the vietnam era - cardigan mountain school

864

Vietnam Era1960–1975

Why It MattersThe United States became involved in Vietnam because it believed that if all of Vietnam

fell under a Communist government, communism would spread throughout SoutheastAsia and beyond. The Vietnam War was the longest war in the nation’s history.

The Impact TodayMore than 58,000 U.S. troops died in Vietnam. The war damaged people’s confidence

in their government. Americans grew more willing to challenge the president on militaryand foreign policy issues after Vietnam. The war also became a yardstick to gauge

whether to involve American troops in later crises.

The American Journey Video The chapter 30 video, “The First TV War,”explores how televised images brought the Vietnam War into American householdsand influenced public opinion about the war.

1965• U.S. involvement in

Vietnam grows

1959• Civil war begins

in Vietnam

1961• Berlin Wall

erected

1966• Cultural Revolution

in China

The

CHAPTER 30 The Vietnam Era

1960 1963 1966

Kennedy1961–1963

1962• Cuban missile crisis

Eisenhower1953–1961

Johnson1963–1969

865

1969• Armstrong walks on moon

1968• North Vietnam

launches Tetoffensive

1970• Civil War begins

in Cambodia

HISTORY

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Helping a Comrade Members of the First Marine Division carry a woundedmarine to safety during battle in South Vietnam.


1972 19751969

Nixon1969–1974

1968• Robert Kennedy assassinated

1970• Kent State shootings

1975• Vietnam War ends after fall

of Saigon

Ford1974–1977

1973• Paris peace accords

end U.S. involve-ment in Vietnam

Step 1 Fold one sheet of paper in half fromside to side.

Step 2 Turn the paper and fold it into thirds.

Step 3 Unfold and label the foldable as shown.

Step 4 Cut the top layer only along bothfold lines.

This will makethree tabs.

Sequencing Events Study Foldable Sequencethe actions of the United States‘s presidents duringthe Vietnam War by making and using this foldable.

Reading and Writing As you read the chapter,record facts about the actions and policies of thepresidents in office during the Vietnam era. Besure to also record the dates of these importantevents.

J.F.K. L.B.J. Nixon

J.F.K. L.B.J. Nixon

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1962Cuban missilecrisis occurs

1963Telephone hot line linksU.S., Soviet leaders

1969Neil Armstrong walkson the moon

Main IdeaIn the early 1960s, the nation facedSoviet threats relating to Cuba and to Berlin.

Key Termsguerrilla warfare, flexible response,executive order, exile, blockade, hot line

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information As you readSection 1, re-create the diagrambelow and describe the actions theKennedy administration took inresponse to these crises.

Read to Learn• how the Kennedy administration

handled challenges to foreignaffairs.

• what happened during the Cuban missile crisis.

Section ThemeGeography and History TheKennedy administration faced crisesin Cuba and Berlin.

Kennedy’s Foreign Policy

866 CHAPTER 30 The Vietnam Era

“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role ofdefending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—Iwelcome it.” So spoke John F. Kennedy in his Inaugural Address. Although Kennedy talked ofapproaching this responsibility with “energy” and “devotion,” events unfolding around theworld—in Cuba, Eastern Europe, and Vietnam—would challenge his determination. The newpresident and nation soon faced a series of crises.

New DirectionsPresident Kennedy continued the anti–Communist foreign policy begun under

Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. In pursuing that policy, though, Kennedytried some new approaches.

During the presidential campaign, Kennedy led Americans to believe that thenation had fewer nuclear missiles than the Soviet Union. As president, Kennedyincreased spending on nuclear arms. At the same time, he tried to convinceNikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, to agree to a ban on nuclear testing.

1961Bay of Pigs invasion fails

Preview of Events

Guide to Reading

✦1960 ✦1965 ✦1970

Response to Crises

Berlin Wall Cuban missile crisis

867CHAPTER 30 The Vietnam Era

Strength Through FlexibilityKennedy also worked to improve America’s

ability to respond to threats abroad. In certainareas of the world, Communist groups fought totake control of their nation’s government. Manyof these groups received aid from the SovietUnion. They employed guerrilla warfare, orfighting by small bands using tactics such assudden ambushes.

The United States needed a new approachfor fighting guerrilla wars. Kennedy intro-duced a plan called flexible response, whichrelied on special military units trained to fightguerrilla wars. One of these units was the Spe-cial Forces, known as the Green Berets. TheSpecial Forces provided the president withtroops ready to fight guerrilla warfare any-where around the world.

Strength Through AidPresident Kennedy understood that the

poverty in Latin America, Asia, and Africa madethe Communist promises of economic equalityseem attractive. He decided to provide aid tocountries in those areas to counteract the appealof communism. On March 1, 1961, the presidentsigned an executive order creating the PeaceCorps. An executive order is a rule issued by thechief executive.

Americans who volunteered for the PeaceCorps worked in other countries as teachers,health workers, and advisers in farming, indus-try, and government. By 1963 some 5,000 volun-teers were working in more than 40 countries.

To promote Latin America’s growth, Kennedyproposed a 10-year development plan called theAlliance for Progress. In his InauguralAddress, Kennedy promised Latin Americanleaders that the United States would “assist freemen and free governments in casting off thechains of poverty.” He hoped as well to preventthe rise of Communist states in the region.

Explaining Why did PresidentKennedy form the Peace Corps?

Cold War ConfrontationsIn 1961, just a few months after taking office,

President Kennedy faced a foreign policy crisisin Cuba. That same year, the United States andthe Soviet Union clashed in Europe.

As you read in Chapter 28, Fidel Castro hadseized power in Cuba in 1959. When Castroformed an alliance with the Soviet Union,Americans felt threatened because Cuba liesonly 90 miles (144 km) south of Florida. Late inEisenhower’s presidency, officials in the Central

The Peace Corps in Ethiopia,1966 by Norman RockwellVolunteers worked in many devel-oping countries in Africa. WhichKennedy program dealt withLatin America’s economy?

History Through Art

Alan Shepard becamea national hero on May 5,1961, when he becamethe first American inspace. His flight aboardthe tiny Freedom 7 space-ship lasted 15 minutesand reached an altitude of about 120 miles.Although the flight wasbrief, it was a key stepforward for the UnitedStates in its space racewith the Soviet Union.

After graduating fromthe United States NavalAcademy in 1944, Shep-ard served during WorldWar II. After the war, he attended the NavalTest Pilot School. In 1959Shepard was named oneof NASA’s original sevenastronauts.

Ten years after hisflight aboard Freedom 7,Shepard commanded theApollo 14 moon mission,

during which he spent arecord 33.5 hours on thesurface of the moon.

In 1974 Shepardretired from both NASAand the Navy andentered private business.He served as the presi-dent of the MercurySeven Foundation, whichprovides college sciencescholarships for deserv-ing students.

Intelligence Agency (CIA) forged a plan to over-throw Castro. The CIA recruited refugees whohad fled Castro’s Cuba and settled in the UnitedStates. The plan called for these exiles, or per-sons forced from their homes, to land in Cuba,spark an uprising, and overthrow Castro.Although Kennedy had doubts about the plan,he accepted the advice of military advisers andthe CIA and allowed it to go forward.

On April 17, 1961, about 1,500 CIA-trainedCuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in south-ern Cuba. Many blunders occurred, and at a cru-cial moment, Kennedy refused to provideAmerican air support. Within days Cuban forcescrushed the invasion and captured the survivors.

The Bay of Pigs embarrassed Kennedy, whotook the blame for the failure. The disaster hadthree consequences. First, Kennedy never againcompletely trusted military and intelligence advice. Second, other nations in Latin Americalost trust in Kennedy. Third, Soviet premierKhrushchev concluded that Kennedy was not astrong leader and could be bullied.

