Vietnam.

The French Lose: Surprise, Surprise!• In May of 1954 the French are surrounded and

defeated by the Vietminh in the northern city of Dien Bien Phu.

• Geneva Accords=1) Peace agreement between the Vietminh and South Vietnam that divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel. 2) France agreed to permanently pull out of Vietnam. 3) Free elections will be held in 1956 to choose a leader for a newly united Vietnam.

South Vietnamese Leadership• The U.S. throws its support

into Ngo Dinh Diem, an anti-communist.

• Just prior to the 1956 unifying elections the U.S. can see that Diem will not win. Ho Chi Minh will win easily. As a result, Diem and the U.S. call off the elections!

• Diem proves to be an incompetent and corrupt leader of South Vietnam

Vietcong and the Ho Chi Minh Trail• In 1957 a communist group

was formed in South Vietnam to oppose Diem and the U.S.=Vietcong.

• The Vietcong were organized in to cells and waged guerilla (terrorist) type warfare.

• In 1959 they were successful in assassinating 1,200 of Diem’s government officials.

VIETCONG/HO CHI MINH TRAIL• In 1960 Ho Chi Minh supported

the Vietcong and began supplying them weapons and supplies by way of paths running through Laos and Cambodia.

• U.S. is forced to fight 2 enemies: 1) Vietcong=South Viatnamese guerillas (civilians). 2) North Vietnam Army (NVA)=official army of North Vietnam.

U.S. Foreign Policy/U.S. Civilian Support For The War

Open Stat Document

VIETCONG CODE OF BEHAVIOR• When the Vietcong entered a village they were to

obey a strict code of behavior. All members were issued with a series of 'directives'. These included:" (1) Not to do what is likely to damage the land and crops or spoil the houses and belongings of the people; (2) Not to insist on buying or borrowing what the people are not willing to sell or lend; (3) Never to break our word; (4) Not to do or speak what is likely to make people believe that we hold them in contempt; (5) To help them in their daily work (harvesting, fetching firewood, carrying water, sewing, etc.)."

JFK and SOUTH VIETNAM• JFk wins the 1960 election and

inherits the Vietnam conflict.• JFK wants to NOT look soft on

communism so he sends more economic aid to Diem (“sink or swim with him”) and several thousand military advisors to train the South Vietnamese army.

• By 1963, JFK has sent 16,000 military personnel to Vietnam to protect the military advisors.

• JFk is seriously considering pulling completely out of Vietnam if South Vietnam can show they can soundly govern themselves.

Instability of South Vietnamese Gov’t• Diem became very

unpopular with the South Vietnamese citizens because…1) Private property was confiscated and villagers were corralled into protected areas. 2) government corruption. 3) Persecution, imprisonment, and killing of Buddhist monks; destruction of Buddhist temples=monks burning selves in streets in protest.

OVERTHROW of DIEM REGIME• In order for the U.S. to stay

and help South Vietnam there had to be political order=Diem had to go!

• On November 1, 1963 the U.S. organizes a coup to oust Diem from office. In the process Diem is Assassinated.

• 2 Weeks later JFK is assassinated and instead of leaving Vietnam the U.S. will get involved deeper.

PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON• President Johnson takes over

for JFK and promises to not escalate the war.

• In reference to Vietnam he said “It’s their war.” And “I will not send American boys to Vietnam to do what Asian boys should do for themselves.”

• But “If I…let he communist take over South Vietnam then…my nation would be seen as an appeaser and we would…find it impossible to accomplish anything…anywhere on the globe.”

TONKIN GULF RESOLUTION• LBJ had authorized secret raids to be conducted

into North Vietnam. In response to the raids the North Vietnamese fire a torpedo at the USS MADDOX in the Gulf of Tonkin.

• Torpedoes miss, but the U.S. returns fire and sinks the North Vietnamese boat.

• LBJ gets congress to pass the Tonkin Gulf Resolution on August 7, 1964=allows the U.S. to take military action against any armed attack without having to officially declare war.

Tonkin Gulf Video Cliphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWAmAOctuxI&feature=player_detailpage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1n0eVea9Zg&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active(Proof that Tonkin Gulf Incident was fabricated)

RESULT OF TONKIN GULF RESOLUTION1) LBJ orders “Operation Rolling Thunder” in

February 1965=bombing of North Vietnam by the Air Force. We dropped more bombs in the first month than we did in all of WWII. (ordered to not bomb any North Vietnam ports or anywhere near China.)

2) In March the first American combat troops arrived in South Vietnam.

3) By June 50,000 U.S. soldiers were fighting the Vietcong.

Exit Slip: Answer the questions and turn in before leaving class today

1) How AND why did the U.S. support France’s Vietnam War efforts?

2) Why did the U.S. support canceling elections?3) Why was the Diem regime unpopular?4) How did the Tonkin Gulf Resolution lead to

greater involvement in the Vietnam War?5) Do you think Congress was justified in passing

the Tonkin Gulf Resolution? Use details from the text to support your answer.