30-2: U.S. Involvement and Escalation

How did LBJ escalate U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?• Lyndon B. Johnson made the

decision to escalate the war and send more U.S. troops to Vietnam.

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U.S. Troops

How did Robert McNamara and Dean Rusk escalate U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?• Robert McNamara:

LBJ’s Secretary of Defense, advised Johnson on escalation

• Dean Rusk, LBJ’s Secretary of State, advised Johnson on escalation

How did William Westmoreland escalate U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?

• William Westmoreland, Commander of U.S. Troops, requested more troops

• General Westmoreland introduced the concept of the body count (reporting the number of Vietcong deaths as a way to mentally psyche-out the enemy and get them to surrender)

How did the U.S. Congress escalate U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?

• The U.S congress approved of Johnson’s policies

Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, in a post-midnight press briefing at the Pentagon points out action in the Gulf of Tonkin, Aug. 4 1964. By August 7th Congress will pass the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, authorizing the Vietnam War

How did American public opinion escalate U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?

• The American public initially supported the war

• Americans believed in the need for containment

of communism.

U.S. military strategies result in a bloody stalemate

U.S. military advantages over the Vietcong

• Superior weaponry

What military advantages did the Vietcong have over the Americans?

• Knowledge of jungle terrain and the ability to blend in with civilians

• Willingness to pay any price for victory

Vietcong soldier in a tunnelU.S. Grenade Launcher

U.S. HueyCobra Helicopter

What military strategies did the Americans have over the Vietcong

• Sustained bombings• Search and destroy missions• A war of attrition = wearing down your enemy• Using napalm (a gasoline based bomb that set

fire to the jungle) to expose Vietcong tunnels and hideouts

• Using Agent Orange (a leaf-killing chemical) to destroy the rain-forest and expose the enemy

• Attempt to stop the Vietcong from gaining support of the South Vietnam’s rural population = try to win the hearts and minds of the peasants

The Air War:A Napalm Attack

The Air War:A Napalm Attack

What military strategies did the Vietcong have over the Americans

• Hit and run ambushes

• Booby traps

• Land mines

• Surprise attacks

• Guerilla warfare

• The cost of the war led to an increase in inflation and taxes

• There was a reduction of funding for Great Society programs

What role did the U.S. Economy play in changing public support for the war

This 1968 political cartoon captures the struggle of Lyndon B. Johnson's time as President. While Johnson dreamed of a "Great Society," his presidency was haunted by the specter of Vietnam. Much of the funding he hoped to spend on social reforms went towards war in Vietnam.

• Brought the war into U.S. living rooms = (1st “living room” war)

• The nightly news reports contradicted Johnson’s optimistic war scenario and led to a growing “credibility gap”

What role did television play in changing public support for the war

What role did the Fulbright hearings play in changing public support for the war

• Senator William Fulbright, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, conducted a series of televised hearings in which he called forth members of the Johnson administration to defend their Vietnam policies

• The hearings contributed to the average American’s growing ambivalence about the war