Vocab ‐ Define and illustrate the meaning of each word. Unit 9: The Big Idea: VW #1 VW #3 Standard: 11.9 America’s entry in the Vietnam War heighted tensions and 1. Domino theory 11. Conscientious objector 2. Shade concept map using colored pencils. anxieties in the 1960’s. In 1965, the United States began sending 2. Vietminh 12. Napalm 3. Operatives 13. Hawks and Doves military troops to support the democratic government of South 4. Insurgents 14. Pacifists is about Vietnam. With casualties mounting on the battlefront and increasing 5. Vietcong 15. The “New Left” 6. ARVN 16. Embassy deployment of Americans to Asia, the Vietnam conflict sparked to 7. Coup 17. Platoon anti‐war protest in America. Conservative Americans reacted to the 8. Escalation 18. TET Offensive 9. Enlist 19. Confrontation counter‐culture protests by electing into office in 1968. 10. Deferment 20. and competition Despite great success in foreign policy, Nixon’s involvement in the in S.E. Asia Watergate scandal led to widespread distrust of the government Vietnam 1. Rewrite this paragraph in your own words using 35 words or less.

Foreign Policy

Vietnam as part as Vietnam is a Vietnam on failure the Cold War the homefront

Containment

Nixon’s Domino Theory student protest movement “Peace with Honor” The “New Left” U.S. Gulf of Tonkin Involvement Resolution The Pentagon Papers lost the war

War/troops in 1965 Watergate

58,000

1968‐Tet Offensive counter‐culture

withdrawal 1973‐75

Paragraph Quiz ‐ Write a 6 sentence paragraph using your own words. (use correct format) VW #2: Explain how the Tet Offensive in 1968 affected public opinion back home in America? VW #4: To what extent did the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War lead to criticism of the government? (Extra Credit) Was the Watergate scandal a sign of strength or weakness in the United States system of government? Unit 9: The Vietnam War #3: Theme: Power may be used and abused; Change generates additional change. • Task #1: Read and highlight important/meaningful facts/major points. • Task #2: Write 10 notes, questions and/or comments from your highlights. • Task #3: Answer the question in 3-4 academic sentences.

How did the Americans become involved? Before the World War 2 Vietnam had been a French colony. Vietnam was occupied by the Japanese during the war. A strong anti-Japanese movement (the Vietminh) was led by Ho Chi Minh who sympathized with Communist ideas. When the war ended, the Vietminh controlled the north of the country and wanted an independent Vietnam. The French came back in 1945 wanting to rule Vietnam again. War broke out with the Vietminh. As China sent more aid to the Vietminh the US began to worry about the communists dominating all South East Asia. It sent aid to France and helped the French set up a non-communist government in the south. In 1954 the French were defeated and the peace treaty recognized a Communist north and a non-Communist south. American influence stopped national elections being held in the south because they were afraid that the Communists would win.

How and why did American intervention increase? Naturally Ho Chi Minh was upset that elections had not been held. He started guerrilla warfare against the government in the south. The US knew that it could not get the UN to intervene because Russia would veto any action. An increasing amount of money, military equipment and advisers were sent to help the government of the south. It made very little difference. The Viet Cong fought a very effective guerrilla war. By 1965 the South's government was about to collapse. The USA decided to send its own troops. Johnson became President after Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. He agreed with the views of his advisers. They accepted the ‘Domino Theory’. This assumed that a Communist victory in Vietnam would lead to Communist take-overs in Indo- China and across South-East Asia where the US had important military, political and commercial interests.

Why did the Americans lose the Vietnam War? The Vietcong were expert guerrilla fighters and the Americans had no answer to this type of warfare. The Vietcong copied the tactics the Red Chinese had used. The tactics are: • the enemy attack, we retreat • the enemy camps, we raid • the enemy tires, we attack • the enemy retreats, we pursue. It was almost impossible to win a battle against a guerrilla army because you could never find out where it was. It attacked you then disappeared into the jungle. The Viet Cong had the support of many of the peasants on whose land they were fighting. They could move freely around the country sheltered by villagers. One Viet Cong leader said: "The people are the water; our armies are the fish." The only way to win against a guerrilla army was to win the support of the local population. The British had done this in Malaya in the later 1940s and had defeated a Communist rebellion. The casualties that the South Vietnamese farmers and villagers suffered because of the over-use of American weapons did not encourage them to side with the USA. The US did not understand the patriotism of the Vietnamese people. It could not understand the desire for a united Vietnam and for freedom from foreign interference.

