This document provides learning objectives and background information on the Vietnam War. It outlines the major events and policies from Eisenhower's containment policy to the fall of Saigon in 1975. Key points covered include the division of Vietnam in 1954, the escalation under Kennedy and Johnson, the Tet Offensive, Nixon's Vietnamization strategy, and the impact of the war on American society and politics.

1. Learning Objectives
 Define the basic principles of Eisenhower’s
foreign policy in Vietnam
 Outline the steps by which Johnson led
the United States deeper into the Vietnam
quagmire.
 Explain how the Vietnam war brought
turmoil to American society and eventually
drove Johnson and the divided Democrats
from power in 1968.
 Describe Nixon’s foreign policy in relation
to Vietnam
 Examine the conflicts created by the
secret bombing of Cambodia, the American
withdrawal from Vietnam

2. Background
France controlled “Indochina”
since the late 19th century
9 Japan took control during World
War II
o With U.S. aid, France
attempted re-colonization in the
postwar period
o The French lost control to
Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh
forces in 1954 at Dien Bien
Phu
t President Eisenhower declined to
intervene on behalf of France.

3. The Division
of Vietnam
International Conference at Geneva
n Vietnam was divided at 17th
parallel
O Ho Chi Minh’s nationalist
forces controlled the North
O Ngo Dinh Diem, a French-
educated, Roman Catholic
claimed control of the
South
o A date was set for democratic
elections to reunify Vietnam
Diem backed out of the elections –
feared Ho’s victory

4. “American’s Mandarin”
1954-1963
 Why did the United States initially support
Diem’s regime?
 What led them to eventually support the coup
that overthrew him?

5. U.S. Military
Involvement
Begins Diem
Repressive dictatorial rule by
t Diem’s family holds all power
l Wealth is hoarded by the elite
d Buddhist majority persecuted
y Torture, lack of political freedom prevail
The U.S. aided Diem’s government
i Ike sent financial and military aid
a 675 U.S. Army advisors sent by 1960.

6. Vietcong forms; attacks
throughout S. Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh trail – supply line
opposition to Diem regime from North to aid Vietcong in
South

7. Early Protests of
Diem’s
Government
Self-Emolation by a Buddhist Monk

8. U.S. Military
Involvement
Begins
Kennedy - 60
military “advisors” – counter-
insurgency
r 1963: US supports coup d’etat –
to overthrow Diem (Nov. 2)
m Kennedy was assassinated just
weeks later (Nov. 22)

9. Discussion Question
Was America justified going into
Vietnam? What if the
Communist countries invaded a
country to contain the spread
of Democracy, would this be
justified? What is the
difference between the two
situations?

10. LBJ Goes to War
Remembers Truman’s “loss”
of China  Domino Theory
revived
“I’m not going to be
the president who
saw Southeast Asia
go the way China
went.”

11. Johnson Sends
Ground Forces
Advised to rout the communists by
Secretary of State, Robert S.
McNamara
t Tonkin Gulf Incident  1964
(acc. to Johnson, the attacks were
unprovoked)
, Tonkin Gulf Resolution – assistance for
any Southeast Asian country whose
government was considered to be
jeopardized by "communist
aggression;” legal justification for
deploying U.S. conventional forces
o “The Blank Check”

12.  [I]t is not simply that there is a
different story as to what
happened; it is that no attack
happened that night. [...] In truth,
Hanoi's navy was engaged in
nothing that night but the salvage
of two of the boats damaged on
August 2.
-internal National Security
Agency historical study -
declassified 2005

13. 1964 Election
 Johnson (D) v. Goldwater (R)
 LBJ – CR Act ’64, Great Society/War on
Poverty; uses Tonkin Res. to his advantage
 Goldwater – extreme right-wing views;
advocated the use of tactical nukes in
Vietnam
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.
Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no
virtue." ~ Goldwater

14. "Barry Goldwater from A to Z," was novelty booklet that reinforced the popular democratic stereotype of thei

