us history unit 7 study guide

How/Why did Johnson "Americanize" the Vietnam War?How did the geography of Vietnam make war a difficulty?

(By the end of April, President Johnson had approved the dispatch of 60,000 more combat troops to Vietnam. In July, after conferring with advisers, he publicly announced that he was boosting U.S. troop levels dramatically, to 125,000 men.) Starting in 1965, with the landing of the first combat forces, the conflict in Vietnam changed. The United States took over the main responsibility for fighting the war, adopting a two-pronged strategy. First, U.S. marines would take key cities and other vital sites along the coast and transform them into modern military bases. They would then use those bases to launch search-and-destroy missions against the Viet Cong.

Understand the guerilla war tactics used by the Viet Cong

(To win they had to engage in guerrilla warfare, relying on the element of surprise and their skill at disappearing into the landscape.) Besides concealing themselves in the jungle, Viet Cong and NVA soldiers often hid from their American pursuers in underground tunnels. Some of these tunnels had several exits, which made escape easier. The Viet Cong also had the ability to "hide in plain sight." A South Vietnamese peasant tilling the soil by day might be a guerrilla killing Americans by night. GIs passing through a small village could not tell friend from foe. They could trust no one, not even women or children.

Engel v Vitale

, ordered New York schools to have students recite a morning prayer. Parents, led by Steven Engel, sued the state, claiming that the prayer violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. This clause states, "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion." The Supreme Court agreed with the parents. It found that state-sponsored prayer in school, even if voluntary, was unconstitutional because it was "wholly inconsistent with the establishment clause." This controversial decision sparked efforts to amend the Constitution to permit prayers in public schools.

Understand the changes made by LBJ after the Tet offensiveUnderstand the "carrot and stick" plan used by Nixon to bring "peace w/ honor"

An abrupt withdrawal from Vietnam would damage U.S. credibility by showing both friends and foes that the United States could not be trusted to stand by its allies. Instead, Nixon sought to achieve "peace with honor." He wanted to end the war in a way that left the reputation of the United States intact. Nixon decided on a carrot-and-stick approach—a tactic that combines actions that reward (the "carrot") with actions that punish (the "stick"). Using this approach, he hoped to persuade the North Vietnamese to accept a negotiated end to the war.

Understand the expansion of the war into Cambodia (why?)

April 1970, he ordered U.S. troops to invade Cambodia. The military goal of the invading U.S. force was to destroy enemy "safe havens" from which North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong forces could launch assaults into South Vietnam.

How did TV affect Americans' perceptions of the war?

At first, those news reports struck a positive note. They described U.S. successes and told upbeat stories about the courage and skill of American soldiers. As the war continued, however, television reports began to show more scenes of violence, suffering, and destruction—the human toll of the war.

Gideon v Wainwright

Clarence Gideon had not had the money to hire a lawyer. Forced to defend himself, he had been found guilty and sent to prison. In 1964, the Court ruled that Gideon's Sixth Amendment right to an attorney had been violated. As a result, courts now provide public defenders to people who are accused of a crime but who cannot afford a lawyer.

Understand the Gulf of Tonkin incident

For years, North Vietnam had been sending weapons and supplies south to the Viet Cong over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In mid-1964, regular units of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) began heading south along this route. Johnson knew that South Vietnam's weak and ineffective army would be hard-pressed to stop this new offensive. The United States had to do more, he believed, or risk losing Vietnam to communism.

New York Times Co. v. United States

Government lawyers won a temporary restraining order to stop further publication of the Pentagon Papers. Their appeal for a permanent injunction went to the Supreme Court. On June 30, 1971, in the case New York Times Co. v. United States, the Court ruled 6-3 against the government and in favor of free speech.

Be able to compare and contrast the arguments of hawks and doves

Hawks believed in the containment doctrine. They argued that the war was morally correct and could be won by giving the military a free hand to expand the fighting. Doves regarded U.S. actions as immoral and futile. In their view, the war was a civil conflict in which the United States had no right to interfere. They wanted LBJ to seek peace.

What was the ultimate fate for Vietnam?

In Vietnam, communists seized private property and nationalized businesses. but instead the communists sent hundreds of thousands of people

What major pieces of civil rights legislation were passed under Johnson's watch?

Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. In 1965, he signed the Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed voting rights to African Americans. Three years later, he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited housing discrimination. These laws helped move the country toward Johnson's vision of a color-blind society.

