Hearts and Minds America and Vietnam I Vietnam a short history 1 a scrappy little country LBJ 2 The French and the Indochina colony 1880s 1954 3 The Viet Minh aka Viet Cong a b Nationalists i e not simply communists Very popular progressive policies i Land reform II Enter the U S 1 Vietnam containment and monolithic Communism a the Domino Theory i if Vietnam falls to communism then every country around it will also fall to communism b Funding the French Indochina war c Geneva Settlement 1954 i divides Vietnam north and south ii no elections war erupts 1 US gov t encourages Vietnam NOT to have elections so Ho Chi Minh doesn t gain power III Entering the Quagmire 1 Aug 2 1964 US supposedly attacked rationale to enter the war according to LBJ 2 Support for Diem and the ARVN army of the republic of Viet Nam 3 JFK and military advisors 4 LBJ and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 1964 a Gave LBJ authorization to use military power in southeast Asia without a formal declaration of war from congress 5 Direct US involvement begins ROLLING THUNDER Marines at Da Nang etc V Fighting the War 1 1 the ineffectiveness of air power a air campaigns designed to stop the flow of industry to communists in the south 2 the ineffectiveness of the ground war not prepared or equipped for guerilla warfare a search and destroy and body counts i Going out in search of Viet Cong and trying to kill them faster than they can replace themselves frustration My Lai massacre b i assumed there was Viet Cong in My Lai but actually none so entire village killed for no reason except as a morale booster IV Tet Offensive January 1968 1 A huge coordinated attack on the US by the VC 2 Where d all these VC come from 3 The credibility gap and growing antiwar sentiment at home 4 The pullout begins because of lack of American support a US people losing trust in the gov t V 5 1975 VC conquers the South Reaction 1 Vietnam the end of liberal dominance and the rise of conservatism 2 Assigning blame a b c d We didn t go all the way to achieve victory We should have invaded nuked the North The media and protestors lost the war Rambo First Blood Part II 1986 and POW myths 2
View Full Document
Unlocking...