18. U.S. Troop
Deployments
in Vietnam

19. The Air War
1965-1968
1965: Sustained bombing of North
Vietnam -Operation Rolling Thunder
(video)
g Non-stop bombing of Hanoi for 3 years!
Targets: industry, power plants,
transportation systems, Ho Chi Minh
Trail; Carpet Bombing – napalm
Why was it ineffective?
e Civilians - will, resourcefulness of
guerilla fighters and farmers in S.
Vietnam
s Assistance from China and Soviets
(competing for influence)

20. The Air War:
A Napalm Attack

21. The Ground
War
No territorial1965-1968
goals
o Body counts on TV
every night
Viet Cong supplied
over the
Ho Chi Minh Trail
l “search and destroy”
in S.V. villages
o Agent Orange – toxic The “living
defoliant (jungles) room” war

22. Who Is the
Enemy?

23. Who Is the
Enemy?
Vietcong (National Liberation
Front):
Front)
a Farmers by day; guerillas at night.
g willing to accept many casualties.
t US grossly underestimated resolve
and resourcefulness.
The guerilla wins if he does not
lose, the conventional army loses if
it does not win.
-- Mao Zedong

25. The Ground
War
General1965-1968 late
Westmoreland,
Westmoreland
1967:
We can see the
“light at the end of the tunnel.”

26. The Tet
Offensiv
e,
January
1968
67,000 attack
100 cities,
bases, and the
US embassy in
Saigon

27. The Tet
Offensive,
January 1968
NV Army + Viet Cong attack South
simultaneously Take many major
southern cities
a U.S. + ARVN beat back the
offensive
Viet Cong destroyed; N. Vietnamese
army debilitated
y seen as an American defeat by the
media – widened credibility gap
(Fulbright)

28. Impact of the
Domestic U.S.Offensive
Tet
Reaction: Disbelief,
Anger, Distrust of
Johnson Administration
Hey, Hey LBJ!
How many
kids did you
kill today?

30. Johnson’s
popularity
dropped in
1968 from
48% to 36%.

31. Impact of the
Vietnam War
Johnson announces (March, 1968):
…I shall not
seek, and I will
not accept, the
nomination of my
party for another
term as your
President.

32. American
Morale Begins
to Dip
Disproportionate representation of
poor people and minorities.
m Major drug
problems.
m Officers in combat
6 mo.; in rear
6 mo. Enlisted
men in combat for 12 mo.

33. Are We
Becoming the
Enemy?20 Infantry
Charlie Company, 1 Battalion,
st th
e Mylai Massacre, 1968
e 200-500 unarmed villagers
È Lt. William Calley,
Platoon Leader

34. The Draft Lotteries
Rep. Alexander
Pirnie, R-NY,
draws the first
capsule in the
lottery drawing
held on Dec. 1,
1969. The
capsule contained
the date, Sept.
14.
The highest number called:
195

35. Embodying the national
debate over U.S.
involvement in the
Vietnam War, a U.S.
soldier in Vietnam wears
a peace symbol amulet
alongside a bandolier of
bullets.
Photograph by
Bettman/CORBIS
“When we marched into the rice paddies… we
carried, along with our packs and rifles, the
implicit convictions that the Vietcong could
be quickly beaten. We kept the packs and
rifles; the convictions we lost.”
– Philip Caputo

36. History Rocks: Amer

37. 1968 Election
 Nixon (R) v. Humphrey (D) v.
Wallace (I)

38. Nixon and Nam
Peace with Honor
Appealed to“Silent
Majority”
Vietnamization
Expansion of the
conflict  The
“Secret War”
Cambodia
Laos

39. Anti-War
Demonstration
s
Columbia University
1967

40. Anti-War
Demonstration
s
Student Protestors
at Univ. of CA
in Berkeley, 1968
Democratic Convention
in Chicago, 1968

41. “Hanoi Jane”
Jane Fonda: Traitor?