Understanding the controversy surrounding The Great Society

Left-wing opponents complained that its mix of programs was not the best approach to ending poverty. In their view, poverty resulted from social and economic forces beyond the control of the poor. The best way to help low-income people, they argued, was to give them money while trying to change the economy to create more jobs for them. Critics on the right alleged that the War on Poverty was creating an underclass of people who were dependent on government welfare. In their view, poverty's main cause was a lack of individual responsibility on the part of the poor. The best approach to ending poverty, they argued, was to find ways to change the behaviors that kept poor people poor.

Medicaid and Medicare

Medicare: a federal health insurance program that pays for hospital and nursing home services for U.S. citizens 65 years or older Medicaid: a health insurance program that is jointly financed by federal and state governments and that covers low-income people as well as older Americans who have used up their Medicare benefits

(Understand the human cost of The Vietnam War) Stagflation

More than 58,000 soldiers died in the war and another 300,000 were wounded, many of them losing limbs. To some Americans, the soldiers' sacrifices seemed pointless. stagflation-an economic condition in which prices and the rate of unemployment increase at the same time]

Realpolitik

Nixon based his foreign policy on realpolitik, a political policy based on practical rather than idealistic concerns

Understand how Nixon improved relations with China and The Soviet Union

Nixon believed that the policy of isolating China had worn out its usefulness. In 1970, he reported to Congress that it was in America's national interest to improve practical relations with beijing. Nixon announced proposals to begin trade and travel between the two countries. The two leaders (soviet and us)then negotiated a much more difficult agreement—to limit the number of nuclear missiles in their arsenals.

NVA

North Vietnamese Army: the army of communist North Vietnam, which supported the Viet Cong in South Vietnam with troops and supplies]

Who was Fidel Castro and why was he viewed as a threat by the United States?

Once in power, Castro established strong ties with the Soviet Union. The USSR sent advisers, weapons, and financial aid to Cuba. With this Soviet help, Castro transformed Cuba into a communist country with a planned economy.

What was The Great Society?

President Lyndon Johnson's domestic reform program from 1965 to 1969, which focused on social welfare improvements, with the War on Poverty at its centerpiece, and almost all of which Congress passed

Understand the War on Poverty

President Lyndon Johnson's extensive antipoverty program from 1964 to 1969, the centerpiece of which was the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

Understand why the draft fell disproportionately on the poor and minorities

Still, the draft fell disproportionately on poor Americans and minorities who were unable to attend college. This led some critics to label Vietnam a "rich man's war and a poor man's fight." Citing the large proportion of African Americans in Vietnam, Martin Luther King Jr. called it "a white man's war, a black man's fight."

SALT

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks: a five-year agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to limit the number of nuclear missiles in their arsenals

Understand the causes and outcomes of the First Indochina War

The Viet Minh called their country the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The northern city of Hanoi was their capital, and Ho Chi Minh was their president. France, however, refused to accept Vietnamese independence and set out to eliminate the Viet Minh. First, French troops drove the rebels out of the southern city of Saigon, the French colonial capital. Then the French launched attacks on Viet Minh strongholds in the north. In November 1946, French warships opened fire on the port city of Haiphong, killing some 6,000 Vietnamese civilians. The following month, the Viet Minh attacked French ground forces. These incidents marked the start of the First Indochina War [First Indochina War: the war between the Viet Minh and the French from 1946 to 1954] . This war would continue for eight years.

Why did the strategy of pacification fail?

The lack of security, in turn, made it difficult for rural development teams to carry out their mission of building roads, schools, and other basic infrastructure. In some areas, they might make progress on a project only to see it disappear when a U.S. bomb destroyed their village. In other areas, development workers were targeted by the Viet Cong. The Americanization of the war also undermined efforts to lure rural Vietnamese away from the Viet Cong. Search-and-destroy missions often created more enemies than friends among the peasants.

Why did a war of attrition fail?

There were simply too many enemy forces to eliminate.Ho Chi Minh had once warned the French, "You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and I will win." The same held true a decade later. Some 200,000 North Vietnamese men reached draft age every year.

The War Powers Resolution

Two years later, when Congress learned that Nixon had secretly bombed Cambodia without congressional approval, it passed the War Powers Resolution, a resolution passed by Congress in 1973 placing strict limits on a president's powers to use armed forces in hostilities without congressional approval.

Why didn't US leader pursue a total war?

