Why did the US get involved in the Vietnam War

1. Containment

China had fallen to communism in 1949, and

America had fought in Korea in 1950-53 to contain the spread of communism.

The US knew that the more countries that became communist meant more power for the Soviet Union

1. Containment

2. Domino Theory

Americans believed that, if South Vietnam fell,

Laos, Cambodia and Thailand - and then Burma and India - would follow.

Letting one country become communist was unacceptable as it will spread

2. Domino Theory

ARVN - South Vietnamese Army NVA- North Vietnamese Army Vietcong-South Vietnam fighters that fought

with NVA ARVN was ill equipped to fight against the more

advanced NVA and Vietcong

3. South Vietnam needed help

US felt that a

war against Vietcong and NVA would be quick and decisive

3. South Vietnam needed help

4. Tonkin Gulf

The North Vietnamese attacked the USS

Maddox in August 1964 in the Gulf of Tonkin Johnson used this event to gain support in

Congress for retaliation against NVA Gulf of Tonkin resolution: Gave President

Lyndon Johnson the power to send troops to Vietnam without getting approval from Congress

4. Tonkin Gulf

Discuss with a partner: 1. In your opinion, if we are attacked does that

mean we should attack back? Why? 2. Should the President of the United States be

allowed to send troops into military combat without the approval of the elected leaders of Congress? Why?

Discussion

4 Square on Why US became involved in

Vietnam

Each Square should include ALL of the

following: 1. The Title of the reason the US entered the

Vietnam War 2. Description of the reason IN YOUR OWN

WORDS! 3. Picture to help you remember

4 Square

THE VIETNAM WAR• Fighting Tactics• Vietcong and NVA• Booby Traps• Tunnel System• Ho Chi Minh Trail

• Jungle path that delivered goods to the Vietcong

THE VIETNAM WAR• Fighting Tactics• United States

• Operation Rolling Thunder• Large scale bombing of NVA targets

• Search and Destroy• Find the enemy, kill, destroy their base• “War of Attrition”

• Agent Orange• Chemical to destroy jungle cover for Vietcong• Caused serious health issues to people exposed

• Napalm• Large explosive that created fireballs of intense

heat

THE VIETNAM WAR• Tet Offensive• NVA and Vietcong launched a large scale

attack of over 70,000 soldiers against 100 South Vietnamese cities

• Turning point of the Vietnam War• People in the U.S. realized the war

wasn’t close to over, support fell in the U.S.

THE VIETNAM WAR• My Lai Massacre• U.S. soldiers invaded and killed

between 200 and 500 people, mostly old men, women and children thinking that they were hiding members of the Vietcong

• When the facts of the massacre became public, America continued to lose support for the war

THE VIETNAM WAR• Vietnam War Protests• Tet offensive and My Lai massacre led

to a drop in support of Vietnam War• 1967- 100,000 people meet in

Washington D. C. to protest the war

THE VIETNAM WAR• Vietnam War Protests• Muhammad Ali resists draft, earning

a prison sentence (later overturned by Supreme Court)

• Martin Luther King, Jr. opposed Vietnam War on it being morally irresponsible

THE VIETNAM WAR• Vietnam War Protests• Woodstock-music festival as a protest

to war, rise of the “hippie” culture

THE VIETNAM WAR• Vietnam War Protests• 1970-Kent State Shooting-peak of

Vietnam War protests• Ohio National Guard shoots and kills

four students that are part of a Vietnam War protest on campus

• Causes college protests throughout the U.S.

THE VIETNAM WAR• End of the Vietnam War• President Nixon- “Vietnamization” –

turning the fighting over to the South Vietnamese army

• 1973- all U.S. forces leave Vietnam, within two years the NVA is able to completely control all of South Vietnam; Vietnam becomes one united, communist country

THE VIETNAM WAR• Impact of the Vietnam War• U.S. – about 60,000 killed, over 100,000

injured – fails to accomplish goal of containment

• Vietnam – 3-5 million soldiers/civilians killed; land destroyed by war

• U.S. soldiers• No “hero’s welcome” • Hundreds of thousands of physically

and mentally disabled veterans due to the war

• Many committed suicide, turned to drugs or became homeless