Name Class Date. The Vietnam War Section 1

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1 Name Class Date Section 1 MAIN IDEA Concern about the spread of communism led the United States to become increasingly involved in Vietnam. Key Terms and People Ho Chi Minh leader of the drive for Vietnamese independence; leader of North Vietnam Vietminh Vietnamese group that resisted the Japanese occupation in World War II domino theory theory that if one Southeast Asian country fell to communism, others would follow Dien Bien Phu site of France s last stand to keep Vietnam a French colony Geneva Conference conference to work out a peace agreement for Indochina Ngo Dinh Diem corrupt and brutal South Vietnamese leader Vietcong military forces in South Vietnam who united to overthrow Diem Tonkin Gulf Resolution resolution that enabled President Johnson to use all necessary measures to repel any armed attack Section Summary COLONIAL VIETNAM Vietnam came under Chinese control in about 200 BC. The Vietnamese struggled against the Chinese until they won independence in the 1400s. Then in the 1800s the French took over Vietnam. After World War I their leader, who came to be known as Ho Chi Minh, tried unsuccessfully to get President Wilson to apply his Fourteen Points to Southeast Asia. In World War II, the Japanese controlled Vietnam. The Vietnamese resistance fighters were called the Vietminh. Many were Communists. They claimed independence. Who ruled Vietnam from about 200 BC to the AD 1400s? Who took control of Vietnam during World War II? VIETNAM AFTER WORLD WAR II After World War II France, with U.S. support, took back control of Vietnam. The Vietnamese fought back. President Eisenhower believed in the domino theory. This theory said that if one Southeast Asian nation fell to communism, others would follow. Despite massive U.S. aid, the French lost. Their last stand occurred at Dien Bien Phu. 148 Interactive Reader and Study Guide

2 Name Class Date Section 1 A peace agreement was reached at the Geneva Conference. This called for a temporary division of Vietnam into north and south. Free elections were supposed to take place in The north, led by Ho Chi Minh, was Communist. Communist countries were the only ones who would help him fight for independence. At the time of the Geneva Conference, which part of Vietnam was Communist? GROWING CONFLICT IN VIETNAM South Vietnam was ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem. He was corrupt and brutal. He persecuted Buddhists. His government helped the wealthy landowners and not the poor farmers. He knew the people would vote for Ho Chi Minh in the 1956 election, so Diem refused to allow an election. The Communist leaders of North Vietnam sent supplies to rebels in the south. The Vietminh in South Vietnam formed the Vietcong to fight Diem. Most of the Vietcong were Communists. Soldiers from North Vietnam slipped into South Vietnam to help fight Diem. President Eisenhower decided to send military advisers and special forces. Why were the South Vietnamese unhappy under Diem? INCREASING U.S. INVOLVEMENT President Kennedy sent more advisers and special forces. By 1963 nearly 500 Americans had been killed in Vietnam. Then Diem was murdered and the South Vietnamese government came close to falling. By March 1964 the Vietcong controlled about 40 percent of South Vietnam. President Johnson wanted to act but needed Congress s support. He presented inaccurate evidence that a U.S. ship had been fired on without having fired first. Congress approved the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. This enabled the president to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack on U.S. forces. It was as if the president was given the power to make war without declaring war. Why do you think President Johnson presented inaccurate evidence to Congress? CHALLENGE ACTIVITY Critical Thinking: Draw Conclusions Review the system of checks and balances of the U.S. government. Write a paragraph explaining why Congress has the power to declare war, while the president has the power to wage war. 149 Interactive Reader and Study Guide

3 Name Class Date Section 2 MAIN IDEA As the United States sent increasing numbers of troops to defend South Vietnam, some Americans began to question the war. Key Terms and People Operation Rolling Thunder bombing campaign in North Vietnam in 1965 Ho Chi Minh Trail network of paths and tunnels that began in North Vietnam and ended in South Vietnam William Westmoreland commander of U.S. ground troops in South Vietnam pacification U.S. policy aimed at winning the support of the South Vietnamese people doves people who opposed the war hawks people who supported the war J. William Fulbright head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who criticized the war openly Section Summary THE AIR WAR In March 1965 President Johnson ordered Operation Rolling Thunder. This was a bombing campaign in North Vietnam. U.S. forces bombed military targets and also bridges, roads, railways, and power plants. To clear the jungle, U.S. planes sprayed it with Agent Orange, a chemical that caused plants to drop their leaves. It caused disease and disability in humans. Napalm, or jellied gasoline, was used to make firebombs. Pilots also did carpet bombings. These were strings of bombs dropped from high altitude to destroy large areas with no specific target. The Vietcong continued moving soldiers and supplies along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of paths and tunnels that led from North Vietnam into South Vietnam. Why was the Ho Chi Minh Trail important? THE GROUND WAR By 1967 there were 486,000 American troops in Vietnam. They were commanded by General William Westmoreland. Westmoreland ordered thousands of search-and-destroy missions. In these, ground troops would locate the enemy and then call in air strikes to Circle the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam by Interactive Reader and Study Guide