The Berlin WallThough 16 years had passed since the end of

World War II, the wartime Allies had still not set-tled the status of Germany. West Germany gainedcomplete independence in 1949, but the SovietUnion continued to control East Germany.

The location of Berlin—fully within Soviet-controlled East Germany—posed special prob-lems. American, British, and French troops stillremained in the western part of the city, andthey sometimes had difficulty getting into WestBerlin and maintaining control there. Mean-while a steady flow of people fled to West Berlinfrom Communist East Berlin, hoping to escapeeconomic hardship and find freedom.

At a June 1961 summit conference in Vienna,Austria, Premier Khrushchev told PresidentKennedy that the West must move out of Berlin,and he insisted on an agreement by the end ofthe year. Kennedy rejected Khrushchev’sdemand. To emphasize the West’s right to stayin West Berlin, the United States later sent moretroops to protect the city.

CHAPTER 30 The Vietnam Era868


Later that summer, a large number of EastGermans fled to the West. On August 13, theEast German government, with Soviet backing,closed the border between East and West Berlinand built a wall of concrete blocks and barbedwire along it. The Soviets posted armed guardsalong the wall to stop more East Germans fromfleeing to the West. The Berlin Wall cut commu-nications between the two parts of the city.

The Western Allies continued to support theindependence of West Berlin. They could do little,however, to stop the building of the wall, whichcame to symbolize Communist repression.

Explaining Why did the SovietUnion build the Berlin Wall?

The Cuban Missile CrisisThe most dangerous Cold War dispute

between the Americans and Soviets came in 1962.Once again the dispute involved Cuba.

In mid-October 1962, an American spy planeflying over Cuba made a disturbing discovery.Photographs revealed that the Soviets werebuilding launching sites for nuclear missiles.These missiles could easily reach the UnitedStates in a matter of minutes.

For the next week, President Kennedy metsecretly with advisers to determine how to dealwith the Cuban missile crisis. They exploredseveral options, including invading Cuba andbombing the missile sites. New spy photo-graphs showed the bases nearing completionfaster than expected. A decision had to be made.

On October 22, President Kennedy, speakingon national television, revealed the “secret,swift, and extraordinary buildup” of missiles inCuba. Kennedy ordered the navy to blockade,or close off, Cuba until the Soviets removed themissiles. He threatened to destroy any Sovietship that tried to break through the blockade.The president also declared:

“It shall be the policy of this nation to regardany nuclear missile launched from Cuba againstany nation in the Western Hemisphere as anattack by the Soviet Union on the UnitedStates.”

The United States would respond, he warned,with a nuclear attack against the Soviet Union.

As the two superpowers neared the brink ofnuclear war, people all over the world waitednervously. However, Khrushchev was not readyto back down, and Soviet ships—some carryingmissiles—continued to approach Cuba.

Two days after Kennedy’s announcement, abreakthrough occurred. Some Soviet ships near-ing the blockade turned back.

However, some Soviet ships still headedtoward Cuba, and work on the missile bases con-tinued. The president’s advisers worked on plansfor an air attack on the missile sites—just in case.

After five agonizing days, when the worldappeared on the brink of nuclear war, the Sovietships turned back from the blockade. Sovietleaders also decided to withdraw their missilesfrom Cuba.

500 kilometers0Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

500 miles0

N

S

EW

20°W60°W100°W140°W

20°N

40°N

60°N

MIG

jetbomber range= 800

miles

Medium

ballistic missile range= 1,1

50m

iles

Inte

rmed

iate

ballis

ticmissile range= 2,500 miles

CUBA

Miami

Washington, D.C.

New York CityChicago

Los Angeles

The Cuban Missile Crisis:October 14–28, 1962

This map shows the range of the Soviet missiles in Cuba. Their accuracy fell off as range increased.1. Region What parts of the United States could

intermediate-range missiles reach?2. Analyzing Information What strategy did the United

States use to respond to the Soviet threat in Cuba?

Having come so close tonuclear disaster, the super-powers worked to establish abetter relationship. In the sum-mer of 1963, Kennedy andKhrushchev created a direct tele-phone link, called the hot line,between Moscow and Washingtonto allow the leaders to communi-cate instantly in times of crisis.

That same summer, the twonations signed a treaty banningnuclear tests aboveground andunderwater.

Rivalry in SpaceThe United States competed with

the Soviet Union in another area duringthe Kennedy administration—outerspace. The space race began when theSoviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s firstsuccessful satellite, in 1957. In April 1961, Sovietcosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (guh•GAHR•uhn)became the first person to orbit the earth. Onemonth later, Alan Shepard, Jr., became the firstAmerican to make a spaceflight.

Shortly after Shepard’s flight, Kennedy chal-lenged the nation to a great undertaking. In aspeech to Congress, he said:

“I believe that this nation should commit itselfto achieving the goal, before this decade is out,of landing a man on the moon and returning himsafely to the earth.”

The president asked Congress for moremoney for NASA (the National Aeronauticsand Space Administration), which ran thespace program. NASA expanded its launch-ing facility in Florida and built a control cen-ter in Houston, Texas.

Astronaut John Glenn thrilled the coun-try in February 1962 when he orbited theearth in a spacecraft, the first American todo so. An even greater triumph for thespace program came on July 20, 1969, withthe Apollo project. Awestruck televisionviewers around the world watched thespacecraft Eagle land on the surface of the

moon. Hours later, with millions still watching,astronaut Neil Armstrong took the first humanstep on the moon and announced: “That’s onesmall step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”By the end of the Apollo project in 1972, 10 moreAmericans had landed on the moon.

Explaining Why did PresidentKennedy order a blockade of the island of Cuba?


Cuban missile crisisPersuasive Writing Write a speechthat President Kennedy might havewritten to defend his actions duringthe Cuban missile crisis. Use completesentences except where fragmentsare appropriate.

Checking for Understanding1. Key Terms Write a sentence in

which you correctly use each of thefollowing terms: guerrilla warfare,flexible response, executive order,exile, blockade, hot line. Beloweach sentence write the definition ofthe term used.

2. Reviewing Facts Who was the firstAmerican to orbit the earth in aspacecraft?

Reviewing Themes3. Geography and History Why did

West Berlin’s location make it difficultfor the allies to defend it?

Critical Thinking4. Making Inferences Why do you

think Khrushchev sent missiles toCuba?

5. Analyzing Information Re-createthe diagram below and identifystrategies that the Kennedy adminis-tration considered to stop thebuildup of missiles in Cuba.

Analyzing Visuals6. Geography Skills Examine the map

of the Cuban missile crisis on page869. According to the map, wasWashington, D.C., within the range of a medium ballistic missile? Could a medium-range missile reach Los Angeles?

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1954Geneva Accordsdivide Vietnam

1959Civil war in Vietnam begins

1964Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed

1968More than 500,000 U.S.troops are in Vietnam

In March 1967 David Parks, an African American soldier serving in Vietnam, described anenemy attack on his camp: “I was asleep when the first shell exploded. The earth shook and Irolled to the ground as someone hollered, ‘Incoming!’ . . . I shook like jelly as the shrapnelburst all around our bunker. . . . All we could do was open up with our 50-caliber and smallarms. . . . I’m not sure the native people are with us. They smile at us in the daytime andtheir sons shoot at us at night. It’s hard to spot the real enemy.”