Failure of American bombing because… The Vietnam War quickly sapped the morale of the American soldiers. Many of them were raw recruits who had just left school or college. Conscription fell heavily on the blacks and uneducated because those going to college were able to delay joining-up or even avoid it altogether e.g. Bill Clinton. It was perhaps unrealistic to expect American blacks to fight for ‘freedoms’ in Vietnam which they did not enjoy at home. As American casualties rose, the Americans launched huge bombing raids which devastated North Vietnam and Viet Cong bases in neighboring Cambodia. Chemicals were used to destroy the jungle in which the guerrillas sheltered. Tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians were killed. The Viet Cong losses in military equipment, raw materials and vehicles were more than made up by increased aid from the USSR and China... The North Vietnamese showed great ingenuity in coping with the bombing. They relocated industries in remote places and hid them effectively. They stored arms in caves and underground. Tens of thousands of North Vietnamese women and children worked full time in keeping transport routes open.

Loss of American public support because… For war on such a scale, America had to have the support of the American public. The Vietnam War was a media war. Thousands of television, radio and newspaper reporters sent back to America and Europe reports and pictures of the fighting. Under this barrage of images and stories support for the war was wavering by 1967. There were anti-war protests all over the country. American troops started treating Vietnamese civilians roughly, believing, often rightly, that they were helping the Vietcong. At My Lai in March 1968 about 400 civilians were killed. The army tried to cover the massacre up but one sickened soldier reported it to Congress. Photographs were found. Only Lieutenant William Calley, the officer in charge, was put on trial. He was found guilty, sentenced to 20 years in prison but released after a few years. The news of the massacre deeply shocked American public opinion.

How did the Vietnam War end for America? By 1969 the question was not whether America would get out of Vietnam but how it could do it without appearing defeated. Nixon, the new American President, came up with the policy of Vietnamization. This involved building up South Vietnamese forces and providing money, training and equipment so they could replace American soldiers. The Americans also entered peace talks with Ho Chi Minh and in January 1973 agreed a ceasefire which allowed the last American soldiers to leave. However, the ceasefire was meaningless. The Viet Cong continued their assault against South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese Army were unable to stop them without American help and in April 1975 Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, had fallen to the Communists, after almost 30 years of warfare the Communists controlled Vietnam.

Answer: U.S. involvement in Vietnam-Why? ______

Background on the Vietnam War Background on Vietnam French Control:   Controlled Vietnam until World War II Japanese Control:   American Involvement in Southeast Asia:  Colonies in Southeast Asia (i.e. ______)  French Indo‐China War 1945 – 1954 Vietnamese are fighting for independence from the French  ______leads fight for ______.  Communist ______provides direct ______to the Vietnamese  ______decides he needs to extend ______to South East Asia  Results in ______aid to ______‐ ______and ______assistance ($133 million)  In 1950 o o o ______solidifies American belief in ______. 1950 – 1952:  U.S. sent $50 ______worth of economic and ______assistance to French  By ______the U.S. was ______for _____ of cost of war  French attempt to ______Vietnamese to fight ______(shows a lack of Vietnamese ______for French/American effort.  French had lost 90,000 soldiers ‐ ______Dien Bien Phu:  Remote village in Northwest corner of Vietnam  Both ______and French has amassed ______there in 1954  General Giap of ______led an ______on the village in March ‘54  ______debates an ______strike, but decides ______it – without U.S. ______French are ______and ______on May 7th Geneva Accords:  July 20th 1954    Nationwide ______set for ______to ______country  ______is in power in the ______ ______is in power in the ______American Reaction to Accords:  ______states that it is now U.S. ______to defend South Vietnam from ______.  U.S. and South Vietnam do ______officially ______the ______.  Form ______(South East Asian Treaty Organization)  Goal: maintain a ______S. Vietnam and prevent a communist ______in 1956 ______. U.S. is firmly committed to Diem government Ngo Dinh Diem – South Vietnam  10 million residents  ______devastated by 14 years of war and ______.  Diem is ______supported by the countryside   10,000 – 15,000 ______Vietnamese ______living in the ______to incite problem  Ho Chi Minh ‐ North Vietnam  14 million resident  ______trained and ______army (thanks to the ______)  Organized and ______government  Insurgents in the South Goal: build socialism in the North and carry out a communist revolution in South   ______aides insurgents by moving ______and ______South through ______(______)  Founded the ______(National Liberation Front) to ______insurgents – later called the ______.     JFK sent more ______but not ______‐ believed in aid for ______(Army of the Republic of Vietnam) The CIA  ______continues with ______policies, including the ______of the ______.  ______lead a protest (______)  ______administration decided Diem has to ______  Lyndon B. Johnson 1964   Conditions in South Vietnam became ______after ______‐ chaos followed with ______.   North Vietnam increases aid to southern insurgents – some Americans believe it is time to weaken the North  Uses ______to wage war in Vietnam w/out Congress declaring war Vietnam ‐ American Involvement and Protest

