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18.1 - Failures (Vietnam War)

Terms in this set (34)

Baby Killer
Derogatory name that anti-war protesters called returning soldiers. It referred to the killing of civilians.
Rich man's war and a poor man's fight
Phrase the exemplified the idea that wealthy politicians were making choices about the conduct of the war but that poor Americans, especially African Americans, had to do the fighting.
Vietnam Syndrome
A fear on the part of American leaders to send the military into action due to the loss in Vietnam.
Free-Fire Zones
Areas of the Vietnamese countryside. All civilians in these areas were supposed to move to camps and anyone left in the zones was considered an enemy. In reality, many civilians refused to leave and were killed. The policy made the government of South Vietnam and the Americans unpopular with the civilian population.
Ho Chi Minh Trail
Route taken by North Vietnamese to supply the Viet Cong in the South. The route went through Laos and Cambodia.
Vietnam War Memorial
Also known as the Vietnam Wall, the memorial in Washington, DC bears the names of all Americans who died in the war. It takes the shape of a long granite V sunken into the earth. Visitors see themselves reflected in the polished stone.
Geneva Accords
International agreement after World War II to unify Vietnam and hold nation-wide elections. Diem in the South ignored the accords knowing he would lose an election.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Resolution passed by Congress in 1964 that granted President Johnson wide authority to use armed force in Vietnam. It was used by presidents Johnson and Nixon to go to war without an actual declaration of war.
Vietnamization
Nixon's policy of withdrawing American troops and turning responsibility for fighting over to the South Vietnamese Army. It was a way of ending the war without surrendering.
26th Amendment
Constitutional amendment ratified in 1971 granting the right to vote to anyone age 18 and older. Previously citizens had to be 21 to vote.
Ho Chi Minh
Communist leader of North Vietnam who fought the French, Japanese and then Americans in an effort to realize independence for Vietnam.
Viet Minh
The North Vietnamese army.
Ngo Dinh Diem
Dictator of South Vietnam. He was widely hated due to his corrupt government, policies that favored the Catholic minority and was eventually killed in a coup that was tacitly supported by the US.
Thich Quang Duc
Buddhist monk who self-immolated on a street corner in Saigon to protest Diem's government. A photograph of the even captured the world's attention.
Robert McNamara
Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War. He is often blamed for the failure.
Viet Cong
Guerilla fighters in South Vietnam who supported the North.
William Westmoreland
American commander in Vietnam.
Walter Cronkite
Respected television news anchor who went to Vietnam during the Tet Offensive and reported that he believed that war would end in a stalemate. Is opinion influenced many Americans.
Students for a Democratic Society
Group of college students who organized protests, most notably large rallies in Washington, DC.
Muhammad Ali
Heavyweight boxing champion who went to jail instead of going to Vietnam when he was drafted. He lost his title but served as an example for other draft dodgers.
Vietnamese Boat People
South Vietnamese refugees who escaped the advancing North Vietnamese Army by boarding small boats and travelling to neighboring countries. They were one part of a larger refugee crisis the followed the fall of South Vietnam.
Maya Lin
Young Chinese-American architect who won a competition to design the Vietnam War Memorial.
Assassination of Diem
South Vietnamese army officers arranged the assassinate Diem and his brother and take over the government. The plot was carried out in November 1963. The CIA knew about the plot and did nothing to stop it.
Operation Rolling Thunder
Major bombing campaign initiated in 1965 in an effort to force the North Vietnamese to surrender. It inflicted heavy damage but failed in its primary objective.
Tet Offensive
Major operation undertaken by the North Vietnamese to attack cities in the South during the new year's celebration (Tet) of 1968. It ultimately failed but did demonstrate that the North was not about to surrender.
1968 Democratic Primary
In 1968 senator Eugene McCarthy challenged sitting president Lyndon Johnson. McCarthy ran as an anti-war candidate. When McCarthy did surprisingly well in the first primary election Johnson withdrew from the race. Robert Kennedy joined as another anti-war candidate and vice president Hubert Humphry joined as a pro-war candidate. Humphry eventually won the nomination but lost the general election to Richard Nixon.
My Lai Massacre
Attack by American troops on the village of My Lai in 1968. The American commander ordered his soldiers to kill everyone in the village, including women and children. The massacre caused many in the around the world to doubt the good intentions of the United States.
Invasion of Cambodia
In 1970 President Nixon decided to send American ground forces into Cambodia to cut off the Ho Chi Minh Trail. His move intensified the anti-war movement.
Columbia University Protest
Protest in which students occupied the campus of Columbia University in 1968. They were violently ousted by the NYC police.
Kent State Shooting
Clash between students and the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University in 1970. The guardsmen opened fire on unarmed students resulting in nine deaths. The massacre shocked the nation as it seemed the war was coming home.
Jackson State Shooting
A less publicized shooting similar to the Kent State Massacre that occurred a few weeks later at the predominantly African American Jackson State College. Twelve students were wounded and two were killed by police.
Operation Frequent Wind
A military airlift to transport escaping American and Vietnamese supporters out of Saigon as the North Vietnamese closed in in 1975.
Surrender of South Vietnam
April 30, 1975. North Vietnamese troops entered Saigon and the South Vietnamese government fell. Vietnam was united under communist leadership.
Agent Orange
Chemical sprayed from aircraft that caused the leaves to fall off of trees, thus making it easier to find enemy fighters. It is widely believed to have caused serious health problems for the soldiers who were exposed.
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