The U.S. and VietnamIn the early 1960s, the United States became involved in a fight against com-

munism in Southeast Asia. The war in Vietnam did not unfold as Americanshad hoped, however. General Maxwell Taylor, who served as American ambas-sador to Vietnam, reflected on the war in Vietnam years after it had ended:

“First, we didn’t know ourselves. We thought we were going into another Koreanwar, but this was a different country. Secondly, we didn’t know our South Vietnameseallies. We never understood them, and that was another surprise. And we knew evenless about North Vietnam.”

Main IdeaU.S. military involvement in Vietnamincreased steadily throughout the1960s.

Key TermsVietcong, coup, escalate, search-and-destroy mission

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Re-createthe diagram below and fill in themain events that occurred after theGulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Read to Learn• how Vietnam became a divided

country.• why America increased its involve-

ment in the Vietnam War.

Section ThemeGlobal Connections Unable to endthe Vietnam War quickly, the UnitedStates found itself increasingly drawninto the conflict.

War in Vietnam

Gulf ofTonkin

Preview of Events

Guide to Reading

✦1950 ✦1960 ✦1970

872

Origins of the WarThe roots of the Vietnam conflict can be traced

back to World War II, when Japanese forces cap-tured the French colony of Indochina in South-east Asia. Vietnamese forces led by CommunistHo Chi Minh (hoh chee MIHN) fought againstthe Japanese.

When Japan surrendered at the end of WorldWar II, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s inde-pendence. The French, however, were unwill-ing to give up their empire. Their Indochinacolony—the present-day nations of Cambodia,Laos, and Vietnam—was among the richest ofFrance’s colonies, supplying such valuableresources as rice, rubber, and tin. Ho Chi Minhand his forces fought the French in a long,bloody war, finally defeating the French in 1954at Dien Bien Phu.

The Geneva AccordsThat same year, diplomats from the United

States, France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union,China, and Vietnam met in Geneva, Switzer-land, to work out a peace agreement. Accord-ing to the Geneva Accords, Vietnam would bedivided temporarily. Ho Chi Minh’s Commu-nist nationalists would control the North.


Buddhist monks often led protests againstunpopular South Vietnamese governments andtheir leaders. Why did Vietnam’s Buddhistsprotest against the Diem government?

History

Hanoi served as its capital. Non-Communistforces—supported by the United States—would control the South, with Saigon as thecapital. Vietnam would be unified in 1956 afternational elections.

Neither the United States nor South Vietnamhad signed the agreement, but they did notoppose its provisions. At the same time, an Amer-ican representative warned that the United Statesreserved the right to step in if Communist NorthVietnam moved aggressively against the South.

In 1955 Ngo Dinh Diem (NOH DIHN deh•EHM), the French-educated Vietnamese leader,gained control of the government of South Viet-nam. The following year, Diem, with Americansupport, refused to hold the elections. Diem’sbrutal policies and his refusal to hold electionsangered many Vietnamese.

Communist supporters of Ho Chi Minhremained in the South after Vietnam wasdivided. In the late 1950s, Diem launched a cam-paign to destroy the power of the Communists.In response, the Communists organized them-selves as the National Liberation Front (NLF)—better known to Americans as the Vietcong. In1959 the Vietcong, on orders from Ho Chi Minh,began a war against the Diem regime.

Ho Chi Minh


American soldiers leap from a helicopterduring a mission in South Vietnam. Whendid President Johnson begin to increaseAmerican involvement in Vietnam?

History

“The helicopter added a newdimension to warfare—mobility. The helicoptertook soldiers into battle, suppliedthem, andevacuated thewounded and the dead.”

A Growing American RoleThe United States had replaced the French as

the dominant foreign power in the South in 1955.If Communists took South Vietnam, PresidentEisenhower once said, the other countries ofSoutheast Asia would fall to communism like arow of dominoes—one right after the other. Thisdomino theory helped shape American policy inVietnam for the next 20 years.

To support South Vietnam, the Eisenhoweradministration sent the country billions of dol-lars in aid. It also dispatched a few hundred sol-diers, who acted as advisers to the SouthVietnamese government and army.

Like Eisenhower, President Kennedy sawVietnam as part of the global struggle in thefight against communism. Kennedy sent moreSpecial Forces troops—the Green Berets—totrain and advise South Vietnamese troops.Kennedy also pressured Diem to make politicaland economic reforms to eliminate the condi-tions that had allowed communism to take rootin the first place. But Diem refused to comply.

Instead of paying for new schools, health clinics,or land reform, American funds often ended upin the pockets of corrupt South Vietnamese offi-cials. At the same time, North Vietnam sent aidand troops to the South to help the Vietcong in aguerrilla war against Diem that began in 1959.

The Diem government lost support through-out the country. His government took rightsaway from Buddhists—the majority of the peo-ple in South Vietnam—and favored Catholics,like himself. Buddhists responded with protests,some of which ended in bloodshed when gov-ernment troops fired into the crowds.

In early 1963 Buddhist monks showed theiropposition to Diem’s rule by setting themselveson fire on busy streets. Horrifying photographsof monks engulfed in flames appeared in news-papers and on television screens around theworld. The Kennedy administration found itdifficult to continue to support Diem.

On November 1, 1963, a group of South Viet-namese army officers staged a coup—overthrewthe government—and assassinated Diem. The

Kennedy administration had supported thecoup, but not the assassination. After PresidentKennedy was assassinated later that same month,the question of what to do in Vietnam fell on theshoulders of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Analyzing How did the dominotheory affect the decision regarding the conflict in Vietnam?

The Conflict DeepensAt the time of Kennedy’s death, the United

States had nearly 16,000 American troops inVietnam as advisers. President Johnson sent Sec-retary of Defense Robert McNamara to Vietnamon a fact-finding mission.

McNamara told the president that South Viet-nam could not resist the Vietcong rebels withoutmore help from the United States. In a May 1964conversation, taped but not made public until1997, Johnson himself expressed doubts aboutAmerican commitment. “I don’t think it’s worthfighting for,” he said, “but I don’t think we can get out.” Nevertheless, as Vietcong attacks con-tinued, the United States moved toward deeperinvolvement.

President Johnson wanted con-gressional support for expandingthe American role in Vietnam. Theopportunity to get that supportcame in August 1964, when NorthVietnamese patrol boats allegedlyattacked American destroyers in theGulf of Tonkin near North Vietnam.Congress quickly passed a resolu-tion that allowed the president to“take all necessary measures torepel any armed attack against theforces of the United States.” TheGulf of Tonkin Resolution gaveJohnson broad authority to useAmerican forces in Vietnam.

In 1965 Johnson began to esca-late—gradually increase—UnitedStates involvement in Vietnam. Thebuildup included both groundtroops and an air campaign.

United States Marines landed near Da Nang,South Vietnam, on March 8, 1965. During the nextthree years, the number of American troops inVietnam increased sharply. About 180,000 sol-diers were in Vietnam by the end of 1965, almost400,000 by the end of 1966, and more than 500,000by 1968.

The United States also unleashed an intensebombing campaign called Operation RollingThunder. Some planes attacked the Ho ChiMinh Trail, a network of roads, paths, andbridges that wound from North Vietnamthrough Cambodia and Laos into South Viet-nam. North Vietnamese troops used this route tobring equipment south. Other planes targetedbridges, docks, factories, and military bases inthe North.

The bombing increased in intensity from 1965through 1968. By then American planes haddropped more bombs on North Vietnam thanthey had dropped on Germany, Italy, and Japanduring World War II.

Fighting the WarThe American troops found fighting a ground

war in Vietnam difficult. Dense jungles, muddytrails, and swampy rice paddies hampered troop


More than 7,500 American nurses served duringthe Vietnam conflict.