Arguments For and Against American Involvement Reasons TO Send Troops: ______       Reasons NOT TO Send Troops  ______outweigh the benefits  There are other ______(ex: diplomacy, continue to send aid to ARVN, use UN)  Sending troops would be an ______of our world ______ Neither side can ______a complete military ______ War is about Vietnamese ______, NOT ______or ______. Life of Soldiers and The Draft Fast Facts:  About ______million Americans served in Vietnam (1965 – 1975)  ______were volunteers  Over ______died  ______were injured  Average age was ______ ______of soldiers came from lower economic levels  ______served in disproportionate numbers  The Draft lasted from ______ All men aged ______were eligible  Variety of ______existed to avoid going to Vietnam

Fighting Conditions:      Protest Movement Causes: 1. Credibility Gap

2. Unfair Draft System

3. Influence of Civil Rights Movement

4. Increasing Number of College Students

Summary:  Youth Movement emerges called the ______‐ wanted ______change in American society  Two popular New Left groups emerge i. ______ii. ______ Summer of 1965 ______spread across college campuses  Protest a variety of things:

 Movement spreads ______college students to general American public – by end of ______media, returning veterans, and about ______of Americans disapproved of the war.  Movement starts with ______protests, but gets increasingly ______as time passes

Approaching the Apocalypse-Early 1970’s 1. What did America accomplish in 1969 that JFK had promised at the beginning of the decade? Why were people around the world so interested?

2. Who was elected in 1969? Describe the inauguration! Why were we so divided?

3. What is the “Silent Majority”? Contrast that with the counter‐culture!

4. Why did the movie “Easy Rider” symbolize the divide in America?

5. What sparked protests in May of 1970? What happened at Kent State? How did America respond to the demonstrations?

6. What was the result of the standoff? How was this symbolic of the divide in America?

7. What were the feelings of American soldiers in Vietnam by the 1970s? Contrast that with the enemy!

8. Why did many Vietnam veterans protest the war?

9. How did Nixon change diplomacy with China and the U.S.S.R? What impact does this have on the Vietnamese?

10. Why did Nixon order the bombing of Hanoi? What was the impact on the city?

11. How was the end of the Vietnam War treated in the U.S.? How did soldiers returning from the war feel?

12. How were the POW’s treated when they returned? Why was this a high point in the Nixon presidency?

13. What were some of the things the Nixon Administration was involved in that shocked the American people?

14. What impact did Watergate have on the Nixon Administration? Spiro Agnew?

15. What happened to South Vietnam in 1975?

16. How did the fall of Vietnam symbolize the end of an era in the United States?

Wrap‐up: What did you find interesting, entertaining, disturbing, and/or upsetting in the video, explain? (2‐3 sent.) The End of Vietnam and Watergate

