Warm-Up Start a new Table of Contents for the 4th

Quarter: Vietnam through Present Day & EOG Review

No homework today for SS

Date Session#

Activity Page#

4/9 1 Vietnam: The Beginning 1

Vietnam War: 1965-1973

What do you know about the Vietnam

War?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo-rh9C6K_g

THE YEAR IS 1970…ARE YOU GOING TO

VIETNAM?

Key figures in the Vietnam War

Ho Chi Minh William Westmoreland

Lyndon B. JohnsonAmerican commander in South Vietnam who

told people in the media that the United

States was close to winning the war, even

though it wasn’t

President of North Vietnam who led the

efforts to defeat South Vietnam and support of the South

Vietnamese Vietcong

President of the United States who was president during much of Vietnam

War; greatly escalated the U.S. soldier

involvement in the conflict

Key figures in the Vietnam War

Richard Nixon Ngo Dinh DiemPresident of South

Vietnam who whose corruption and harsh

standards led numerous people to turn to the Vietcong

President of the United States during the latter part of the Vietnam War

– came up with “Vietnamization” plan

Vietnam in the ’50s

Southeast Asia (aka: French Indochina)

Following World War II, the French controlled southeast Asia (known as Indochina)

Ho Chi Minh formed the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) and led revolts against the French to gain independence for Vietnam

By 1954, the French fell to the Viet Minh and they withdrew from Indochina, leaving Vietnam a divided country

Vietnam in the ’50s

Division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel

The Geneva Accords are the peace agreement reached between France & the Viet Minh in 1954.The agreement divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel, and was meant to be temporary until the 1956 election would reunify the country…until then the North and South were allowed separate governments…uh oh

South Vietnam Problems

•Ho Chi Minh was very popular in the North, while Diem had little support in the South.•Diem was disliked because:

• he discriminated against the Buddhist population

• he was corrupt• he refused to hold the 1956

election that would have reunited the country under communist rule.

•Diem’s opponents included South Vietnamese Communists nicknamed the Viet Cong who fought to overthrow Diem

Buddhist monks burn themselves in protest against Diem’s rule

Who Supports Who?North Vietnam supports the Viet Cong by sending soldiers and supplies along a network of paths called the Ho Chi Minh Trail– the paths wove through the jungles and mountains of neighboring Laos & Cambodia

The U.S. sends support in the form of military advisors, aid, & equipment to South Vietnam… WHY WOULD WE DO THIS?

Domino Theory

The Domino Theory was the belief that if one country fell to communism, the other Southeast Asian nations would eventually

fall to communism as well

U.S. Helps Overthrow DiemBy 1963, Diem still refused to establish a

democratic government, so with U.S. support Diem was overthrown in a military coup. Diem was killed bringing chaos to South Vietnam.

Unfortunately, Kennedy was also assassinated leaving Lyndon Johnson to make the next move in Vietnam…

THE VIETNAM WAR

Ticket Out the DoorWith your group, analyze the 2 images your group is given. Your analysis must include the following:Image 1: First page – brief descriptionImage 2: Second page – brief description

1. What is the difference between the 2 images?

2. What is the emotional impact of each image?

3. Why do you think these photos were taken?

4. How do you think the perspectives of people back in the United States differed from those actually fighting?

5. Create one question for each image.

Make sure all group members names are on the paper!!

Warm-Up Update your Table of Contents No homework today for SS Watch the video footage & images of

Vietnam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpWEv9Q0XQ4Date Session

#Activity Page

#

4/11 2 Vietnam: The Action & Perspectives of My Lai

2

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

USS Maddox

In 1964, President Johnson announced that North Vietnam

ships had fired on two American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin

Johnson insisted that the North Vietnamese attack was unprovoked asked Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Gulf of Tonkin ResolutionCongress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving President Johnson the power to use military force in Vietnam without an actual declaration of war – his policy of escalation continued to increase military involvement in Vietnam

Bombing of North Vietnam and the

first combat ground troops were sent in

1965

Operation Rolling ThunderThe U.S. bombing campaign

conducted against the North Vietnam from 1965 until 1968

The three-year assault was intended to get North Vietnam to stop supporting South Vietnamese Viet Cong