875

movement. The South Vietnamese army didnot always fight effectively. As the Vietcongguerrillas blended with the population, Amer-ican soldiers found it hard to tell friends andenemies apart.

The American forces began to conduct search-and-destroy missions. The goal was to seek outVietcong or North Vietnamese units and destroythem. The Americans hoped to eventually defeatthe Communists or force them to negotiate.

Ground troops coordinated their moves withair support. Patrols on the ground radioed theirlocation, and helicopter gunships roared to the scene to blast the enemy with cannon and machine-gun fire.

Planes bombed areas of South Vietnam inan effort to drive guerrillas from their junglecover. Both sides used planes to drop napalm,an explosive that burned intensely, to destroyjungle growth. North Vietnamese and Vietcong

forces also used napalm in flamethrowers,devices that expel fuel or a burning stream ofliquids. To improve visibility, chemical herbi-cides were sprayed in Vietnam to clear outforests and tall grasses. One herbicide, AgentOrange, is believed to have contaminated manyAmericans and Vietnamese, causing serioushealth problems.

Frustration GrowsThe bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and

the North did not stop the constant flow oftroops and equipment south. Neither did itbreak the morale of the North Vietnamese. Asone of their leaders later said,

“The Americans thought that the more bombsthey dropped, the quicker we would fall to ourknees and surrender. But the bombs heightened,rather than dampened, our spirit.”

A wounded American soldier reaches for a fallen comrade. How many Americantroops were in Vietnam by late 1967?

History


Research and Sequencing Usebooks, magazines, and newspapersto learn about the plight of Ameri-can POWs (prisoners of war) andMIAs (soldiers missing in action) inVietnam. Make a time line to showwhat the government and privatecitizens have done on their behalf.

Strategy Purpose

Search-and-destroy missions

Operation RollingThunder

American troops advanced into rice paddies,jungles, and small villages and killed scores of Vietcong. Yet the next day, the same area had tobe attacked again.

American soldiers grew frustrated. Philip Caputo, a young marine lieutenant, recalled thechanging attitude:

“When we marched into the rice paddies onthat damp March afternoon, we carried, alongwith our packs and rifles, the implicit convictionsthat the Vietcong could be quickly beaten. We keptthe packs and rifles; the convictions, we lost.”

Debate in the White HouseOfficials in the Johnson administration saw

the mounting Communist losses and believed atfirst that the United States could succeed. As thewar dragged on, however, some governmentofficials saw a gloomier situation. Secretary ofDefense McNamara began to argue that theground war and the air attacks had failed andthat the war could not be won. Outside thenation’s capital, opposition to the war grew.Soon it swelled to anger.

Identifying What is Agent Orange?What are its effects?

Military I.D. tags, commonlycalled dog tags, included the wearer’s name, branch of service, blood type, and religion, if desired by the wearer.

The search-and-destroy missions killed thousands of North Vietnamese and Vietcongtroops—but the troops always seemed to bereplaced. What Ho Chi Minh had said to theFrench became true again:

“You can kill ten of my men for every one Ikill of yours. But even at those odds, you willlose and I will win.”

Checking for Understanding1. Key Terms Use the following terms

in sentences or short paragraphs:Vietcong, coup, escalate. Relatethem by using two or more of theterms in each sentence or paragraph.

2. Reviewing Facts How many Ameri-can troops were in Vietnam by theend of 1965?

Reviewing Themes3. Global Connections How did Presi-

dent Johnson gain congressionalapproval to use American forces inVietnam?

Critical Thinking4. Making Inferences Explain how

Americans’ view of communisminfluenced policy to support SouthVietnam.

5. Organizing Information Re-createthe diagram below and explain thepurpose of the military strategies.

Analyzing Visuals6. Picturing History Examine the pho-

tograph on page 875. Write a captionexpressing what you think the soldieris saying to his fallen comrade.



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877

October 1967War protesters marchon Pentagon

April 1968Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,is assassinated

June 1968Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated

November 1968Richard Nixon wins presidency

Main IdeaMany Americans opposed the nation’sinvolvement in Vietnam. Many othersbelieved that U.S. leaders were notdoing enough to win the war.

Key Termscounterculture, deferment, dove,hawk, credibility gap, silent majority

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information As you readthe section, re-create the diagrambelow and state how you think people known as doves and hawksdiffered on these issues.

Read to Learn• what factors contributed to the rise

of the protest movement.• how Americans at home responded

to the war in Vietnam.

Section ThemeContinuity and Change As the warcontinued, disagreement over thenation’s role in Vietnam grew.

The VietnamYears at Home


The Draft Escalation

Doves

Hawks

Preview of Events

Guide to Reading

✦1967 ✦1968 ✦1969

As the Vietnam War dragged on, Americans became divided over the U.S. presence inthat country. Even reporters showed their biases when they covered the antiwar demonstra-tions at the Pentagon in 1967. On one hand, older reporters, who stood behind the police,wrote about radicals storming the Pentagon. On the other side of the police barricade,younger reporters wrote about the brutality of the U.S. Marshals. Each side of the generationgap firmly believed that its version of the story was correct.

The Youth ProtestWhile fighting raged in Vietnam, the American people disagreed sharply

over the war. Prowar and antiwar groups attacked each other with mountinganger. Antiwar demonstrators called President Johnson and his supporters“killers.” Supporters of the war referred to the protesters as “traitors.” The warseemed to split America—and much of the division resulted from what peoplecalled the generation gap.

As United States involvement in the warincreased, so did opposition to it. Some Ameri-cans felt that the conflict in Vietnam was a civilwar and should not involve the United States.Others were concerned that the cost of America’scommitment to Vietnam was hurting domesticprograms. All condemned the devastation of thecountryside and lives lost during the course ofthe war.

Many who opposed the war were part of thecounterculture, a movement that rejected tradi-tional American values. Some common symbolsof the counterculture—torn blue jeans and longhair for males—aroused opposition from parents.Popular music played a role in communicatingthe ideas of the counterculture.

Other parts of the counterculture representeda more serious challenge to traditional middle-class values. Some young people refused to fol-low customary social roles of study, work, andfamily. They aimed to reject aspects of Americansociety—the competition for material goods andpersonal success.

Opposition to the DraftStudent protests targeted the selective service

system—the draft that supplied soldiers for thewar. The law required all men to register for thedraft when they reached age 18. Opposition tothe draft had two sources.

Those strongly opposed to American involve-ment in Vietnam believed that by forcing an endto the draft they could halt the supply of soldiersneeded to fight there. Others called the draftunfair. Draft boards had the power to give

people deferments that excused them from thedraft for various reasons. Full-time studentsattending college—mostly from the middleclass—received such deferments. As a result anincreasing percentage of soldiers came frompoor or working-class families. Many whoopposed the draft argued that deferments dis-criminated against the poor.

Some protesters became conscientiousobjectors, claiming that their moral or religiousbeliefs prevented them from fighting in thewar. Other protesters showed their oppositionby burning their draft cards—their militaryregistration forms. Congress responded with alaw making the burning of draft cards a crime.

Doves and HawksStudents and other opponents of the Vietnam

War came to be called doves. Supporters of thewar became known as hawks.

Across the nation more and more Americanscame to view the war unfavorably. Somethought the United States should not be fight-ing in Vietnam. Others opposed the way thegovernment conducted the war. Both hawks and doves criticized President Johnson for hishandling of the war in Vietnam, and hisapproval rating declined dramatically.

The War Loses SupportAs opposition to the war mounted, the oppo-

nents staged larger demonstrations. In October1967, more than 50,000 people marched to thePentagon—headquarters of the Defense Depart-ment—to protest the war.

