The Vietnam Conflict-
- The helicopter was used a lot in Vietnam because of jungle
- Went in to stop the spread of communism and to unite the country
- The North's goal was for freedom and to unite the country
- France had gained control of Indochina in a series of colonial wars in the mid-late 1800's
- During WWII Vichy France worked with Japanese forces in controlling Indochina during WWII
- After the Japanese surrender the French fought to Minh independence movement led by communist party leader Ho Chi Minh
- Vietnam was partitioned temporarily into a Northern and a Southern Zone of Vietnam
- The Geneva Conference set up elections to unify the country by July 1956
- Such elections were never held because neither side wanted to lose
- The United States & The South Vietnamese VS. The Vietcong & The North Vietnamese
Escalation- Truman through Johnson-
- President Truman began US involvement by sending money
- President Eisenhower continued US support by sending military advisers to give temporary support to Diem's government in the south
- President Kennedy continued sending advisers as well as special operation forces
- President Johnson sent more and more combat forces
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution-
- Several US ships were getting attacked
- Most experts today don't think the ships were attacked
- This was Johnson's ploy to get more involved in Vietnam
- Johnson made it seem like he was anti-war, but in 1965, after he won the election, he started sending lots of troops
- Johnson and General William Westmoreland kept saying just send more troops we'll win and the Americans believed them at first
- The American's faith was shattered on January 30, 1968 when the enemy was supposedly on the verge of collapse mounted the Tet offensive in which nearly every major city in south Vietnam was attacked
- Although we crushed the enemy military the surprising huge offensive attack from an enemy that was supposedly almost defeated convinced many Americans that victory was impossible
Anti-war-
- People were against the war because...
- Tet offensive
- Pentagon papers
- Injuring and killing innocent people
- Supporting a bad government in South
- The power of the press
How did people get out of serving-
- Went to Canada or Sweden
- Went to college (student deferment)
- Got married
- Medically unfit for service
- Joined the National Guard or Peace Corps
- Claimed to be homosexual
- Being rich
Nixon and Vietnam-
- Nixon called for the vietnamization of the war
- Peace with honor
- Gradually pull US troops out and train the ARVN to take our place in fighting the North
- Expanded the War into Laos and Cambodia leading to college protests (Kent State)
- On January 15, 1973, President Nixon announced the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam
- The Paris Peace Accords were later signed January 27, 1973 which officially ended US involvement in the Vietnam conflict
PEACE
- The peace agreement didn't last
- In march 1975 the North invaded the south
- The south was not strong enough and fell quickly
- Saigon the South's capital fell on April 30, 1975
- US did not live up to it's promise to come to their aid if the North attacked
- Vietnam is still communist
Wars Powers Act-
- Limits the power of the President of the US wage war without the approval of the congress
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