Vietnam

Vietnam
The political situation in Vietnam by the mid-1950s
French had failed to maintain control of Vietnam
Defeated by nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh, leader of Vietminh in 1954
Geneva Accords in ’54 divided Vietnam in to two separate nations.
Communist North Vietnam – President Ho Chi Minh (Hanoi is capitol)
Anti-Communist South Vietnam – President Ngo Dinh Diem (Saigon is capitol)
The two countries were to unify but accusations/conflict prevent it
U.S. involvement in Vietnam (prior to JFK)
Truman – economic aid to French,
Eisenhower – continues aid, later to Diem and adds about 700 military advisors
JFK’s attitude towards Vietnam
Important in containing spread of communism
Increased spending and advisors
By his death – 16,000 in Vietnam
The domino theory
If Vietnam falls to communism, others in Southeast Asia will too
LBJ’s attitude towards Vietnam
“I am not going to lose Vietnam”
He remembers China - Fears takeover of Southeast Asia
Commits to Containment
The Situation in Vietnam
The Viet Cong – National Liberation Front
Communist guerrillas in South Vietnam
Increasingly capturing territory
Winning support of South Vietnamese people
Viet Cong will make fighting the war very difficult for U.S. soldiers
Diem overthrown and killed in 1963
New military government is corrupt and unpopular
LBJ has tough decisions to make…
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
1964 - Johnson announces attack on U.S. ships by North Vietnam.
Uses attack as excuse to escalate war – Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
“like grandma’s nightgown, it covered everything…”
Allows LBJ to escalate the war, send more troops, order bombing
By 1965, Johnson is increasing troop numbers in Vietnam each year…
Troops
Troops Killed in Action/per month
End of ’65 – 184,000
172
End of ’66 – 389,000
412
End of ’67 – 486,000
770
End of ’68 – 537,000
1200
The War
Brutal jungle fighting
Guerrilla warfare, snipers, booby traps, punji sticks, land mines
Napalm
For U.S. troops, it’s difficult to know difference between friends and enemies
As time goes on, B-52 bombers dropping massive amounts of bombs on North Vietnam
Saturation and fragmentation bombing
By 1966, Americans beginning to question the war
Hawks and Doves
1968
A defining year in American history
It begins with the Tet Offensive
Massive North Vietnamese attacks on multiple sites within South Vietnam
Eventually repelled, but it suggests something much more significant
U.S. efforts in Vietnam have not been effective
North Vietnamese and Vietcong still have will to fight
Already 20,000 U.S. deaths…
Atrocities increasing… My Lai Massacre (1968)
Back in America…
People beginning to ask:
Are we winning the War?
Does Johnson know what he’s doing?
Are we being told the truth?
Why are we really there?
Free Speech Movement – New Left (1964)
Students advocating for freedom on college campuses (Cal-Berkeley)
Inspired by civil rights
Would later turn to protesting the Vietnam War
Increasing rise in conscientious objectors
March 1968
Following the Tet Invasion and increasing protests, (Walter Cronkite’s assessment) LBJ decides not to
seek re-election
A shocking event – Has LBJ given up?
April 1968
Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated
June 1968
Robert F. Kennedy assassinated, likely Democratic candidate for President
August 1968
Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL
V-P Hubert Humphrey nominated
He is similar to Johnson on Vietnam
Thousands of Vietnam protesters outside the convention
Police turn violent – chaos ensues
Some Americans now wonder if the country is coming apart
Meanwhile, in Miami, the Republicans nominate Richard Nixon
November 1968
Nixon wins relatively close election
Desire for Law and Order, frustration with the chaos and conflict of recent years
Nixon has plan to end the war
The Counterculture
Many are baby boomers
Frustrated with war
Want peace, love and freedom
Also – sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll
The Generation Gap
Being free to do what you want, not do what you are supposed to do
Saying no the MAN, or the establishment
“Question Authority”
Letting your “freak flag fly”
“Hope I die before I get old”
“Don’t trust anyone over 30”
Music, clothes, art, drugs, sex – all part of the scene
San Francisco is the capitol of the Psychedelic World
Two defining events
Woodstock - August ’69
3 days of peace, love and understanding
Is the Counterculture on to something?
Altamont – December ‘69
Rolling Stones headlining concert.
Also - Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers,
and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young,
Hells Angels hired to run security
Things get out of hand
3 accidental deaths and one homicide (stabbed by Hells Angel)
Altamont seems to ruin the positive vibe from Woodstock
End of the 60s….
Nixon and Vietnam
Vietnamization – gradually turn the war over to the South Vietnamese, while withdrawing
U.S. forces
Sends Sec. of State Henry Kissinger to Paris Peace talks
Also, authorizes U.S. forces to invade Cambodia
Cambodian invasion leads to more intense protests on campuses
(1970) Kent State University in Ohio
4 people killed by National Guard troops
Also - Jackson State University in MS
Meanwhile, Nixon intensifies bombing
Trying to get the North Vietnamese to agree to peace
Nixon wins re-election in ’72 - “Peace is at hand”
Still, the war goes on…
Finally, following more bombing of the North, they sign agreement - Jan. 1973
After U.S forces leave, it only a matter of time before the North overpowers
the South.
Gerald Ford now President
April 30, 1975 – South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam.
Containment?
More than 58,000 Americans killed
By Year
Country Year of Death Number Killed
USA[34]
1956-1964
401
1965
1,863
1966
6,143
1967
11,153
1968
16,592
1969
11,616
1970
6,081
1971
2,357
1972
641
1973
168
1974-1998
1178
By Ethnic Group
Ethnic Group
Number Killed
White
47,041
Black
7,241
Hispanics
3,070
Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians
229
Native Americans
226
More than one Race or Unknown
204
Asians
139
[edit] By Enlistment
Enlistment Number Killed
Volunteer
40,484
Draftees
17,725