Attacks by opponents of the war grewsharper and more bitter. The Secret Service,charged with guarding President Johnson,feared for his safety and urged him not to speakin public. He began to appear only beforecrowds known to be sympathetic.

The president had often urged people to cometogether to discuss issues calmly. “Let us reasontogether,” he had said. By 1968 Americansshowed less willingness to talk reasonably, andviolent events often overtook discussion.

Explaining What are draft defer-ments? Who received them?


Texas business executive H. Ross Perot attempted to deliver food, medicine, mail, and clothing to U.S. prisoners of war in Vietnam.


1968—Year of CrisisThe year 1968 opened with a shock for the

American people. On January 23, North Koreanboats seized the USS Pueblo, a navy spy shipcruising in international waters off the coast ofKorea. The news that a foreign country had cap-tured an American ship and its crew shockedthe nation.

The next week brought another staggeringblow as North Vietnam launched a major seriesof attacks in South Vietnam. As Americans soonlearned, 1968 would be a long, dramatic, andvery difficult year.

The Tet OffensiveOn January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese

and Vietcong launched a series of attacksthroughout South Vietnam. The attacks, whichbegan on the Vietnamese new year—Tet—became known as the Tet offensive. Tet markeda turning point in the Vietnam War.

The Tet offensive targeted American militarybases and South Vietnam’s major cities. Viet-cong troops raided the United States embassy inSaigon, the capital. The Vietcong also struck inHue, the ancient capital of Vietnam, and foughtfor almost a month.

All across South Vietnam, Americans andSouth Vietnamese troops fought bravely toretake the cities. They finally drove the Vietcongback and inflicted thousands of casualties. Theenormous losses that the Vietcong suffered

forced North Vietnam to take over a larger shareof the fighting. In military terms, the Americansand the South Vietnamese won the battle.

Impact Back HomeIn the United States, however, the Tet offen-

sive turned many more Americans against thewar—and against President Johnson. The sightof Vietcong guerrillas killing Americans in theembassy shocked television viewers. The manydays needed to defeat the assault on Hue under-mined the army’s statements about the UnitedStates winning the war.

Major newspapers and magazines openlycriticized the Johnson administration’s conductof the war. The Wall Street Journal wrote, “TheAmerican people should be getting ready toaccept . . . the prospect that the whole Vietnameffort may be doomed.”

Most Americans seemed to agree. Fewer peo-ple believed that the army was making progressin the war. More people believed that the armywas losing ground. The Johnson administrationdeveloped a credibility gap—fewer peopletrusted its statements about the war.

As opposition to the war grew, President John-son faced challenges in his own party. In late 1967,Democratic senator Eugene McCarthy of Min-nesota had announced that he would run for theparty’s nomination for the presidency as a protestagainst the war. Not well known, McCarthyseemed to have little chance of winning. In theMarch 12 primary in New Hampshire, however,

879

Reacting against the antiwar demonstrations, many Americanscountered with demonstrations in support of American troops.


Should We Be Fighting the Vietnam War?

As the war in Vietnam dragged on, political support for it began to evaporate. While government politicians coaxed Americans to support goals of liberty and democracy, antiwar protesters counted the corpses sent home and argued that the war was useless.

Should We Be Fighting the Vietnam War?

Walter Cronkite, news broadcaster, after the Tet offensive, February 27, 1968We have too often been disappointed by the opti-mism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam andWashington, to have faith any longer in the silver lin-ings they find in the darkest clouds. . . . To say thatwe are closer to victory today is to believe, in theface of evidence, the optimists who have beenwrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edgeof defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism.To say that we are mired in stalemate seems theonly realistic, yet unsatisfactory conclusion. . . .[I]t is increasingly clear to this reporter that the onlyrational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors,but as an honorable people wholived up to their pledge todefend democracy, and did the best they could.

Learning From History

President Johnson addresses the nation, March 31, 1968

Tonight I renew the offer I made in August—to stop the bom-

bardment of North Vietnam. We ask that talks begin promptly,

that they be serious talks on the substance of peace. . . .

There is division in the American house now. There is divisive-

ness among us all tonight. And holding the trust that is mine, as

President of all the people, I cannot disregard the peril to the

progress of the American people and the hope and the prospect

of peace for all peoples. . . .

Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomi-

nation of my party for another term as your President.

But let men everywhere know, however, that a strong, a con-

fident, and a vigilant America stands ready tonight to seek an

honorable peace—and stands ready tonight to defend an hon-

ored cause—whatever the price, whatever the burden, what-

ever the sacrifices that duty may require. . . .

Walter Cronkite

McCarthy surprised everyone by taking 42 percent of the popular vote.Although Johnson won the primary,McCarthy’s strong showing indicatedwidespread opposition to the war.

Later, another antiwar candidateentered the race. Robert F. Kennedy,attorney general during hisbrother’s presidency and now a sen-ator from New York, announcedthat he, too, would seek the Democ-ratic nomination.

The President RespondsEvents in Vietnam and the growing

antiwar movement disturbed Presi-dent Johnson. Following the Tet offen-sive, the American commander inVietnam, General William Westmore-land, had requested still more troops.Instead of agreeing, the presidentordered a reevaluation of the war. Healso reevaluated his own campaignfor reelection in 1968.

On March 31, 1968, after consult-ing advisers, President Johnsonappeared on television to announce a“new step toward peace”—he wouldhalt the bombing of North Vietnam’scities. He asked North Vietnam for acomparable action so that peacenegotiations could begin.

The president concluded hisspeech with a startling announce-ment. He said, “I shall not seek, andI will not accept, the nomination ofmy party for another term as yourpresident.”

Identifying Whatcandidates from President Johnson’s ownparty challenged him?

Violence EruptsA few days after Johnson’s with-

drawal from the presidential race,tragedy struck the nation. A sniper inMemphis, Tennessee, shot and killed

880

1. What does Johnson mean by “divi-sion in the American house”?

2. Why might Americans like WalterCronkite be frustrated with the war?

3. Do the president’s words seem real-istic? How might Cronkite respondto the president’s address?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the leadingactivist in the civil rights movement.

The King assassination triggered a rashof riots across the country. Army troopswere called on to control unruly crowds invarious cities. Already saddened byKing’s death, Americans worried aboutthe renewed urban violence.

While the nation agonized over unrestat home and war abroad, the presidentialrace picked up speed. Vice PresidentHubert H. Humphrey joined EugeneMcCarthy and Robert Kennedy in seek-ing the Democratic nomination. Kennedyedged out McCarthy in a number of pri-mary elections, but McCarthy rebounded andscored a primary victory in Oregon. Humphrey,meanwhile, avoided the primaries. He gatheredsupport among Democratic Party leaders, whoin some states chose the delegates.

In early June 1968, Kennedy and McCarthyfaced each other in the primary election in Cali-fornia, the state with the most delegates. Thatnight, after Kennedy won, an assassin shot andkilled him—and the nation reeled with theshock of yet another assassination.

The Democratic ConventionBy the time the Democrats held their conven-

tion in Chicago, Humphrey appeared to haveenough votes to win the nomination. As a long-time supporter of civil rights and labor causes,Humphrey had considerable backing in hisparty. As a supporter of Johnson’s Vietnam pol-icy, however, Humphrey was linked to theprowar faction of the party.

Antiwar Democrats felt angry and excludedfrom the convention. Tension filled the air. Whentrouble broke out, though, it did not occur asmuch in the convention hall as in the city’s streets.


Frustrated by the almost certain victory ofHumphrey, thousands of antiwar activistsflocked to Chicago to protest. Chicago’s mayor,Richard J. Daley, feared violence from thedemonstrators and had the police out in force.The police made some arrests the first twonights, but no major problems developed.

