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Unit 11: The Vietnam War/ The 1960s

Terms in this set (66)

What was the Tet Offensive?
-January 30th is the Vietnamese New Years Eve
-The festivities for the new year was called the Tet. There was a week long truce for the Tet
-People streamed into the cities to bury dead soldiers. They actually carried weapons in the coffins and launched a surprise attack. (even attacked the US embassy)
-Continued for a month
-VC lost 32,000 and the US lost 3,000
How did the Tet Offensive change American public opinion about the war?
-Shocked the public because we thought that we were winning the war.
-Changed the public's view and support of the war.
-Change in the views at the White House. Clark Clifford was the new defense secretary. He supported the war, but eventually concluded that he thought the war was unwinnable.
-LBJ 's popularity plummeted. Lost support from Walter Cronkite (journalist who used to support the war)
How did Eugene McCarthy change the race for president in 1968?
-Democrat who ran against LBJ
-Campaign picked up steam after the Tet Offensive
-LBJ barely won. Ended up resigning due to political divisions
How did the Tet Offensive change President Johnson's popularity?
-People grew weary of the war and the chances of success
-Nearly 60% didn't approve of it
What prompted Robert Kennedy to enter the race for president?
-Johnson's weakness at the polls influenced him
-Democratic party was divided
Why did President Johnson decide not to seek reelection?
-Got too caught up in the war and wasn't able to continue The Great Society
What was the reaction to the assassinations of MLK and Robert Kennedy?
-Protests and riots
Why did riots occur at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago?
-Riot between protesters and police
-Wanted to pressure anti-war programs
-Wanted to provoke violence to discredit the democratic party
Why did George Wallace enter the race for president?
To help Nixon
Why was Nixon's election in 1968 considered a great political comeback?
-Lost race for president against Kennedy
-Lost race for governor
-Eventually ran again and won the president's nomination
Robert Kennedy
-JFKs brother
-senator from NY
-assassinated
Eugene McCarthy
-Minnesota senator
-Ran against johnson
Hubert Humphrey
-Johnson's Vice-President
-loyal party man
-predetermined nomination upset antiwar activists
George Wallace
-3rd party candidate
-White Backlash
-Helped Nixon's candidacy
Richard Nixon
-37th president
-resigned from office (Watergate Scandal)
-republican
-vietnam
What happened to peace negotiations with North Vietnam?
-NV and VC demanded US troops to withdraw and Thieu would step down.
-Negotiations to end war weren't going anywhere
What was vietnamization?
Gradual withdrawal of US troops, so that SV could take a more active combat role in the war
What was the goal of Nixon's Vietnam policy?
-Secretly ordered a bombing campaign against supply routes
-Wanted to maintain US dignity
-Wanted the enemy to think he was capable of anything
Why did students and others protest Nixon's invasion of Cambodia?
-They didn't support it
-Didn't want to create further conflict
What happened at Kent State?
-An Ohio university where National Guardsmen opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War on May 4, 1970, wounding nine and killing four
What were the Pentagon Papers?
-7,000-page document— leaked to the press by the former Defense Department worker Daniel Ellsberg—revealing that the U.S. government had not been honest about its intentions in the Vietnam War.
What happened with the peace talks after Nixon's reelection?
-The peace he promised was elusive
-Thieu Regime rejected HK's plan
-Talks broke off and Nixon unleashed a bombing campaign
-"Christmas Bombings" - 11 straight days that only stopped on Christmas
What was the final resolution of the Vietnam War?
"Agreement of Ending War & Restoring Peace in Vietnam"
-NV would remain in the South and Nixon could respond with full force if they violate it
-Cease-fire collapsed after a few months, but the US only sent economic aid
What kind of reception did Vietnam veterans receive when they came home?
-No bands, parades, or crowds
-Hostile and indifferent
-15% had PTSD
What are the legacies of the Vietnam War?
-Southeast Asia was left unstable
-Veterans did not have a warm welcome (faced hostility and indifference)
-Vietnam Memorial
-War Powers Act
Henry Kissinger
-National Security Advisor
-Helped Nixon find an end to US involvement in Vietnam
-Forge historic new relations with China and SU
-Met privately with NV negotiator, and changed his mind about complete NV withdrawal
-Peace is at hand
Silent majority
Moderate, mainstream citizens who quietly supported the war
My Lai Massacre
-William Calley Jr. ordered his men to kill all the citizens in My Lai.
-They were looking for Vietcong and found none, so they shot women, children, and the elderly
-ONLY FOLLOWING ORDERS
-Calley was the only one convicted and jailed
War Powers Act
-Must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending forces into a hostile area with a Declaration of War.