42. Anti-War
Demonstrations
h May 4, 1970
h 4 students
shot dead.
h 11 students
wounded
r Jackson State
University
r May 10, 1970
r 2 dead; 12
Kent State University wounded

43. The Nixon
Doctrine/
Vietnamization
 US would:
– honor all of its treaty agreements.
– provide a shield if a nuclear power
threatened an ally or a country the
U.S. deemed to be vital to its national
security.
– provide military and economic aid to
countries under treaty agreements,
but the nation would be expected to
bear primary responsibility to provide
manpower for its own defense.

44. What contributed to the War
at Home?
 My Lai
 Extension of War into
Cambodia
 Kent State
 Release of the Pentagon
Papers

45. The “Secret War”
“Just do it. Don't
come back and
ask permission
each time”
- Nixon instruction to
aides running operations
in Cambodia

46. “Pentagon Papers,”
1971
” Former defense analyst Daniel Ellsberg
leaked govt. docs. regarding war efforts during
Johnson’s administration to the
New York Times.
s Docs. Govt. misled Congress & Amer. People
regarding its intentions in Vietnam
t Primary reason for fighting not to
eliminate communism, but to avoid
humiliating defeat.
a New York Times v. United States (1971)
. Free press v. Govt. need for security?
v FREE PRESS WINS!*

47. Beginning of
the End
72 -Peace is at hand 
Kissinger, 1972
h North Vietnam attacks South
t Most Massive U.S. bombing
commences
. 73 - Ceasefire signed - U.S.,
South Vietnam, & North Vietnam
Peace with honor (President
Nixon)

48. Peace
Negotiations
L US &
Vietnamese
argue for
5 months
over the
size of the
conference
table!
Dr. Henry Kissinger & Le Duc Tho

49. The Ceasefire,
1973
Conditions:
1. U.S. to remove all troops
2. North Vietnam could leave troops
already in S.V.
3. NV would keep territory
r Last American combat troops leave on
March 29, 1973
m 1975: North Vietnam defeats South
Vietnam
n Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City

50. The Fall of
Saigon
South Vietnamese
Attempt to Flee the Country

51. The Fall of
Saigon
April 30, 1975
America Abandons Its Embassy

52. The Fall of
Saigon
North Vietnamese
at the Presidential Palace

53. A United
Vietnam
Formerly Saigon

54. The Costs
3,000,000 Vietnamese killed
m 58,000 Americans killed;
300,000 wounded
Under-funding of Great Society
programs
686 billion in U.S. spending
. U.S. morale, self-confidence,
trust of government, decimated

55. The Impact
26th Amendment: 18-year-olds vote
o Nixon abolished the draft
all-volunteer army
m War Powers Act, 1973 ‫٭‬
I President must notify Congress within 48
hours of deploying military force
n President must withdraw forces unless he
gains Congressional approval within 90
days
n Disregard for Veterans  seen as
“baby killers”

56. 2,583 American
POWs / MIAs
still unaccounted for today.

57. And
in the End….
Ho Chi Minh:
If we have to fight, we
will fight. You will kill
ten of our men and we will
kill one of yours, and in the end it
will be you who tires of it.

58. 58,195

59. Discussion
Questions
- What were the short-term and
long-term consequences of the
communists victory in Vietnam? How
do these affect an assessment of the
war? What could America have done
differently to win the war in Vietnam?
-What lessons for future Presidents
came from US experience in Vietnam?

60. Lessons
for Future
American Presidents
1. Wars must be of short duration.
2. Wars must yield few American casualties.
3. Restrict media access to battlefields.
4. Develop and maintain Congressional and
public support.
5. Set clear, winnable goals.
6. Set deadline for troop withdrawals.
Have we learned our lesson from
Vietnam? Use details from our
study of the war and the current
day situation in the Middle East to
support your opinion.

61. The Vietnam
Memorial,
Washington, D.C.

62. Memorial to US
Servicemen in
Vietnam

63. Some American
POWs Returned from
the
“Hanoi Hilton”
Senator John McCain
(R-AZ)

64. Memorial to US
Nurses in
Vietnam

65. President Clinton
formally recognized
Vietnam on
July 11, 1995

66. Another
Vietnam?
OR
A transformation of
the Middle East?
Only time & history
can tell!