On the third day, the antiwar protestersplanned to march to the convention site to protestHumphrey’s nomination. Police blocked themarchers at the hall. When the marchers headedin another direction, the police stopped themagain. The protesters began to pelt the police withsticks and bottles. The police threw tear gas andcharged in, wielding nightsticks. They pursuedthose who fled, beating some and arresting many.

Humphrey won the Democratic nomination,but the violence outside and the anger within thehall—all shown on television—had damaged hiscandidacy. The Democrats appeared unable tocontrol their own convention. Humphrey admit-ted, “Chicago was a catastrophe.”

Identifying What two popular lead-ers were assassinated in 1968?

881

History

After Robert Kennedy’s death in June 1968, a divided Demo-cratic convention met in Chicago. Chicago mayor RichardDaley had barbed wire set up at the convention hall to keepout antiwar protesters. How did most Americans react tothe violence in Chicago?


Research Interview friends andrelatives who lived during the Viet-nam War era to see how people inyour community reacted to theconflict. Present an oral report ofyour findings.

Support for the war effort falls

these people the “silent majority.” Declaringthat the “first civil right of every American is tobe free from domestic violence,” Nixon prom-ised a return to law and order.

Nixon remained vague on his views of Viet-nam. He promised that he would achieve “peacewith honor,” but he would not provide details of his plan.

During the election campaign, Nixon sought towin some of the traditionally Democratic South-ern states with the law-and-order issue. This“Southern strategy” paid off. Although Wallacedid take five Southern states and 46 electoralvotes, Nixon won seven Southern states and their78 electoral votes.

Nixon WinsThe popular vote was close. Nixon edged out

Humphrey by about 500,000 votes—a differenceof less than 1 percent. In the electoral vote, how-ever, Nixon won a solid majority—301 votes toHumphrey’s 191.

Nixon entered the presidency with the votesof only 43.4 percent of the people. Nixon andWallace together, however, had won almost 57percent of the vote. It seemed that a substantialmajority of Americans wanted the governmentto restore order.

Identifying What presidential can-didate provided a strong third-party challenge in 1968?

Election of 1968A majority of Americans disapproved of the

police action in Chicago, but at the same time,strongly opposed the actions of the protesters.The years of protest and dissent had taken theirtoll and a backlash had set in. Most Americansfervently wished for a return to “law and order.”

The Wallace CandidacyOne presidential candidate who used the “law

and order” theme was Governor George C. Wal-lace of Alabama. Running as a third-party candi-date, Wallace promised to crack down on“long-hair . . . draft card-burning youth.” In addi-tion, he criticized efforts to integrate schools bybusing students and ridiculed “pointy-headed”bureaucrats in Washington for telling people howto run their lives.

Wallace’s tough stand on law and order andhis appeal to racial fears attracted many voters.Some political reporters predicted Wallace couldwin as much as 20 percent of the vote.

The “Silent Majority”The Republican presidential nominee, former

vice president Richard M. Nixon, also tried totap into voters’ growing conservative sentiment.Nixon pledged to represent the “quiet voice” ofthe “great majority of Americans, the non-shouters, the nondemonstrators.” He called

Checking for Understanding1. Key Terms Define counterculture,

deferment, dove, hawk, credibilitygap, silent majority.

2. Reviewing Facts What did conscien-tious objectors declare?

Analyzing Themes3. Continuity and Change What was

the result of the 1968 presidentialelection?

Critical Thinking4. Making Inferences How do you

think the credibility gap affectedJohnson’s ability to be an effectivepresident?

5. Determining Cause and EffectRe-create the diagram below andexplain why support for war in Viet-nam eroded.

Analyzing Visuals6. Picturing History Look at the pho-

tographs on page 879. Write a para-graph to describe what is happening.



taj.glencoe.com

CHAPTER XX Chapter Title 883

Building a DatabaseWhy Learn This Skill?

Have you ever collected baseball cards orcataloged the CDs in your collection? Haveyou ever kept a list of the names andaddresses of your friends and relatives? Ifyou have collected information and keptsome sort of list or file, then you have cre-ated a database.

Learning the SkillAn electronic database is a collection of

facts that are stored in files on the computer.The information is organized in fields.

A database can be organized and reorgan-ized in any way that is useful to you. By usinga database management system (DBMS)—special software developed for record keep-ing—you can easily add, delete, change, orupdate information. You give commands tothe computer telling it what to do with theinformation, and it follows your commands.When you want to retrieve information, the computersearches through the files, finds the information, anddisplays it on the screen.

Practicing the SkillRichard M. Nixon is one of the presidents dis-cussed in this chapter. Follow these steps to builda database of the political and cultural events thattook place during his presidency.

1 Determine what facts you want to include in yourdatabase.

2 Follow instructions in the DBMS you are using toset up fields. Then enter each item of data intoits assigned field.

3 Determine how you want to organize the facts inthe database—chronologically by the date of theevent, or alphabetically by the name of the event.

4 Follow the instructions in your computer pro-gram to place the information in order of importance.

5 Check that the information in your database isall correct. If necessary, add, delete, or changeinformation or fields.

Applying the SkillBuilding a Database Bring current newspapersto class. Using the steps just described, build adatabase of political figures mentioned in thenewspapers. Explain to a partner why the databaseis organized the way it is and how it might be usedin this class.

TechnologyTechnology

Nixon greets well-wishers at a campaign rally.

June 1969Nixon begins to withdrawtroops from Vietnam

April 1970Nixon sends troops to Cambodia

May 1970Six students killed at KentState and Jackson State

January 1973Paris peace accords end U.S.involvement in Vietnam

Main IdeaPresident Nixon put a plan in place to train and equip South Vietnamesesoldiers to take the place of Americantroops.

Key TermsVietnamization, martial law, MIAs

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information As you readthe section, re-create the diagrambelow and identify three strategiesNixon used to end the war.

Read to Learn• what steps Nixon took to end the

war in Vietnam.• what the costs of the Vietnam War

were.

Section ThemeContinuity and Change PresidentNixon changed the strategy of theconflict that included intense bombingand Vietnamization.

Nixon and Vietnam

President Nixon’s inauguration in January 1969 took place on a cold, gloomy day. Hun-dreds of demonstrators chanting antiwar slogans and holding anti-Nixon posters stoodalong Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. At one point Nixon’s limousine was peltedwith sticks, stones, and bottles. Offended by this behavior, World War II veterans shouted atthe demonstrators, labeling the protesters “communists” and “traitors.” This marked thefirst time an inaugural parade was disrupted in the 180 years of the presidency.

A New StrategyIn his Inaugural Address in January 1969, Richard M. Nixon appealed to the

American people for calm:

“We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another—untilwe speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.”


Nixon strategies

Preview of Events

Guide to Reading

✦1968 ✦1970 ✦1972 ✦1974

885

Nixon had campaigned on a pledge of “peacewith honor” in Vietnam. He wanted to pullAmerican forces out of Vietnam, but he did notwant American withdrawal to be seen as a signof defeat. Nixon’s strategy of peace with honorhad three parts—reform of the selective servicesystem, giving South Vietnam more responsibil-ity in fighting the war, and expanding the bomb-ing campaign.

Under President Nixon the selective servicesystem changed. College students could no longerobtain draft deferments, only 19-year-olds couldbe called for service in Vietnam, and drafteeswould be chosen by lottery on the basis of theirbirthday. Protests against the draft faded withthese reforms because the government began call-ing up fewer young men and because PresidentNixon promised to eliminate the selective servicein the future.