-Troops can't stay longer than 90 days
When did France rule Vietnam?
1800s-1954
Who were the Vietminh and what were they fighting for?
An organization of Vietnamese Communists and other nationalist groups that between 1946 and 1954 fought for Vietnamese independence from the French.
What happened at Dien Bien Phu?
-The Vietminh defeated the French and ended foreign rule
What did the Geneva Accords do to Vietnam?
-Split it
-A peace agreement that divided Vietnam into Communist-controlled North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam until unification elections could be held in 1956.
Why did President Eisenhower compare the situation in Vietnam to a row of dominoes?
-If one country would fall to communism, then the next one would and that would continue.
Why did Diem cancel elections? Why did his support plummet?
-Fear that Ho Chi Minh would win
-It plummeted because of ongoing corruption and failure to respond to land reforms
What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
A resolution adopted by Congress in 1964, giving the president broad powers to wage war in Vietnam.
What did President Johnson do in response to a Vietcong attack in February 1965?
-Unleashed "Operation Rolling Thunder" which was the first sustained bombing of North Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh
-Leader of Indochinese Communist Party
-Poor Vietnamese family
-"He Who Enlightens"
Domino theory
Countries on the brink of communism compare to dominoes, waiting to fall on after another.
Dien Bien Phu
-French outpost in Vietnam (northwestern V)
-French were forced to surrender when the Vietminh overran it
Ngo Dinh Diem
-South Vietnamese president (strong anti-communist)
-Refused to take part in election
-Failed to hold up his end of the bargain with the U.S. (military aid in exchange for a stable reform)
Vietcong
-Communist opposition group in the South.
-Began attacks on the Diem government
-National Liberation Front
Ho Chi Minh Trail
A network of paths used by North Vietnam to transport supplies to the Vietcong in South Vietnam.
Why did Johnson increase U.S. troop numbers in Vietnam?
To keep communism at bay
Who were William Westmoreland, Dean Rusk, and Robert McNamara? What were their roles in the war?
William Westmoreland: American Commander in SV. West Point graduate. Served in WWII and Korea. Accused of deceiving US citizens.
Dean Rusk: Secretary of State.
Robert McNamara: Secretary of Defense. Played a major role in escalating US involvement.
What tactics did the Vietcong use?
-Guerilla warfare (sneak attacks)
-Tunnel system
-Connections/blending in with normal citizens
What results did the Vietcong achieve?
-Very successful
Why did U.S. troops have morale problems?
-Guerilla warfare, jungles, failure to succeed took their toll on the soldiers
-Drafted/forced into the war
How did the conduct of the South Vietnamese government affect the way the war was conducted?
-SV was constantly corrupt and unstable
-Ignored US pleas
-Civil War within another war
How did TV broadcasts from Vietnam affect support for the war?
-Showed stark pictures that contradicted the administration's optimistic scenario
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The southern Vietnamese soldiers with whom U.S. troops fought against communism and forces in the North during the Vietnam War.
Napalm
Gasoline based bomb that sets fire to the jungle
Agent orange
-Leaf killing toxic chemical
-Destroyed villages and causes cancer
search and destroy missions
-Uprooting civilians with suspected ties to the VC.
-Killed livestock, burned villages which forced villagers into the cities or refugee camps
credibility gap
Between Johnson administration and reality
How was the draft unfair?
-Men were forced to sign up for the draft (18-26)
-Manipulative system and many tried to find ways out of it (college deferment, medical reasons, etc)
-80% of US soldiers came from lower class levels. It was a working-class war.
-Draft lottery system
What issues did Vietnam raise for African-Americans?
-Served in disproportionate groups
-More than 20% of combat deaths
What did women in the military do in Vietnam?
-Non-combat positions
-Mostly as nurses
-Red Cross & USO: hospitality and entertainment
What was the program of the New Left?
-Growing youth movement that demanded sweeping changes in American society
-Students for a Democratic Society (Tom Hayden & Al Haber)
-Free Speech Movement (University of California Berkeley)
How were collages important to the New Left?
The message of the New Left spread around college campuses which provoked students to demand change.
What issue fueled campus protests?
-Dress codes, curfews, dorm rules, and ROTC programs
How did draft-eligible Americans respond to the draft?
-Burned draft cards
-Manipulated their way out of being drafted
-Nixon phased out the draft
How did the American public respond to the protests against the war?
-Divided into 2 groups (doves & hawks)
Draft
compulsory recruitment for military service.
Dove
People who didn't support war
Make love, not war
hippies
Hawk
People who supported the war
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