Nixon’s Policy “Vietnamization”     Americans Deceived  Pentagon Papers o Daniel ______, a former researcher for the government, photo‐copied classified documents called the ______o Papers documented American ______in ______. o Papers showed that the government had ______to the American ______and ______about what was going on in Vietnam to try and ______. o ______led to Nixon’s ______and ______.  Election of 1972 o Nixon was ______that ______movement and ______discredited him and that he would not be ______. o Set out to ______these groups o Orders a series of ______(wiretaps, CIA surveillance, domestic spying, lying to the public, break‐ins, illegal campaign contributions, and money laundering) o Led to ______‐ term used to describe ______of Nixon’s ______and the resulting ______and ______of Nixon. o Nixon & Watergate o Nixon was afraid he would not get ______in 1972 Election o His campaign team ______is determined to discredit the Democratic Party o 5 men break in to the ______at the ______– plan to steel documents & wiretap office – they are ______o Series of illegal acts begin, to ______involvement of ______in break‐in o Two Washington Post Reporters, ______, begin to investigate cover‐up o Senate begins an investigation…the big question: ______o Senate discovers that Nixon had ______all of his presidential conversations o Senate demands copies of tapes – a year long battle ensues o Several White House officials are ______and V.P. Spiro Agnew ______(______is appointed as V.P.) o In 1974 Nixon releases ______versions of tapes ‐ ______orders Nixon to surrender unedited versions o Senate ______President of three crimes    o Nixon releases tapes, but parts have been ______. o Nixon ______& becomes President o Americans are totally ______with their government 1973 Peace Treaty and Continuing War    Fighting continued between the North & South  Without U.S. _____, South _____ to N. Vietnamese forces in 1975.   Effects of U.S. Soldiers  2.7 million men & women served  Many experienced feelings of ______, ______, and ______ Distrustful of government  ______experienced problems with drugs, alcohol, joblessness, and PTSD (______) Effects on American Society  ______American deaths  Led to political ______(suspicious of the government)  Between $______and $______billion spent  Americans doubtful of ______ ______American people  Tarnished the ______of the U.S.  U.S and Vietnam Today President Clinton Normalized Relations with Vietnam  Stopped blocking of ______loans  Opening of ______ Lifted trade embargo  Established full diplomatic relations Vietnam is currently a unifed country with the Communist party remaining dominant in politics. "Dear America, Letters Home from Vietnam" “Hear the music through their ears, see the pain through their eyes, live the war through their words.” ‘Dear America’ is an authentic account of the Vietnam War from the actual letters of men and women who served there. The harsh realities of life and death, friendships made and lost; these letters home tell it all, with newsreel and home‐movie footage shot by the servicemen themselves. These are the voices of war, some who survived, many who never made it home. ‘Dear America’ is a living, breathing tribute to them all. The Vietnam conflict was the longest war in American history. Almost 60,000 Americans were killed. In the 1960s high school males were worried about going to war. Today, you do not have this worry. Remember those before you…

I. Music as a learning device: The director of this film decided to use the following popular music not simply to be cool, but to bring or convey a message.

1. "WIPE‐OUT" 13. "FAMILY AFFAIR" Performed by The Safaris Performed by Sly and the Family Stone 2. "UNDER THE BOARDWALK" 14. "A CHANGE IS GONNA COME" Performed by The Drifters Performed by Sam Cooke 3. "FORTUNATE SON" 15. "FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH" Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival Performed by Buffalo Springfield 4. "EIGHTEEN" 16. "SILENT NIGHT" Performed by Alice Cooper Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra 5. "WALK LIKE A MAN" 17. "BLUE CHRISTMAS" Performed by The Four Seasons Performed by Elvis Presley 6. "THE BEAT GOES ON" 18. "BACK IN THE USA" Performed by Sonny and Cher Performed by MC5 7. "I SHALL BE RELEASED" 19. "WHAT'S GOIN ON" Performed by The Band Performed by Marvin Gaye 8. “GIMME SHELTER" 20. "SIGNED D.C." Performed by The Rolling Stones Performed by Love 9. "ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?" 21. “GIVE PEACE A CHANCE” Performed by Jimi Hendrix Performed by John Lennon and Plastic Ono Band 10. "GOING TO A GO‐GO" 22. "FIVE TO ONE" Performed by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles Performed by The Doors 11. "A HARD RAIN'S A‐GONNA FALL" 23. "NO EXPECTATIONS" Performed by Bob Dylan Performed by The Rolling Stones 12. "ONCE I WAS" 24. “BORN IN THE U.S.A.” Performed by Tim Buckley Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Write at least five detailed & complete sentences which mention specific songs and what message the song was trying to convey.

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II. Danger on a personal level: The director wanted to connect you with the Vietnam experience in a powerful way. Write five detailed & complete sentences about the difficulties and dangers faced by the soldiers fighting in Vietnam.

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