President Nixon started withdrawing Ameri-can troops from Vietnam in June 1969. He didnot, however, want to abandon South Vietnam tothe Communists. By the end of the year, Nixonhad developed his plan of Vietnamization andannounced it to the American people. Viet-namization called for the army of South Vietnamto take a more active role in fighting the war—and for Americans to become less involved.While stepping up the training of South Viet-namese soldiers, American ground troops wouldgradually withdraw from the country.

When Nixon took office in Jan-uary 1969, more than 540,000American troops were in Viet-nam. By the end of 1970, thenumber had fallen to 334,000 andby 1971 to about 60,000.

In the third part of his Viet-nam policy, Nixon expanded thebombing campaign. Hoping torelieve pressure on troops inSouth Vietnam, the presidentordered the bombing of enemysupply routes and hideouts inneighboring Cambodia andLaos. Although the Nixonadministration sought publicityfor changes to the draft and the

withdrawal of troops, it kept the bombing ofCambodia secret.

Explaining Why did the U.S.expand its bombing campaign?

Renewed Opposition at HomeA new round of antiwar demonstrations

began in late 1969, reflecting the growing senti-ment for ending the war. In October more than300,000 people took part in an antiwar protest inWashington, D.C.

The government also tried to end the warthrough peace talks with North Vietnam. HenryKissinger, the president’s national securityadviser, represented the United States in the Paris talks. The United States had launchedthe bombing campaign to persuade the NorthVietnamese to agree to settlement terms, but theNorth Vietnamese adopted a wait-and-see atti-tude. They believed that the strength of the anti-war movement in the United States would forcethe Americans to withdraw.

The new antiwar protests and North Vietnam’sunyielding attitude alarmed President Nixon. Inhis speech on Vietnamization in November, heappealed to the “silent majority” of Americansfor support for his policy. “North Vietnam cannotdefeat or humiliate the United States,” he said.“Only Americans can do that.”

Expanding the WarFurther conflict gripped

Southeast Asia when Cam-bodia plunged into a civil warbetween Communist and non-Communist forces. Nixondecided in April 1970 to sendAmerican troops to destroyCommunist bases in Cambodia.

The attack aroused outragein Congress and elsewhere. Bysending American troops toCambodia, critics charged,Nixon invaded a neutral coun-try and overstepped his consti-tutional authority as president.


American soldiers on patrol

My Lai massacre,March 16, 1968

Invasion of Cambodia,May 1–June 29, 1970

December 1972 Giant B-52 bombers,powered by jet engines, were among the

aircraft used to fly more than 2,000 missions againstNorth Vietnam in the "Christmas" bombing. It was themost concentrated bombing of the war—and in history.

Invasion of Laos,Feb. 8–March 1971

N

S

EW

200 kilometers0Miller Cylindrical projection

200 miles0

110¡E100¡E

20¡N

17¡N

10¡N

Gulf ofTonkin

RedR.

Mekong

R.

South ChinaSea

MekongDelta

Gulf ofThailand

HO CHI MINH TRAIL

SOUTHVIETNAM

NORTHVIETNAM

CHINA

LAOS

THAILAND

CAMBODIA

BURMA

Saigon

PhnomPenh

Hue

HanoiHaiphong

Dien BienPhu

Can Tho

Ban MeThuot

Pleiku

Chu Lai

Quang TriKhe Sanh

Da Nang

17th ParallelDemilitarized Line

�

�

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Opposition to the War

United States Troops in Vietnam, 1965—1973

United States in the Vietnam War

Agai

nst U

nite

d St

ates

invo

lvem

ent (

perc

ent)

1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

YearSource: The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion.

Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Num

ber o

f tro

ops (

in th

ousa

nds)

1965

100

200

300

400

500

600

Year1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973

1968 Tet offensive

1969 Firstwithdrawalof U.S. troops

1973 Cease-fire signed

1965 U.S. escalatesinvolvement

Major U.S. andSouth Vietnamesetroop movements

Major NorthVietnamesesupply lines

U.S. bases�

The Vietnam War

Throughout the war United States troops and the government ofSouth Vietnam controlled the major cities.1. Location Along what line of latitude did the demilita-

rized zone run?2. Analyzing Information Through which countries did

the Ho Chi Minh Trail run?

MotionIn

887

Kent StateThe Cambodian invasion provoked a storm of

antiwar protests on campuses across the nation.Most proceeded peacefully. However, twoprotests ended in tragedy.

At a protest at Kent State University in Kent,Ohio, students burned a military building oncampus. Ohio’s governor declared martial law—emergency military rule—on the campus andordered 3,000 National Guard troops to Kent.

On May 4 armed troops arrived on campus.Eighteen-year-old Leone Keegan, a freshman,remembered going to class that morning:

“I saw all these young men in uniformsstanding on the street corners with their rifles,and I was thinking, What is this?”

At noon students gathered for a protest rallyon the campus lawn. The National Guard mem-bers—young, inexperienced, and nervous—toldthe protesting students to leave. “Evacuate thearea. You have no right to assemble,” theyshouted through bullhorns. The studentsshouted back, “We don’t want your war.” Somestudents threw stones.

The troops shot tear gas toward the students;many students ran. One National Guard unitchased some students between two buildings.

Then—for reasons that are unclear—the troopsopened fire. “. . . [T]hey’re killing us,” screamedone student in disbelief. Four students weredead and at least nine more were wounded.

Jackson StateViolence flared again on May 15 at the nearly

all-African American college of Jackson State inMississippi. Following a night of campus vio-lence, two students were shot and killed. Wit-nesses charged that the police had recklesslyblasted the residence hall with shotguns. Thepolice claimed they were protecting themselvesfrom sniper fire.

A wave of student strikes followed thetragedies at Kent State and Jackson State. Hun-dreds of colleges and universities suspendedclasses or closed down completely.

The president took a hard line. The Kent Stateshootings, he said, “should remind us onceagain that when dissent turns to violence itinvites tragedy.” A commission that investigatedevents at Kent State found that the shootingswere unjustified. A majority of Americans, how-ever, seemed to agree with the president.

Identifying Who represented theUnited States in the Paris talks?

A stunned woman kneelsbeside the body of a studentkilled at Kent State. Whatevent sparked the studentunrest at Kent State?

History


“Peace Is at Hand”Meanwhile, the Nixon administration contin-

ued to negotiate with representatives of theNorth Vietnamese government. These talksstalled, however.

In March 1972, the North Vietnameselaunched another major offensive in the South.Because the United States had few troops left inVietnam, Nixon resumed bombing. Nixonordered American planes to bomb targets nearHanoi, the capital of North Vietnam. He alsoordered the navy to plant mines in North Viet-namese harbors.

The president stopped insisting that NorthVietnam remove all its troops from South Vietnam before a full American withdrawal.Nixon sent Henry Kissinger to negotiate. In the fall of 1972—just before the presidentialelection in the United States—they reached atentative agreement. “Peace is at hand,”Kissinger announced.

His statement came too soon. The agreementcollapsed because the South Vietnamese presi-dent objected to allowing North Vietnameseforces to remain in South Vietnam.

Paris Peace AccordsAfter his reelection, Nixon unleashed Ameri-

can airpower against North Vietnam. In Decem-ber 1972, the heaviest bombardment of the warfell on North Vietnam’s cities, provoking out-rage in the United States and abroad.

Nixon stood firm, and North Vietnamreturned to the peace talks. The Americans pres-sured the South Vietnamese to accept the peaceterms. On January 27, 1973, the negotiatorssigned the peace agreement.

The United States agreed to pull its remain-ing troops out of the country. The North Viet-namese agreed to return all American prisonersof war. While the Paris peace accords endedAmerican involvement in Vietnam, they didnot end the conflict.

