Chapter 20. The Vietnam War Era

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1 Chapter 20 The Vietnam War Era

2 Ho Chi Minh The most important voice who demanded independence for Vietnam. Communist leader of the Vietminh.

3 Vietminh The term initially used to describe all Vietnamese communist, and used after 1954 solely for North Vietnamese communist.

4 Dien Bien Phu French were defeated by the Vietminh in 1954 at this city and force to settle for peace. At this point the US became increasingly involved in Vietnam.

5 Domino Theory The fear that a communist Vietnam would open the door to a complete communist takeover of Southeast Asia.

6 Vietcong A slang term for South Vietnamese communist.

7 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution In 1964, it gave President Johnson permission to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression" in Vietnam.

8 Ho Chi Minh Trail A 600 mile North Vietnamese supply route that ran along the border of Laos and Cambodia that was regularly bombed by American planes.

9 Agent Orange A defoliant that stripped trees of their leaves to expose Vietcong hideouts and killed crops.

10 Search & Destroy American soldiers tried to draw the enemy out of hiding to kill them and destroy their supply base with combined ground force and air attacks.

11 Hawks vs. Doves Hawks were people who supported US involvement in the Vietnam War. Doves were people who opposed US involvement in the Vietnam War.

12 Geneva Accords In 1954, called for a division of Vietnam along the 17 th parallel, with the Vietminh in the north and the French in the south, and elections.

13 Credibility Gap American public s growing distrust of statements made by the government during the Vietnam War.

14 Tet Offensive In 1968, a massive, coordinated Communist assault against more than a hundred cities and towns in South Vietnam. The view of many Americans of who and how long the war was going to last began to change.

15 Election of 1968 Presidential election marked by the refusal of LBJ to run again, assignation or Robert F. Kennedy, violence outside Democratic Convention and eventual election of Richard M. Nixon (R) to the Whitehouse on a campaign of Law and Order" and plan to end war.

16 Election of 1972 Presidential election marked by the break-in of Democrat headquarters at Watergate, the landslide re-election of President Nixon, and eventual resignation of Nixon.

17 Vietnamization President Nixon s policy that turned the bulk of the ground fighting over to the South Vietnamese Army.

18 Kent State A anti-war demonstration that erupted after news of Nixon escalating the war, and resulted in the deaths of four youths by the National Guard. This event sparked additional protests around college campuses.

19 Expanded TV coverage of the war At the time 60% of Americans got their news from tv, Vietnam became the 1 st war in which people viewed the fighting in the comfort of their living rooms on a nightly basis. It shaped the public sentiment of the war.

20 My Lai Massacre A Vietnamese village where American soldiers massacred five hundred civilians in 1968.

21 Pentagon Papers In 1971, the NY Times published secret Department of Defense papers that criticized the way that the war was waged. These papers confirmed that there was a creditability gap on the part of the government.

22 Paris Peace Accords 1973 peace agreement between the US, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Vietcong that effectively ended the Vietnam war.

23 War Powers Act 1973 law passed by Congress restricting the President s war-making powers; the law requires the President to consult with Congress before committing troops to a foreign conflict.

24 Detente Relaxing Cold War tensions by using diplomatic, economic, and cultural contacts to improve US relations with China and USSR.

25 S.A.L.T. I The first treaty between the USSR and US that limited the deployment of intercontinental and submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missiles and the creation of missile-defense systems.

26 General William Westmooreland American commander for the majority of the Vietnam War.

1) Read the article on American involvement in Vietnam

Warm Up 1) Read the article on American involvement in Vietnam 1) Circle in the causes of the Vietnam War 2) Put a star next to the key people/ countries 3) Box in key events, battles, treaties 4) Put