Victoria Kleppin

Lead up to the Vietnam War (day 1)

Colonial Past

French Indo-China had been part of the French Empire since the late 19th century

Vietnamese had a long history of violently fighting imperialism

WWll
Due to crisis caused by the Great Depression and WWII, French lost control of Vietnam to Japan during WWII

WWll
Due to crisis caused by the Great Depression and WWII, French lost control of Vietnam to Japan during WWII

After WWll
When the Japanese surrendered there was a power vacuum

Chinese occupy North British occupy South ***Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam independent

November 1946 French decide they want Vietnam back

French bomb Hanoi and Haipong, killing 6,000

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Vietminh fight for national liberation (freedom)

Indo-China War
Vietminh use Guerilla Warfare

Becomes part of the Cold War:

China arms North Vietnam (Vietminh) America helps the French defend South Vietnam ***S. Vietnam puppet leader Bo Dai

French Lose

Dien Bien Phu Huge military defeat of the French France was experiencing problems all over their colonial empire The war was unpopular in France many of the men were conscripts Vietminh were masters of Guerilla Warfare Ho Chi Minh had the support of most Vietnamese people

The Geneva Convention

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1954 The Geneva Peace Conference is arranged between the USSR, USA, UK, France, China, and Indochina Terms of the agreement:

Outcome

Laos and Cambodia are independent Vietnam is temporarily divided along 17th parallel Ho Chi Minhs gov is recognized in the North Emperor Bo Dai was recognized in the South 1956 Elections were to be held to unite Vietnam

US never agree to the Geneva Accords

Bo Dais Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem rigs elections

98.2% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon

Eisenhower agrees that if free elections would have been held, then Ho Chi Minh would have probably won 80% of the vote.

USA Gets Involved in Vietnam (day 2)

Name

Viet = ethnic group

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Group of related peoples

Similar to Italian, French, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Somalian, Kenyan, Russian

Nam = South

Viet nam = South Viet

Viet minh = Viet supporters of Ho Chi Minh

Viet Cong = Viet communists; guerilla fighters

President Eisenhower
Domino Theory

The American belief that if one country became communist, then all the other countries around it would also become communist

Post-Elections
South Vietnam

America replaces puppet emperor Bao Dai with Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem

Post-Elections

Diem was a Catholic 10% of Vietnam was Catholic 90% of Vietnam was Buddhist

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Dictator Religious arrests

No promotions for Buddhists

Anti-communist Torture & killing on

Buddhist Monks

a daily basis

Buddhist monks protest Diems laws

Self-immolation: setting yourself on fire Thich Quang Duc Most Vietnamese hated Diem

Military Advisors

President Eisenhower sends in American military people to train South Vietnamese soldiers

900 advisors in 1954 Help to fight the Vietminh

Military Advisor

Kennedy elected - 1960; sends in more advisors when he becomes President

16,000 advisors by 1963

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Viet Cong Vietnamese communist guerilla fighters (North Vietnamese) National Liberation Front Communists in the south fighting for VC ARVN Army of the Republic of South Vietnam Viet Cong Supported by China and USSR ARVN Supported by the good ol US of A

Assassinations

November 1, 1963

Ngo Dinh Diem: Assassinated by ARVN (South Vietnamese army in a coup Helped by:

Assassinations

The good ol US of A!!! CIA helped start coup d'tat against Diem

LBJ

November 22, 1963

John Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas

Lyndon Baines Johnson sworn in as President on November 22, 1963

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Johnson

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Never opposed to combat troops in Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

In the Gulf of Tonkin

August 2, 1964

North Vietnamese fire at the USS Maddox

August 4, 1964 Perhaps a second attack Never confirmed

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Either way

Congress passes resolution that allows America to send combat troops to Vietnam

Operation Rolling Thunder

March 2, 1965 November 1, 1968

Operation Bomb the Hell Out of North Vietnam

Election Year...Great Society

One year later (1964)

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LBJ gets to re-election time

Promises America a Great Society

The War on Poverty End of Racial Injustice Education: Head Start

Republicans:

Money for Great Society went to war instead

Which country is North Vietnam? Country 5 Which country is South Vietnam? Country 4 Which country is cambodia? Country 1 Which country is Loas Country 3 Which Country is China? Country 2 The picture above shows the results of what kind of weapon that the US Army used during the Vietnam war? Napalm

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The Tet offensive was... A huge shock to America and south vietnamese forces The Viet is... an ethnic group is southeast Asia The Viet cong were... both answers (a) and (b) Muhammad Ali refused to go into the army, even when he was drafted because.... a. His religion was non-violent and he refused to kill people that never did anything bad to him The Ho Chi Minh Trail... Every answer is correct This was a war in which America had way more power than Vietnam. There was no balance of power because America could attack whenever and wherever he wanted to. This made it what kind of a war? Asymmetrical War Before America came in to fight the communists in Vietnam, the country that had already been there for 100+years and found a couple of wars was... France Both President Kennedy and President Eisenhower believed that... America was too weak to win a war in vietnam This was also a war where one country (America) was fighting a war for another country (South Vietnam). This makes it which kind of a war? Proxy War SHITLOAD OF VOCAB