The War EndsThe North Vietnamese never abandoned their

goal of unifying Vietnam under their control. Inearly 1975 they launched a final major offensive.The weakened South Vietnamese army col-lapsed suddenly on all fronts. Within a fewweeks, North Vietnamese tanks reached the out-skirts of Saigon.


The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., designedby Maya Lin, carries the names of more than 58,000 Americanswho died in Vietnam. Why do you think this memorialhas such an impact on those who see it?

History

As North Vietnamese forces closed in onSaigon, the last Americans scrambled to escapethe country, some by helicopter from the roof ofthe American embassy. Thousands of Viet-namese citizens who had supported or workedfor the Americans also fled to the United States.Many more could not escape. In the early hoursof April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the Communists.Soon after, South Vietnam surrendered. Thelong war was over.

Analyzing What was the result ofthe Paris peace agreements?

Legacy of the WarThe Vietnam War took a staggering toll

of life and suffering. More than one million Viet-namese—civilians as well as soldiers on one sideor the other—died between 1965 and the end ofthe conflict. Vietnam lay in ruins with many vil-lages destroyed.

More than 58,000 Americans were dead;300,000 were wounded, many of them perma-nently disabled. The United States had pouredmore than $150 billion into the war.

About 2.7 million Americans had served inVietnam. Unlike the veterans of World War II,they found no hero’s welcome when theyreturned home. Many Americans simply wantedto forget the war. They paid little attention tothose who had fought and sacrificed in Vietnam.

CHAPTER 30 The Vietnam Era 889

June 1969 April 1975

The relatives of theAmerican soldiers whohad been classified asmissing in action, or as MIAs, continued todemand that the gov-ernment press the Viet-namese for information.The Vietnamese didallow a number of American groups to searchthe countryside. As the years passed, however,the likelihood of finding anyone alive faded.

A Step Toward HealingThe construction of the Vietnam Veterans

Memorial in Washington, D.C., provided a steptoward healing the country’s wounds. Designedby Maya Ying Lin, the striking memorial is a pol-ished black granite wall in the shape of a private’sstripes. It bears the names of all the Americanswho died or were missing in action in the conflict.

When they visit the wall, families, friends,and comrades in war seek out the names ofthose who fought in Vietnam and did not return.Since the memorial was dedicated in 1982, visi-tors have left thousands of keepsakes andremembrances there. The flowers, letters,poems, and pictures left at the wall pay a proudand moving tribute to the Americans who diedin the service of their country.

Identifying What are MIAs?

HISTORY

Student Web ActivityVisit taj.glencoe.com andclick on Chapter 30—Student Web Activitiesfor an activity on the Viet-nam War.

Expository Writing Imagine youare a reporter during the Vietnamera. Research and write a newsstory on an aspect of the war thatyou find interesting. Use creativeword choice and expression.

Checking for Understanding1. Key Terms Define Vietnamization,

martial law, MIAs.2. Reviewing Facts Why did Nixon’s

actions in Cambodia anger manypeople?

Analyzing Themes3. Global Connections Explain the

process of Vietnamization. Who proposed this plan?

Critical Thinking 4. Drawing Conclusions Do you think

Nixon succeeded in attaining “peacewith honor”? Explain.

5. Sequencing Information Re-createthe time line below and identify keydates and events in the Vietnam Warduring the Nixon presidency.

Analyzing Visuals6. Geography Skills Examine the map

on page 886. Where was the demili-tarized zone located?




taj.glencoe.com

890

Reviewing Key TermsOn a sheet of paper, use all of the following terms to writesentences relating to the information in the chapter.1. flexible response 5. escalate2. hot line 6. deferment3. Vietcong 7. Vietnamization4. domino theory 8. MIAs

Reviewing Key Facts9. Why did the Soviets build the Berlin Wall?

10. Why did President Kennedy blockade Cuba?11. In what way did the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution extend

President Johnson’s power?12. What is Agent Orange?13. What was the Tet offensive?

Critical Thinking14. Comparing Why do you think most Americans sup-

ported the war effort during World War II, but manydid not support the Vietnam War?

15. Drawing Conclusions President Johnson made thedecision not to run for reelection in 1968. Determinewhether you believe that President Johnson’s decisionwas a good one or a bad one for the country. On adiagram like the one shown, write at least three rea-sons to support your decision.

Practicing Skills16. Using a Database Prepare a database of the major bat-

tles of the Vietnam War involving United States troops.At your local library, research to find information aboutthe sites of the battles, who the commanding officerwas, how many American soldiers were killed orwounded at the sites, and how many North Vietnamesewere killed or wounded. Share your database with therest of your class.

The Vietnam Era

Reasons why LBJ should or

should not run

1954 1957• Geneva Accords divide • Soviet Union launches

Vietnam Sputnik

1959 1961• Civil War begins in • Bay of Pigs invasion fails

Vietnam • Berlin Wall erected

1962• Cuban Missile crisis occurs

1963• John F. Kennedy is assassinated• Lyndon B. Johnson sworn in as president

1964• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed

1967• More than 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam• War protesters march on Pentagon

1968• North Korea captures USS Pueblo• North Vietnamese launch Tet offensive• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated• Robert Kennedy is assassinated• Violence erupts at Democratic convention in Chicago• Richard Nixon wins presidency

1969• Neil Armstrong walks on the moon• Nixon begins to withdraw troops from Vietnam

1970• Nixon sends troops to Cambodia• Six students killed at Kent State and Jackson State

1973• Paris peace accords end U.S. involvement in Vietnam

Self-Check QuizVisit The American Journey Web site at taj.glencoe.com and click on Chapter XX—Self-Check Quizzes to prepare for the chapter test.

HISTORY

CHAPTER 30 The Vietnam Era 891

Directions: Choose the bestanswer to the following question.

What happened in Vietnam after the last Americantroops left?

A The process of Vietnamization began.B South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam.C The two sides met at Paris.D President Johnson decided not to seek a

second term.

Test-Taking Tip

Be aware of the order of events asked about in aquestion. This question asks about events in Vietnam

after the United States pulled out. Choice A isan event that occurred before the pull out.

Standardized Test Practice

Self-Check QuizVisit taj.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 30—Self-Check Quizzes to prepare for the chapter test.

HISTORY

Geography and History ActivityStudy the two maps on this page; then answer the questionsthat follow.

Striped areas indicatedivided electoral vote

Striped area indicatesdivided electoral vote

Candidate ElectoralVote

PopularVote

PoliticalParty

301

Democrat

46 Independent

191

Republican31,785,480

31,275, 166

9,906,473

Humphrey

Nixon

Wallace

CandidateElectoral

VotePopular

VotePolitical

Party

303 Democrat

Independent

Republican

34,227,096

34,107,646Nixon

Kennedy

Byrd

219

15 None

The Election of 1968The Election of 1960

17. Region In what regions of the country did Kennedyreceive the strongest support in the 1960 election? Inwhich regions was support for Kennedy weakest?

18. Region What regions supported Nixon in 1960? In 1968?19. Region Explain why you agree or disagree with the fol-

lowing: The Northeast was Nixon’s strongest region in1968.

Citizenship Cooperative Activity20. Individual Involvement With two other students,

research to find what opportunities exist in your commu-nity for individual involvement on issues. For example,does your community have a recycling program? Find outwhat you might do to assist in these efforts. Report yourfindings to the class.

Alternative Assessment21. Portfolio Writing Activity United States involvement in

Vietnam officially ended in 1973. What effects of the warare still part of American life? Write a paragraph dis-cussing what these effects are.


the vietnam era - cardigan mountain school

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