Guerrilla Warfare of the Viet Cong Guerrilla Tactics

•They used surprise attacks by small bands of fighters

•They had extensive underground tunnels in which to travel and hide

•They hid deadly booby traps throughout the jungle

Viet Cong Advantages They were familiar with

the landscape & adapted to the climate

They were very dedicated to their cause & had more support

They mixed in with the general population making it very hard to identify the enemy

U.S. Response “Stripping the Jungle” to

reveal and destroy Viet Cong hide outs using chemicals such as napalm and Agent Orange

Search-and-Destroy missions which eliminated entire villages in efforts to destroy any Viet Cong

Break for Action… This time not only watch the video

footage & images, but listen to the lyrics of the music as well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2FEjGB0ZVU

Tet Offensive - 1968•Many surprise attacks organized on U.S. military throughout South Vietnam on January 30-31, 1968 during Tet – the Vietnamese New Year•Tet was the turning point in the war and showed that the U.S. was nowhere close to winning the war

Credibility Gap

William Westmoreland

Robert McNamara

Opposition to the Vietnam War grew in the United States after we realized the government was not being truthful about

the war

Many Americans believed a credibility gap had developed

LIARS

My Lai MassacreMarch 16th,

1968An American platoon massacred hundreds of Vietnamese civilians – they were “told” they were members of the Vietcong in a village called My Lai“It became necessary to destroy the town in order

to save it”The My Lai massacre increased feelings among many Americans that the war was brutal and

senseless

Charlie Company http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=zjXC3_NciIA

Warm-Up Start a new Table of Contents for the 4th

Quarter: Vietnam through Present Day & EOG Review

No homework today for SS

Date Session#

Activity Page#

4/9 1 Vietnam: The Action 2

Election of 1968

"I shall not seek, and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your President." March 31, 1968

Even though Johnson changed his policy regarding the war after these

incidents, refuses to run for re-electionAfter Johnson refused to run for re-

election and Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, the Democrats ended up choosing LBJ’s vice-president, Hubert

Humphrey, as their presidential candidate

Republicans nominate former vice-president Richard Nixon, who lost to

JFK in 1960

Election of 1968Nixon becomes president!

Draft Lottery Begins-1969

Many Americans who were against the war believed the United States had an unfair

draft systemMinorities made up a large percentage of people drafted and most soldiers were

under 21 years old

Kent State MassacreMay 4, 1970

In April of 1970, President Nixon announced that American troops had invaded Cambodia

Anti-war protestors saw this as an

escalation of the war, sparking violent

protests on college campuses

At Kent State University in Ohio, protestors became violent. The Ohio National Guard was

called in and fired upon the student demonstrators, killing four students

26th Amendment Ratified

President Nixon signs the 26th Amendment guaranteeing the right to vote for people over 18.

Anger over the draft led to debates about the voting age.

Demonstrators help public rallies and marches.

The average age of a American soldier in Vietnam

was 19. Because you had to be 21 to vote, many people

called for changes in voting laws, saying that if you’re old

enough to fight in war, you should be old enough to vote.

In 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified, lowered the legal voting age from 21 to 18

VietnamizationVietnamization called for a

gradual withdrawal of American troops as South

Vietnamese took more control

Even though the U.S. had begun cutting back its involvement in the Vietnam War, the American home front remained divided and volatile as Nixon’s war

policies stirred up new waves of protest

U.S. pulls out of Vietnam

In January of 1973, North and South Vietnamese reach a cease-fire agreement;By 1975, the United States withdraws all

of its people from Vietnam

In late1975, North Vietnam violated the ceasefire and captured the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon. The war was over and the

communists had won

War Powers Act (1973)Law was an attempt to set limits on the power of the president during wartime

Required the president to

inform Congress of any

commitment of troops with 48

hours

The Pentagon PapersIn 1971, a former Defense Department worker leaked what were known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times

The documents showed how various

administrations deceived Congress, the media, and the

public about how the war was going

The government had not been honest with the American people