Victoria Kleppin

Ariel 6/8 right Your friend is sick- Domino effect Richard Nixon was- The truman doctrine Last year at this time -Self-immolation You are a little -Great Society There are two rival cookie-Power cluster Elections for class president-Puppet emperor Milwaukee has just decided- free-fire zone Recently there has been- conscientious objector

Select the best answer to fill in the blanks: When Ngo Dinh Diem was in power in South Vietnam, he was _ while almost _% of Vietnam was Buddhist. Catholic; 90 The Vietnamese people loved Ho Chi Minh because... He did all of these things The following set of questions will refer to this political cartoon: Origin- America Purpose- show the similarities between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War Values- Many Americans felt the same way about Iraq as the did about Vietnam Limitations- The creator clearly has an anti-war opinion Written source Origin- A south Vietnamese woman who was in South vietnam during the war Purpose- To hear the opinion of somebody that was harmed by the Vietnam war 40 years after it happened Values- We can tell that this woman would rather love that hate, even after the terrible things she went through

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Limitations- She was only 9 years old at the time, going through a traumatic event where she admits that she passed out that happened 40 years ago, so she might not remember things clearly.

As you answer these questions, focus on one big question: Why did America lose the war? Napalm & Agent Orange If you were an American citizen seeing these things on TV in 1968, how would you feel about what America was doing to fight the Vietnamese? I would feel ashamed and angry, but more than that I would feel sad. I would feel sad for all of the innocent people getting hurt and all the peoples lived that would be taken and or changed by our actions (Americas) Free-Fire Zones If you were a Vietnamese person living in a free-fire zone, and you found out what America did in free-fire zones what would you have done or how would you have felt about Americans? Why? I would be angry at the Americans, and I would have tried to hide or escape the free-fire zones because the free-fire zones were places that the planes dropped their bombs before landing. Of course if I was seen, there is a possibility that I would be shot down to being labeled as an enemy. However, I would have a better chance of survival if I tried to escape than just stay put. Tet Offensive In 1968, if you were an American (in Vietnam or at home), you were being told that you were winning the war because the Viet Cong did not have the amount of men or supplies to fight large battles. How would you have felt after hearing about the Tet Offensive? Why? I would have been mad because we ruined all of those cities, and because of all of the communists that were killed. But also I would be mad because it turned out that the Viet Cong did have all of those supplies and men. American POWs If you were an American citizen in 1968 and heard about how American prisoners were being treated, would you have continued supporting the war? Why or why not?

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The news about the American POWs probably would have made me support our side of the war even more because of what was being done to our soldiers. Naturally, as an American citizen I hold a lot of respect for our soldiers and the men that are willing to put their lives on the line for our nation. Hearing about the things that were being done to them would make me angry and sad because I myself cannot imagine what they were going through. That kind of torture is inhumane, and to put anyone through that no matter who it was is wrong.

Muhammad Ali & Conscientious Objection I would have followed/not followed (circle one) Muhammad Ali and been a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War because.. I would have followed Muhannad Ali and been a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War because he makes a good point and what he is saying makes sense. I believe what Muhammad Ali is saying. Ho Chi Minh Trail What parts of South Vietnam could the North Vietnamese reach by using the Ho Chi Minh Trail? They could reach their allies in South Vietnam (Saigon, Nha Trang, Ban Me Thout, Kontum, Dak Sut, Hue, Vinh, and Hanoi) What country did most of the Ho Chi Minh Trail run through? Cambodia From looking at the map and pictures, why do you think it was so hard for America to stop the supplies on the Ho Chi Minh trail? Because there were so many different trails, also they were bumpy and whatnot. Most of the trails ran through a neutral country and even though these trails ran through forests there were not many places to hide. Vietnamization & Cambodia What was Nixons goal with Vietnamization? To build up the ARVN and take over the defense of South Vietnam. Did Nixons actions in Cambodia agree with his actions in Vietnam? Explain. No because he didnt take over Cambodia with ARVN. Cambodia & Pol Pot What did the American bombings of Cambodia lead to in that country? The bombings led to lots of deaths, damage, and also helped make it possible for Khmer Rouge to rise to power. People were forced to leave and flee to protect themselves so they were not bombed. Would Cambodians have been willing to help America and the South Vietnamese? Why not? No because of everything that America has done and all the damage that theyve caused.

Victoria Kleppin