4 Name Class Date Section 2 destroy it. The United States then began the policy of pacification. If a village was close to the Vietcong, the Americans moved the villagers to secure camps. U.S. FORCES MOBILIZE More than 2.5 million Americans served in the Vietnam War. The United States used the draft to get enough soldiers. Men who went to college could put off their military service. This meant young men from higher-income families were less likely to be drafted. In 1969 the government began to use a lottery for the draft. In 1973 the draft was ended. About 10,000 women also served in the war. Why did fewer young men from higher-income families fight in the war? PUBLIC OPINION SHIFTS Television coverage brought the Vietnam War into people s living rooms. President Johnson was criticized by doves. These were people opposed to the war. Hawks were in favor of the war. However, many criticized the way the war was fought. Senator J. William Fulbright was head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He criticized the war. There was a large antiwar movement. Some people said the majority of the Vietnamese did not want the war. One of the most vocal antiwar groups was the Students for a Democratic Society. They led the first national antiwar demonstration. What were people who criticized Johnson called? Who led the first national antiwar demonstration? CHALLENGE ACTIVITY Critical Thinking: Evaluate If you lived during the Vietnam War, would you have been a hawk or a dove? Would your position on the war have led you to join a movement? a political party? Write three paragraphs telling what you would have done as a citizen during the Vietnam War. 151 Interactive Reader and Study Guide

5 Name Class Date Section 3 MAIN IDEA As the Vietnam War dragged on and increasingly appeared to be unwinnable, deep divisions developed in American society. Key Terms and People Tet Offensive a series of massive, coordinated attacks by the Vietcong across South Vietnam Robert S. McNamara secretary of defense for both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson Eugene McCarthy candidate for Democratic presidential nomination in 1968 Hubert Humphrey Democratic nominee for president in 1968 George Wallace independent candidate for president in 1968 Section Summary THE TET OFFENSIVE The Tet Offensive was a series of massive coordinated attacks by the Vietcong throughout South Vietnam. It occurred in It surprised U.S. commanders. They had noticed more activity on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. However, they thought it was related to a major battle at Khe Sanh. Instead, it led to attacks on 12 U.S. bases and over 100 cities. The North Vietnamese hoped the offensive would inspire the South Vietnamese to rise up against their government. It did not. Why did the Tet Offensive surprise the Americans? EFFECTS OF THE TET OFFENSIVE With the Tet Offensive Americans gave up the idea that the United States was winning the war. Even Walter Cronkite, the anchor of CBS Evening News, changed his mind. President Johnson then knew that people would listen to Cronkite and public opinion would turn against the war. Public criticism of the war grew. By 1968 roughly 3 out of 4 Americans were against Johnson s Vietnam policies. Robert S. McNamara, secretary of defense for both Kennedy and Johnson, began looking for ways to make peace. Why could Americans no longer believe that they were winning the war? 152 Interactive Reader and Study Guide

