SEMESTER 2WEEK 12

Going to War in Vietnam

The Vietcong is Born

After Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold Nat'l elections, Ho Chi Minh & his followers began an armed struggle to reunify the nation; organized a new guerrilla army known as the Vietcong

As fighting began between the Vietcong & South Vietnam’s forces IKE increased U.S. aid & sent hundreds of military advisers to train South Vietnam’s army

Despite the U.S. assistance, the Vietcong continued to grow more powerful, in part because many Vietnamese opposed Diem’s gov’t & in part because of the Vietcong’s use of terror

1961, the Vietcong had assassinated thousands of gov’t officials & established control over much of the countryside

In response Diem looked increasingly to the U.S. to keep South Vietnam from collapsing

Kennedy’s Vietnam

Like presidents Truman & Eisenhower before him, JFK saw the SE Asian country as vitally important in the battle against communism

JFK’s admin sharply increased military aid & sent more advisers to Vietnam

1961-1963, the # of U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam jumped from about 2,000-15,000

More Problems in South Vietnam

Vietcong continued to grow because Diem’s gov’t was unpopular & corrupt

U.S. urged him to create a more democratic gov’t and to introduce reforms to help Vietnam’s peasants

Vietnamese officials then moved villagers to the strategic hamlets, partly to protect them from the Vietcong, and partly to prevent them from giving aid to the Vietcong

The program proved to be extremely unpopularMany peasants resented being uprooted from their

villages, where they had worked to build farms and where many of their ancestors lay buried

Diem Overthrown

Diem made himself even more unpopular by discriminating against Buddhism, one of the country’s most practiced religions

spring of 1963, Diem, a Catholic, banned the traditional religious flags for Buddha’s birthday; Buddhists took to the streets in protest, Diem’s police killed 9 people & injured 14

several Vietnamese generals were plotting to overthrow Diem11/1/1963, they seized power & executed Diem shortly

afterwardAfter his death, South Vietnam’s gov’t grew increasingly weak

& unstable U.S. became even more deeply involved in order to prop up the weak

South Vietnamese gov’t3 weeks after Diem’s death, JFK was also assassinated

LBJ’s Vietnam Issues

Initially LBJ exercised caution & restraint regarding the conflict in Vietnam

At the same time, LBJ was determined to prevent South Vietnam form becoming Communist

Should the Dems also “lose” Vietnam, LBJ feared, it might cause a “mean and destructive, debate that would shatter my Presidency, kill my administration, and damage our democracy”

Gulf of Tonkin

8/2/1964, LBJ announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had fired on 2 U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin

He insisted that North Vietnam’s attacks were unprovoked & immediately ordered U.S. aircraft to attack North Vietnamese ships and naval facilities

LBJ didn’t reveal that the U.S. warships had been helping the South Vietnamese conduct electronic spying & commando raids against North Vietnam

LBJ then asked Congress to authorize the use of force to defend U.S. forces Congress agreed to Johnson’s request with little debate

8/1964, the Senate and House passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing the president to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. & prevent further aggression”

LBJ’s War

the Vietcong began to attack bases where U.S. advisers were stationed in South Vietnam The attacks began in the fall of the 1964

2/1965, a Vietcong attack on a base at Pleiku left 7 Americans dead and more than 100 wounded; LBJ decided to respond

After the airstrikes, one poll showed that LBJ’s approval rating of his handling of Vietnam jumped from 41%-60%

3/1965, LBJ expanded U.S. involvement by shifting his policy to a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam The campaign was named Operation Rolling Thunder

LBJ also ordered the first combat troops into Vietnam

PREPARE FOR QUIZ

TAKE OUT A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER

NUMBER 1-5

QUIZ

1. The new guerrilla army in South Vietnam was known as the…?

2. Who saw, the # of U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam jumped from about 2,000 to 15,000?

3. Whose government was overthrown in South Vietnam?

4. This authorized the president to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. & prevent further aggression?”

5. The campaign against North Vietnam was known as?