Chapter 27, Section 4: The War in Vietnam

Main Idea: In an effort to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia,

the US became involved in the long & unpopular Vietnam War.

A. Early Involvement in Vietnam Vietnam had been a French colony since the late 1800s, &

finally won its independence from France in 1954, when Ho Chi Minh’s army defeated them. It was then divided into 2 nations: – North Vietnam (communist) led by Ho Chi Minh & supported by USSR. – South Vietnam (noncomm.) led by Ngo Dinh Diem & supported by US.

Discontent Diem lost popular support in Vietnam during the 1950s due to

his corruption & favoritism toward wealthy landowners. Many peasants joined the Vietcong, a group of communist

guerilla rebels (fighters who use hit-&-run tactics) in South Vietnam who were supported by Ho Chi Minh & North Vietnam.

American Aid The US was worried about the success of the Vietcong because

of the Domino Theory, which was the belief that if South Vietnam became communist, other nations in SE Asia would follow, like a row of falling dominoes (we must stop the 1st domino from falling).

Financial aid & military advisers were sent to South Vietnam during the 1950s & 60s by Presidents Eisenhower & Kennedy. – The advisors were originally there to train them, not fight for them. – Diem & Kennedy are both assassinated w/in weeks of each other in 1963.

The Two Vietnams

· Vietnam, a former French colony,

was divided into two sections in 1954.

· North Vietnam,

led by Ho Chi

Minh, was

communist and

backed by the

Soviet Union.

· South Vietnam,

led by Ngo Dinh

Diem, was

democratic and

backed by the

U.S.

Growing American Involvement

· The U.S. believed that if South Vietnam fell to the

communists, the rest of the nations in Southeast Asia

would as well in a theory called the domino theory.

B. The Fighting in Vietnam Expands Under new President Lyndon Johnson, we increased (escalated)

our involvement in Vietnam between 1964 & 1968.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

In August 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked a US ship patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin, near North Vietnam.

Congress quickly passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing President Johnson “ to take all necessary measures” in Vietnam – He ordered the bombing of North Vietnam & areas of South Vietnam

under Vietcong control. American troops were sent to fight (not just advise).

– This essentially gave him a “blank check” to wage a war in Vietnam without having to ask Congress to declare war. There were over 500,000 US troops in Vietnam by 1968. (Vietnam Conflict vs. Vietnam War debate)

Jungle Warfare American soldiers had a difficult time fighting the enemy,

because the style of fighting was different than what they were used to. The enemy was very elusive & difficult to identify.

Americans troops were often unpopular with the S. Vietnamese. Many people that US troops were fighting for were secretly cooperating with the Vietcong (couldn’t tell friend from enemy).

A Viet Cong base camp burns as Pfc. Raymond Rumpa of St.

Paul, Minnesota, walks away with his 45-pound 90mm rifle

in My Tho, Vietnam, April 1968

· In addition, it was very difficult to

identify which South Vietnamese were

our allies and which were supporting the

Vietcong.

· Jungle warfare was difficult, and it was

hard to locate the enemy.

Video Clip: Platoon The Uncertain Enemy

Ex Vietcong showing secret

tunnels, November 7, 2004

AGENT ORANGE

C. The War at Home As American casualties increased, support

for the war at home decreased. Many were upset by the images they saw on television

The draft raised many protests because it was seen as unfair (the rich could get out of it, & the poor usually were sent to fight) – Fortunate Son – by CCR, 1969.

As the war went on, it grew increasingly unpopular at home. Protests grew in number & size. College campuses became centers of protest, where students staged marches & sit-ins, & burned draft cards. – Hawks – argued that the war was

necessary to stop the spread of communism – Doves – argued that it was a civil war that

should involve Vietnamese only (not the US) They argued that American lives & money

were being wasted on an unjust war, & the money we were wasting there could be better spent helping people here (poverty).

Unfortunately, many protesters took their frustrations out on returning soldiers, spitting on them & calling them baby killers. This misplaced anger caused very few to receive a hero’s welcome home. – Many turned to illegal drugs to cope with it.

D. The Tet Offensive: a Turning Point In January 1968, the Vietcong launched

surprise attacks on cities throughout South Vietnam on the Asian holiday, including the American embassy in Saigon (capital).

Militarily it was not a big victory, but psychologically it severely hurt the US. Support for the war will diminish after this: – It showed that even with a half million

American troops there, no part of South Vietnam was safe from Vietcong attack.

– Many started to see the war as unwinnable for the US & war protesting increased dramatically in the following years. Kent State shootings – 4 students are killed

on an Ohio campus by panicked National Guard soldiers during a war protest in 5/70.

– Pres. Johnson announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection in 1968 (Nixon wins).

The Tet Offensive: An Audio

Description by NPR

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard killed 4 anti-war protesters at Kent State University.

“Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'.

We're finally on our own.

This summer I hear the drummin'.

Four dead in Ohio.

(chorus) Gotta get down to it.

Soldiers are cutting us down.

Should have been done long ago.

What if you knew her and

Found her dead on the ground?

How can you run when you know?

E. The War Ends During much of the Vietnam War, North Vietnam carried supplies &

weapons to the Vietcong in South Vietnam through the neighboring country of Cambodia, using the “Ho Chi Minh Trail.” They also used Cambodia as a place to escape from US forces when attacked.

Nixon secretly ordered bombing of communist bases in Cambodia, which plunged Cambodia into its own civil war (communist vs. non).

United States Withdrawal President Nixon began to withdraw all American troops from

Vietnam. Over a 5 year period, he gradually brought them home while replacing them with South Vietnamese troops.

In January 1973, a cease-fire agreement was reached & the last American combat troops were pulled out of Vietnam.

Over the next 2 years, the US continued to send $ billions to help South Vietnam, but North Vietnam still took over in April 1975 and reunited Vietnam under one communist government.

Tragedy in Cambodia The communist Khmer Rouge won the Cambodian civil war &

ruled with a brutal reign of terror, using forced labor, murder, & starvation to kill over a million of its own people. – After 1975, millions flee Vietnam & Cambodia, many seeking refuge in the US.

In April of 1975, the communists captured the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon,

renamed it Ho Chi Minh City, and reunited Vietnam under one communist flag.

Video: People rush to leave Saigon as city falls to Vietcong. April 30, 1975 (9 min.)

Cambodia: Khmer Rouge 1975 to

1979 (2:55)

Civil War in Cambodia

· The U.S. and South Vietnamese

began to secretly bomb

communist bases in Cambodia

used by the North Vietnamese.

· Cambodia soon fought a civil

war, which was won by the

communist Khmer Rouge in

1975, whereupon they changed

the name of the country to

Kampuchea.

· The Khmer Rouge were brutal

leaders, killing approximately

two million people in just a few

short years.

F. Impact of the Vietnam War Over 58,000 American soldiers died between 1961 - 1973 in Vietnam,

& over 1 million Vietnamese soldiers & ½ million civilians died.

– Every American name is listed in chronological order by death on the Vietnam War Memorial (“The Wall”) in Washington, DC - built in 1982.

Their economy was destroyed, & hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese & Cambodians fled their countries & became refugees.

– Many of these “boat people” died from hunger later.

The US spent $24 billion/year on the war, which could have been used for Johnson’s Great Society & the “war on poverty” at home.

The Vietnam War was a painful episode in American history. It was an extremely divisive war that tore the nation apart, and left Americans wondering how far we should go to stop communism.