Vietnam War Powerpoint

1. Vietnam War

2. The American Home Front
• At first, many Americans supported the war.
– However, as it continued to drag on, people
started to question what they were being told
about the war.
• An American commander, General
Westmoreland repeatedly reported that the
enemy was almost defeated.
– TV stations however, showed footage of wounded
and deceased soldiers.

3. Hawks vs. Doves
• This caused Americans to divide into two
groups.
– The “Doves” were against the war.
• They included many college students, professors,
conscientious objectors, etc.
• Teach-ins and war protests were common.
– The “Hawks” were for the war.
• They believed that we needed to continue our
presence in Vietnam to prevent it from falling to
Communism.

4. Draft Problems
• One drawback of the U.S. draft system was
that college students could delay military
service.
– This meant that our soldiers were mainly made up
of from impoverished backgrounds with limited
education.
– Also, this meant that many minorities were being
drafted.
• Many people refused to serve, some moved to Canada.

5. Tet Offensive
• In 1968, the Vietcong launched a massive
surprise attack on American bases in the South.
– While they did not defeat the Americans, if shocked
the American public.
• This made LBJ’s approval rating plummet.
• This, along with a state of chaos caused by the
assassinations of MLK and Robert Kennedy benefitted
Richard Nixon (LBJ’s Republican Challenger)
• Nixon promised to regain order and end the war.
– He won the election.

6. Nixon and Vietnam
• After Nixon took the presidency, he began
Vietnamization.
– This process allowed South Vietnam to take on more
fighting and began the withdrawal of U.S. soldiers.
• This did not stop protests.
– My Lai
• In 1970, Nixon announced that troops had
invaded Cambodia to destroy Vietcong bases.
– This was seen as an expansion of war and caused
outrage.
– On May 4, 1970, 4 anti-war protestors were killed and
9 were wounded at Kent State University in Ohio.

7. Unrest in America
• In 1971, secret documents were leaked to the
press that showed how the U.S. government
had deceived the public about the Vietnam
War.
– These were called the Pentagon Papers
– At this time 2/3 of Americans wanted the War to
end.

8. The War Ends
• In 1971, American officials attempted to get
North and South Vietnam to agree to a peace
treaty.
– Neither side agreed.
• This caused the United States to begin bombing again.
• In 1973, peace talks resumed and both sides
agree to end the war.
– In 1975, the North invaded the South again.
• South asked for U.S. help, but congress declined.
• By April of 1975, Vietnam was united under communist rule.