Vietnam•Soviet supported North,

communist▫Ho Chi Minh

•USA supported South, Ngo Dinh Diem▫Dictator, but not communist

•Guerilla warfare started in the South

Communists, but many saw it as a fight to liberate Vietnam from

foreign domination

Early 1960’s

America Enters Vietnam•Domino theory:

▫American foreign policy▫A communist victory in Vietnam would

cause countries across SE Asia to fall to communism as well

America Enters Vietnam

•Domino theory:▫American foreign policy▫A communist victory in Vietnam would

cause countries across SE Asia to fall to communism as well

•Ho Chi Minh aided Viet Cong ▫Communist rebels trying tooverthrow S. Vietnam’s government

US first sent

suppliesthen troops

•President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ)

•August 1, 1964 S. Vietnamese raided North

•N. Vietnamese retaliated, attacked the Maddox (US Navy destroyer)

•LBJ reported attacks to Congress

•Gulf of Tonkin Resolution▫August 7, 1964

Authorized President to use all necessary

measures to prevent further aggression in

SE Asia

America Enters Vietnam

•US begin bombings•500,000 troops•Guerilla war

Viet Cong knew the land & villagers

North sent supplies

Turning

Point

Americans Oppose the War

Vietnamese & American casualties

POWsMIAs

North Vietnam Wins the War

•President Nixon established a cease-fire▫January 1973

•US agreed to remove troops•North Vietnam agreed not

to invade the South

•… 2 years later, North invades the South

Some dominos fell… Laos & Cambodia

Soviet “Vietnam” in Afghanistan

•Afghan warlords took up arms against Soviet-supported Afghan government

•1979, Soviet Union enters war with Islamic country, Afghanistan

Soviet Afghan War(1979-1989)

•Mujahedin: Muslim religious warriors▫Fought the Soviets▫Mountains of

Afghanistan

•Mid 1980’s, US began to smuggle modern weapons to mujahedin

As difficult as fighting in jungles

of Vietnam

Crisis in morale for Soviets

End of Cold War•Command economy

▫Inefficiency & waste▫Low wages & life time job security

•Western boom

•Soviet stagnation▫Unproductive agriculture▫Consumer goods were inferior, luxury

goods were rare▫Couldn’t keep up with arms race

Soviets envied the

prosperity of the West

•Soviet Union▫Economy struggled▫Morale was low from long

war▫Eastern Europe wanted

freedom

Fall of the Soviet Union

•Mikhail Gorbachev, 1985, came to power

•Reforms▫Glasnost- openness

•Wanted better relations with the world (USA) to better Soviet economy

•Bowed out of arms race•Removed troops from Afghanistan

•Communist governments ▫Late 1980’s, fell one by one

▫Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, etc.

▫Dissolved Warsaw Pact

First time since 1939, Eastern

European countries were

free

•Berlin Wall’s gates were opened•November 9, 1989•Country reunified

Fall of the Soviet Union•December 25, 1991

▫Gorbachev resigns▫Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Belarus,

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan declared they were no longer a part of the Soviet Union

▫Peaceful end to long & terrifying Cold War

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http://adst.org/2014/04/making-the-world-a-safer-place-nuclear-arsenals-and-the-fall-of-the-ussr/&ei=ZmVbVaKfKsbvtQWFmICoBg&bvm=bv.93564037,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNG71mGgXo0SgsIQlkpz1hrYqY_OVQ&ust=1432139479837221

Communism Around the World•China opened economy to capitalism

▫Economic boom▫But no political reform

•Vietnam▫Opened itself to the world ▫Started diplomatic relations with USA

•North Korea▫Rigid totalitarianism, Isolation

•Cuba▫Economy deteriorated▫Many thought communism wouldn’t outlive its

founder, Fidel Castro

•United States emerged as sole superpower

•Americans seemed unsure of the new role as “the world’s policeman”

•Protector of freedom, but no rival threat

•What do you think America’s military role in the world should be?