The Vietnam War - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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The Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War 1959-1975 ... believed it was a civil war only Vietnam War Protests and ... bombing of Cambodia along the Ho Chi Minh Trail The War Expands Peace ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The Vietnam War


1
The Vietnam War
1959-1975
2
Prior knowledge
  • What do you already know about Vietnam?
  • Was this a popular war?
  • How did Americans at home feel about it?
  • How did it contribute to a new counter-culture?
    (HIPPIES!)

3
General info, continued
  • Casualties
  • South Vietnam 195-430,000 civilians 171,
    331-220,357 military dead
  • North Vietnam Viet Cong 50,000-65,000
    civilians 400,000-1,100,000 military
    dead/missing
  • United States 58,220 dead 303, 644 wounded

4
Illustrated Timeline Activity
  • Using the following dates, create a timeline (12
    dates)
  • 1859, 1874, 1940, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1954, 1956,
    1960, 1968, 1973, 1975
  • All dates must have a caption describing what
    important event(s) occurred in that year
  • You must illustrate AT LEAST 2 events in addition
    to the starred events (everyone must illustrate
    this)
  • Due for a grade!

5
General Info Vietnam
  • Fought in S.Vietnam, N. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos
  • Victory North Vietnam
  • Withdrawal of American forces
  • Communist govt takes power in S. Vietnam,
    Cambodia, and Laos

6
Review Why did the US get involved?
  • Containment
  • The idea that we wanted to CONTAIN the spread of
    communism
  • Domino Theory
  • Refers mostly to Asia
  • Idea that if one country in a region became
    communist, then the rest would fall

7
The Vietnam War in Forrest Gump
  • http//www.youtube.com/watch?vJ1eBS8avHrg

8
  • Americanizing the War
  • U.S. becomes more involved in the war
  • 1st sustained bombing campaign in Vietnam
    Operation Rolling Thunder (video)

9
  • Americanizing the War
  • Leading U.S. officials during the war were
  • Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and
  • U.S. commander General William Westmoreland

10
  • Americanizing the War
  • U.S. dropped thousands of bombs on North Vietnam,
    some which had
  • Napalm
  • Jellied gasoline that exploded and left larges
    areas in flames
  • Agent Orange
  • Herbicide used to kill plants the enemys food
    supply, but was later found to cause cancer

11
  • An Elusive Enemy
  • North Vietnamese used guerrilla warfare
  • Fight small engagements
  • Traveled light
  • Hide in tunnels at night
  • Ambushed U.S. soldiers Used traps andexplosives

12
(No Transcript)
13
  • What was the state of the war by 1967?
  • Half a million US troops, thousands of lives lost
  • War seemed to be stalemate
  • Effect on morale
  • Morale dropping, US cannot win the war outright
  • Soldiers fought bravely, but Americans began to
    question US involvement

14
  • Effects of the War at Home
  • What is President Johnsons domestic program?
  • Great Society what is its goal?
  • How did the war affect the economy the Great
    Society?
  • Massive government spending
  • Led to inflation and a raise in taxes
  • Had to cut back on Great Society programs

15
  • Americans most divided since the Civil War
  • Hawks
  • Supported LBJ the war
  • Doves
  • Against the war, believedit was a civil war only

16
Vietnam War Protests and Turning Points
17
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18
  • The Draft
  • Deferments
  • Some people could avoid the draft depending on
    their background
  • Unfairness of the draft
  • High number of working-class, African Americans
    poor are drafted

19
  • Protests increase on the home front (video)
  • College protests
  • College organizations, like the Students for a
    Democratic Society, protest the war
  • Credibility Gap
  • American public did not trust what President
    Johnson was saying about the war

20
1968
  • A time of desperaioin in the war
  • High casualties, low morale

21
  • Turning Points
  • Tet Offensive (1968)
  • Major offensive assault on S. Vietnamese cities
    US realizes the war is far from over
  • LBJ
  • Does not run for re-election in 1968US begins
    to push for peace in Vietnam

22
Tet Offensive
  • http//www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/videost
    et-offensive

23
  • Controversy Violence in 1968
  • 1968
  • Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and
    Democratic candidate Robert Kennedyare
    assassinated
  • Democratic NationalConvention Chicago
  • Anti-war protests turned violent outside the
    convention protesters police attack each
    other

24
The End of theVietnam War
EQ How did the Vietnam War end, and what were
its lasting effects?
25
  • Richard Nixon Elected President
  • Peace with honor
  • US will exit Vietnam, but on honorable peace
    terms
  • Vietnamization
  • Give more fighting
  • responsibility to S. Vietnam

26
  • (1969) Some US troopsgo home Nixon
    orderssecret bombing of Cambodia along the Ho
    Chi Minh Trail

27
  • The War Expands
  • Peace negotiations are moving very slowly
  • Then, in 1970, Nixon orders American ground
    troops to attack Vietcong bases in Cambodia
  • How do the American people react?

28
  • Protests Increase
  • Many Americans protest, believe Nixon is
    expanding the war, not ending it
  • Kent State Shootings
  • College protest turns violent, four killed by
    National Guardsmen

29
  • From Bad to Worse
  • My Lai Massacre
  • American forces killed over 400 unarmed
    civilians in this village in South Vietnam
    (1968)
  • New York Times prints the Pentagon Papers (1971)
  • Documents reveal that officialsmisled the people
    and Congressabout US involvement in Vietnam

30
  • The War Ends
  • Paris Peace Accords
  • January, 1973, all sides agreed to a cease-fire
    and US troops leave S Vietnam
  • North and South Vietnam did not honor the treaty
  • 1975 North Vietnam invaded and took over South
    Vietnam

31
  • Effects of the War
  • Over 58,000 Americans died
  • Veterans return home, little appreciation from
    the American public
  • War Powers Act
  • Restricted the Presidents war powers
  • Vietnam first televised war and the longest war
  • Led to increased distrust in government
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