Introduction |
Joseph Gaitens Muneer Khan
Liam McHale Cynthia Xiao |
The Vietnam War stretched over about a 20 year period and killed close to 60,000 American Soldiers along with millions of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians. The war originated from French colonial forces and Vietnamese communists. There was a disagreement between North and South with the communists occupying the north and the nationalists forces in the south supported by the French and Americans. South Vietnam was led by Ngo Dinh Diem. The French was defeated in a humiliating fashion, causing them to remove themselves from the war. Following France’s removal of troops, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gradually committed American forces to assist South Vietnamese in resisting North Vietnam’s communist regime and guerilla-style warfare amounting North Vietnam to be known as the Vietcong.
President John F. Kennedy saw the Vietnam War as an American opportunity for resolution of communism in Southeast Asia. This involvement lead to thousands of military advisors to commit to training and equipping anti-communist South Vietnamese soldiers, but engaged only if attacked first. Vietnam involvement escalated after JFK’s assassination due to the incidents at the Gulf of Tonkin where American ships were attacked by North Vietnam forces. Under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, President LBJ was granted broad war powers. North Vietnam’s justification for the attacks was that America was assisting South Vietnamese forces by supplying them with military equipment and means to attack and defend. These attacks lead to President Johnson sending limited air strikes into North Vietnam. The Viet Cong attacked numerous military bases, prompting a wider range of American bombing in Vietcong territory, dubbing Operation Rolling Thunder, and the introduction of American combat troops in Vietnam(1965). With the advice of the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, LBJ supported the policy of limited war that would support the goal of limited effects on the American domestic scene. Over time, costs increased and more and more troops were required and the limited-war policy faltered. Draft-call was increased, and more and more manpower was required, sparking much more protests back in the US. At this point, the war was becoming increasingly unpopular in the US and abroad.
In 1968, the Tet Offensive took place, and convinced Americans that the war was not worth the costs, whether they be lives or monetary values. There were plenty of claims that the communists in the North were near surrender, but evidence was near absent that military defeat was near for the communists.
The war ended in 1975. Vietnam continues to be ruled by a communist government to this day.
Essential Questions Artifacts Podcast Sources
President John F. Kennedy saw the Vietnam War as an American opportunity for resolution of communism in Southeast Asia. This involvement lead to thousands of military advisors to commit to training and equipping anti-communist South Vietnamese soldiers, but engaged only if attacked first. Vietnam involvement escalated after JFK’s assassination due to the incidents at the Gulf of Tonkin where American ships were attacked by North Vietnam forces. Under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, President LBJ was granted broad war powers. North Vietnam’s justification for the attacks was that America was assisting South Vietnamese forces by supplying them with military equipment and means to attack and defend. These attacks lead to President Johnson sending limited air strikes into North Vietnam. The Viet Cong attacked numerous military bases, prompting a wider range of American bombing in Vietcong territory, dubbing Operation Rolling Thunder, and the introduction of American combat troops in Vietnam(1965). With the advice of the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, LBJ supported the policy of limited war that would support the goal of limited effects on the American domestic scene. Over time, costs increased and more and more troops were required and the limited-war policy faltered. Draft-call was increased, and more and more manpower was required, sparking much more protests back in the US. At this point, the war was becoming increasingly unpopular in the US and abroad.
In 1968, the Tet Offensive took place, and convinced Americans that the war was not worth the costs, whether they be lives or monetary values. There were plenty of claims that the communists in the North were near surrender, but evidence was near absent that military defeat was near for the communists.
The war ended in 1975. Vietnam continues to be ruled by a communist government to this day.
Essential Questions Artifacts Podcast Sources