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Vietminh
The Viet Minh were guerrilla fighters who fought outsides to create an independent communist government in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was the leader -
Happenings in Vietnam
The French, who had colonized Vietnam since the 19th Century withdraw after suffering a disastrous defeat at a village called Dien Bien Phu. The following year, Vietnam was divided into a communist North Vietnam and a non-communist South Vietnam. The US sent a small number of soldiers into the South Vietnam to help train their military forces. The government in S. Vietnam was corrupt and unstable. -
Vietcong
The Vietcong (South Vietnamese communists) Difficult to fight because they were guerrilla fighters. They blended in with civilian population. -
Agent Orange
Agent orange was used to destroy the foliage in the dense tropical rainforests of Vietnam because the Vietcong hid in the rainforest. It was toxic. It sickened people and caused birth defects -
South Vietnamese Cities
In South Vietnamese cities protests against the anti-communist government were becoming more extreme.For example there were cases of Buddhist monks setting themselves on fire.South Vietnam was a very unstable country -
Gulf of Tonkin & Resolution
1.President Johnson stated that the N. Vietenamese had attacked US warships in the Gulf of Tonkin
2. In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the US Congress passes a joint resolution to authorize President Johnson to deal with the communist threat in Southeast Asia.There was no declaration of war by Congress, by the legislative branch essentially gave the executive (the President) a blank check to go to war in Vietnam. -
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Operation Rolling Thunder
*Was a massive bombing campaign. Objective was to force N. Vietnam to ceases hostilities with S. Vietnam -
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Escalation
Refers to the intensification of the war. There were over 500,000 American soldiers in S. Vietnam. -
Tet Offensive
*The Tet Offensive was a coordinated attack on major South Vietnamese cities by the Viet Cong during the holiday of Tet. Significance: The attack failed and the Viet Cong were defeated by the US military, on the home front, the Tet Offensive leads a significant number of Americans to question the war and oppose it. -
Nixon's Promise
Nixon promised that he'd acheive peace with honor for the US in the Vietnam war -
Nixon Doctrine
Stated that the US would provide aide & training to countries fighting against communist aggression. However, no troops would be provided to defend those countries. This lead to Vietnamization-US soldiers would turn over responsibility to the S. Vietnamese Army -
Bombing of Laos & Cambodia
Nixon ordered this to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail, which allowed for supplies and fighters from N. Vietnam to get to S. Vietnam -
My Lai
At the village of my Lai, US soldiers massacred hundreds of S. Vietnamese civialans. The military tried to keep it a secret. Public would turn against the war if this massacre was made public. -
Kent State Symbolism
A student protest against war turned violent. National Guard intervened and killed four students. Shows the division in the US regarding the war -
26th Amendment
This amendment gave 18-year-olds the right to vote. -
Pentagon Papers
These papers showed that the Vietnam war was not going well and that the government had deceived the public about the state of the war -
NY Times Vs. US
Issue was whether a newspaper could publish the "Pentagon Papers" it was considered a first amendment case and the NY times won -
Paris Peace Accords
They were an agreement between the US and N. Vietnamese to end the war. We agreed to withdraw and N. Vietnamese agreed not to invade S. Vietnam and to return our POW -
Fall of Saigon
This signified the fall of S. Vietnam. After it was conquered, Vietnam became one communist country -
"Boat People"
Refugees who had to leave Vietnam by boat. The fear for their lives if they stayed or returned -
Vietnam Commemorated
A Vietnam Memorial was built in Washington DC
