The End of the Vietnam War

EQ: What events led to the end of the war?

Tet Offensive 1968

• Communist forces surround and attack Khe Sanh (diversion)

• Coordinated attacks throughout South Vietnam at start of Tet

• Military defeat for North but embarrassment for U.S.

• “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”

Nixon takes office

Richard Nixon wins the 1968 Presidential election

Henry Kissinger & Richard Nixon

VietnamizationThe gradual withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam

South Vietnamese troops would be trained and take a larger role in the war

Nixon wanted to keep pressure on the North Vietnamese while peace talks progressed

America increased its air strikes against the North, Cambodia & Laos

Widening the War

Massacre at My LaiIncident were U.S. soldiers killed around 450 unarmed civilians

Mostly older men, women, and children

This caused many people to criticize the military’s actions

Increasing Protests

• Kent State shootings

• Jackson State College

• Anti-War Movement expands

• Protests turn radical

Pentagon PapersDaniel Ellsberg leaked papers

Government documents that showed that gov’t officials were against the war but publicly supported it

Peace AgreementJanuary 27, 1973 peace is reached and America pulls its remaining troops out of Vietnam

North Vietnam does not have to remove any of its troops

No agreement on what is to happen to South Vietnam

South Vietnam Falls

March 1975, North Vietnamese Army invades South Vietnam

President Gerald Ford wants to help but Congress refuses

Vietnam reunited as a communist country

Wars Impact58,000 Americans dead

300,000 Americans wounded

Over 1.6 million Vietnamese dead

Soldiers unappreciated

War Powers Act passed

Vietnam Memorial

Built in 1982 in Washington D.C.