vietnam
DESCRIPTION
This is not meant to be shown to a class all at once...it is long and covers a lot. It should be shown in pieces when you teach the Vietnam WarTRANSCRIPT
VietnamLongest War in U.S. History
After WWII, France reclaimed, and took
control of, its colonies in S.E. Asia (including Vietnam)
Vietnam wanted to be an independent country
(not a French colony)
A nationalist leader named Ho Chi Minh led Independence Movement
Background:
Communist Party of VietnamHo Chi Minh’s Party Platform
1. To overthrow French imperialism (later U.S.)
2. To make Indochina completely independent.
3. To establish a worker-peasant and soldier government.
4. To confiscate the banks and other enterprises belonging to the imperialists and put them in control of the worker-peasant government.
5. To confiscate all the plantations and property belonging to the imperialists and Vietnamese reactionary capitalist class & distribute them to poor peasants.
6. To implement the eight hour work day.
7. To abolish public loans and poll tax. To waive unjust taxes hitting poor people.
8. To bring back freedom to the masses.
9. To carry out universal education.
10. To implement equality between men and women.
1950’s: Einsenhower YearsFrench Indo-China War
Funded by U. S.France lost war & withdrew in 1954Results = Divided Country
North = Controlled by Ho Chi Minh (still wants independence & unification)
South = Controlled by U.S. installed: Ngo Dinh Diem
Einsenhower sent Military Advisors
The Domino Effect•If one country in S.E. Asia falls to communism, they all could fall.•U.S worried Ho Chi Minh was a communist sympathizer.•U.S. worried about Chinese communist influences.
In the 1950s Americans trusted the government to take care of foreign policy.
1960-1963: JFK YearsMilitary Advisors in So. Vietnam increase to 16,000Green Berets established and sent overSpecial Forces in counterinsurgencySpecial Operations started in Vietnam
Leader of So. Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, was unpopular = instability
Corrupt and losing support
Catholic Leader in Buddhist country
1963: JFK realizes Diem needed to be removed or replaced
U.S. supported overthrow of Diem which resulted in his assassination
So. Vietnam becomes extremely unstable…unglued if you will
Three weeks later…JFK is assassinated
Buddhist Monks lead protest against Diem by publicly lighting themselves on fire…these are some of the first images Americans see
from Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem:
1964-1968: LBJ YearsJohnson Promises Peace in Vietnam
While Preparing for War
1964 - Gulf of Tonkin ResolutionResolution passed by Congress after “incident” in Gulf of Tonkin based on faulty reports that U.S. ships were attacked
It stated: “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of U.S. and prevent further aggression”
It was a blank check to take action. President Lyndon Johnson
Increasing Troop Involvement
THE DRAFT!
Number of Troops in Vietnam:
1965: 25,000 184,0001966: 385,0001967: 485,0001968: 543,000
Anti-War Protests
Escalated Too!
LBJ:
Tet Offensive:Major unexpected, offensive attack by North Vietnam during their holiday period (Tet New Year).
Demonstrated the North was not close to surrender, and theWar was not close to over, as many kept promising.
1968: Election Year and Turning Point for Vietnam
Pulitzer Prize Winning Photo by AP Photographer Eddie Adams (also film footage)
Taken during the Tet Offensive…
Became a symbol of the War’s brutality, and also a reason to control and censor the media!
My LaiMassacre:
U.S. Troops Slaughter Over 300 Villagers.
Showed Dark Side of Conflict.
Frustration with “Insurgents”.
Anyone a Potential Enemy (Civilians Killed).
Advantages of North Vietnam:
Fighting for Independence
Home country; knew the lay of the land, geography, etc.
Used guerrilla war tactics; hide and seek, ambush, booby trap
Hatred for imperialistsDoes any of this sound familiar?
Anti-War Demonstrations
1965 - 15% Favored Withdrawal
1969 - 69% Considered War “A Mistake”
1970 - Majority of Americans Supported Withdrawal
1968-1974: Nixon YearsVIETNAMIZATION:
Slowly removing U.S. Troops(in an attempt to hand the war back over to
So. Vietnam)
Drafts & Tours Continued
1970s: Bombing Cambodia &Laos
Air Campaign: destroy supply routes & camps
Secret at first (illegal)
Public knowledge by 1972
Fuels Anti-War Movement
1973: U.S. Ceasefire… …but Civil War continues as the frenzy to “get out” starts
1975: Last Man Out and the Fall of Saigon
1974: Nixon resigns over Watergate Scandal
Pentagon PapersGovernment study of U.S. involvement in S.E. Asia by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in 1967
Top Secret / 47-Volume / covered timeframe of Vietnam fromWWII-1968
Exposed miscalculations, arrogance & deceptions
1971: Pentagon Papers leaked to NY Times
Increased public distrust in the government…You mean the government lies?Increased Anti-War Protests &
Attitudes.