Chapter 12 Lesson 1

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Chapter 12Lesson 1

• The Vietnam War Years

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• While many groups were trying to win better
  treatment and equal rights, President Johnson was
  working on his plan to better America.
• His plan was called the Great Society.

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The Vietnam War

• Like Korea, Vietnam was divided into two
  countries after World War II.
• North Vietnam- Communist
• South Vietnam-Republic

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• In the late 1950s, South Vietnamese communists,
  called the Vietcong, tried to take over South
  Vietnam. North Vietnam helped them.

• The United States sent money, supplies, and
  soldiers to help South Vietnam.

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• By 1963, the Vietcong were winning the war.
• In 1964, a North Vietnamese gunboat attacked a
  United States Navy ship. This caused the U.S. to
  send more soldiers to Vietnam.

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• When the U.S. and the South Vietnamese troops
  failed to win quickly, the U.S. sent war planes
  to bomb North Vietnam.
• We also sent more troops!

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By 1968, the U.S. had more than 500,000 troops in
Vietnam.
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• The Vietnam War was now costing the U.S. billions
  of dollars each year.
• Despite what President Johnson believed, the U.S.
  could not afford to finance the war and his Great
  Society programs.

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• To pay for both, the government had to borrow a
  lot of money.
• The borrowing led to inflation, which hurt our
  economy.

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Citizens are Divided

• The Vietnam War divided the American people.
• Hawks- supported the war
• Doves- wanted the war to end

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• The number of United States troops killed in
  Vietnam was now well into the thousands.
• People at home began to have protests to show
  their support for ending the war.
• Many people moved to Canada so they could not be
  drafted and sent to fight

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• Many Americans were unhappy with President
  Johnson.
• He announced he would not run for President again.

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A New President

• Im going to end that war-fast
• Richard Nixon

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Kent State University

• Kent State is a university in Ohio.
• During a protest in 1970, four students died.

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• Richard Nixons plan for ending the war involved
  training the South Vietnam troops to protect
  themselves better.
• That way, they could fight for themselves and the
  U.S. troops could come home.

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Improved Relations

• In 1972, President Nixon visited China.
• The U.S. had not been friendly with China since
  1949 when they became communist.
• After the visit, the U.S. and China agreed to
  begin trading with each other.

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• Three months later, President Nixon visited the
  Soviet Union.
• The U.S. and the Soviets also agreed to begin
  trading and limit their amount of weapons.

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Watergate

• During the 1972 elections, some people working
  to help Nixon win broke into a Democratic office
  building to steal secrets.
• President Nixon found out and tried to cover it
  up.

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• When the American people found out that he had
  lied, they were very upset.
• President Nixon was forced to resign.
• Vice President Gerald Ford became the President.

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The War Ends

• In 1973, before Nixon left office, the last
  American troops left Vietnam.
• However, once they left, fighting broke out
  again in Vietnam.
• Without the help of the U.S., South Vietnam was
  forced to surrender.

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• On Veterans Day, 1982, the Vietnam Veterans
  Memorial in Washington, D.C. was opened to
  visitors.
• The wall lists the names of over 58,000 people
  who lost their lives in Vietnam.