6 Name Class Date Section 3 JOHNSON SEEKS A SOLUTION General Westmoreland wanted more troops in Vietnam. Johnson s advisers could not agree on a strategy. Some thought that North Vietnam should be invaded. Others thought that was too extreme. In March 1968 Johnson declared that he would seek a peace agreement. In that same speech he announced that he would not run for president again. Peace talks began in Paris, but the two sides could not agree. Why do you think President Johnson s advisers could not agree on a strategy to win the war? THE ELECTION OF 1968 Early in the 1968 election campaign, Senator Eugene McCarthy challenged President Johnson for the Democratic presidential nomination. So did Robert Kennedy, senator from New York. When Johnson withdrew from the race, his vice president, Hubert Humphrey, also entered the race. He was linked to policies supporting the war. McCarthy and Kennedy were against the war. The war was a key issue. Kennedy was the Democratic favorite, but after winning the California primary he was assassinated. When the Democratic Party held its convention in Chicago that August, many antiwar protesters came to demonstrate. Chicago mayor Richard Daley used police and the National Guard to maintain order. The situation exploded into violence. Humphrey was nominated. The protests showed that there was a divide between young people and their parents, a generation gap. Young people accused the older generation of valuing money and comfort ahead of justice. Older Americans urged them to trust the government to do best. The Democratic Party was deeply divided. The Republicans nominated Richard Nixon for president. George Wallace ran as the candidate of the American Independent Party. Wallace had gained national attention by opposing civil rights. With the Democrats divided, Nixon won. Underline the names of the presidential challengers who were against the war. Circle the one who was not. Who started out as the Democrats favorite? What is a generation gap? CHALLENGE ACTIVITY Critical Thinking: Elaborate The riots at the Democratic convention led to the trial of the Chicago Seven. Write a report that explains who the Chicago Seven were and why they were prosecuted. 153 Interactive Reader and Study Guide

7 Name Class Date Section 4 MAIN IDEA President Nixon eventually ended U.S. involvement in Vietnam, but the war had lasting effects on the United States and in Southeast Asia. Key Terms and People Henry Kissinger President Nixon s national security adviser Vietnamization policy of turning over the fighting to the South Vietnamese silent majority people who disapproved of the protesters and generally supported the war My Lai massacre the killing of at least 450 civilians by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam Pentagon Papers secret documents that revealed that the government had been misleading the American people George McGovern Democratic nominee for president in 1972; opposed the war Twenty-sixth Amendment amendment reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 Khmer Rouge brutal Communist group that controlled Cambodia for four years War Powers Act U.S. law limiting the president s war-making abilities Section Summary WIDENING THE WAR President Nixon s national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, began secret peace talks with the North Vietnamese. Nixon also started Vietnamization. This policy turned the fighting over to the South Vietnamese. Nixon began withdrawing U.S. forces. Nixon believed he had the backing of the silent majority. These were people who disapproved of antiwar protesters and supported the war. Nixon also secretly expanded the war. He ordered the bombing of Cambodia and sent U.S. troops into Cambodia and Laos to destroy North Vietnamese army bases. He also started bombing North Vietnam. Circle the name of Nixon s national security adviser. Underline the ways Nixon expanded the war. INCREASING PROTESTS As the war dragged on, antiwar protests got bigger. At Kent State University, four students were shot by the National Guard. Two more were killed at Jackson State College. People on hundreds of college campuses went on strike. Trade unionists, veterans, and the clergy helped the movement. Meanwhile, in 154 Interactive Reader and Study Guide

8 Name Class Date Section 4 Vietnam, the My Lai massacre occurred in 1968 but was hushed up. American soldiers shot at least 450 women, children, and elderly men while on a searchand-destroy mission. When the public found out, it further weakened support of the war. By late 1969 more than half of Americans were against the war. In 1971 the New York Times published the Pentagon Papers. These secret documents showed that the government had been misleading the American people for years about the success of the war. Why were the Pentagon Papers important to American democracy? END OF U.S. INVOLVEMENT In the presidential election of 1972, Nixon s Democratic challenger was Senator George McGovern. He was openly and strongly against the war. Many of his supporters were young people, especially since the ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment. It lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. A week before the election, Kissinger announced Peace is at hand, and Nixon won the election by a landslide. In January 1973 the peace deal was signed. What was McGovern s position about Vietnam? THE LEGACY OF VIETNAM In 1975 North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam and set up a Communist government. That same year Communist forces called the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia. They killed 1.5 million people. Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1979 to get rid of the Khmer Rouge and stayed until killed over 1.5 million Vietnamese. It devastated the environment. About 58,000 Americans were killed and about 300,000 wounded, many seriously. The war cost $150 billion. It caused many Americans to mistrust their government. Congress passed the War Powers Act in The act limits the president s ability to make war. What were the results of the Vietnam War for the Vietnamese? Did America win the war? CHALLENGE ACTIVITY Critical Thinking: Cause and Effect The U.S. government spent $150 billion on the Vietnam War. Do some research to find out about the American economy and what effect the war spending had. 155 Interactive Reader and Study Guide