U.S. leaders saw grave dangers in pursuing a total war with no limits. Total war calls for the complete mobilization of a nation's resources to achieve victory. This approach would have meant invading North Vietnam and forcing the communists to surrender. It would likely have led to an enormous American death toll. Also, China and the Soviet Union, which were providing military aid to North Vietnam, might be provoked to intervene directly, potentially resulting in a nuclear confrontation.

Understand the causes and eventual result of the Cuban Missile Crisis

a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in fall 1962 over the building of Soviet missile-launching sites in Cuba, in response to which the United States established a quarantine to prevent Soviet ships from transporting missiles to Cuba and to demand withdrawal of all Soviet weapons from the island; after a few days, the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw its missiles and President John Kennedy agreed not to invade

Economic Opportunity Act

a law passed by Congress in 1964 to create dozens of federal antipoverty programs, including the Job Corps and VISTA, and the Office of Economic Opportunity to oversee them]

Understand Tet offensive (what was it, what was its goal, was it a success, how did it impact the view of Americans?)

a major offensive in 1968 by Viet Cong and NVA soldiers that resulted in growing opposition among Americans to the war. some 85,000 Viet Cong and NVA soldiers attacked cities, villages, military bases, and airfields.

My Lai Massacre

a massacre of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in 1968; reports of the killings shocked Americans and increased opposition to the war]

PTSD

a mental illness suffered by about half a million Vietnam veterans, with symptoms including anxiety, irritability, nightmares, and depression

Environmentalism

a movement that works to protect the environment from harmful human activities

Understand the Watergate scandal and how it lead to the resignation of Nixon

a political scandal from 1972 to 1975 in which President Richard Nixon and members of his staff organized a burglary of the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in the Watergate building and then attempted to cover up their illegal activities, leading to prison terms for many involved and Nixon's impeachment

The energy crisis of the 1973

an energy shortage in fall 1973 that resulted from oil-exporting nations of the Middle East halting their shipping of oil to the United States to protest U.S. support of Israel in its conflict with its Arab neighbors

What is Agent Orange and why did US forces use it?

an herbicide used by the U.S. military in Vietnam to kill foliage in an effort to deny cover to the enemy

Understand the Bay of Pigs (what was the goal? what was the result? Why?)

an invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was authorized by John F. Kennedy for the purpose of overthrowing Castro's regime, organized by the CIA, executed by Cuban exiles, and defeated by Castro's forces

Viet Cong

communist insurgents in South Vietnam

What steps did JFK take to ease Cold War tensions (hotline, test ban treaty)

hotline: a communication line between the United States and the Soviet Union that is kept open at all times so they can contact each other instantly during a crisis Test Ban Treaty: an agreement signed by the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain in 1963 to ban nuclear testing in the atmosphere but allow underground testing]

Mapp v Ohio

involved a woman, Dollree Mapp, who had been convicted of a crime based on evidence found during an illegal police search of her home. The Court ruled in 1961 that evidence obtained illegally may not be used in court.

War of attrition strategy

military campaign designed to wear down the enemy's strength]

Understand the protests against the Vietnam War

protests took place in universities from college kids, also Protesters also turned to civil disobedience. Some publicly burned their draft cards, while others took the more serious step of refusing induction into the armed forces.

Insurgency

rebellion

Geneva Accords

the 1954 agreement between France and the Viet Minh to split Vietnam along the 17th parallel and to schedule national elections in 1956 to reunify Vietnam

Miranda v Arizona

the Court ruled that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning. A suspect must be told, wrote Warren, "that he has the right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney." These protections are called Miranda rights, after the defendant.

How/why did the United States attempt to win the support of the people of South Vietnam?

the United States mounted a separate campaign to win over the Vietnamese people and undermine support for the Viet Cong. The key to this "other war" was pacification—a policy designed to promote security and stability in South Vietnam.

Vietminh

the Vietnamese movement led by Ho Chi Minh against foreign occupation, first against the Japanese during World War II and then against the French occupation

Domino Theory

the belief that if Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of Southeast Asia would fall like "a row of dominoes"

26th Amendment

the constitutional change ratified in 1971 lowering the voting age to 18

How did the expansion of the war result in more protests?

the invasion did not help the peace process. The communists boycotted the Paris talks until U.S. troops left Cambodia three months later.

Kent State shootings

the killing of four protesters at Kent State University in 1970 by National Guard troops; reports of the shootings led to increased antiwar protests

Détente'

the relaxation of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union and between the United States and China that began under President Richard Nixon

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

the resolution passed by Congress in 1964 giving President Lyndon Johnson broad powers to expand the U.S. role in Vietnam]

What were the results of the Paris Peace Accords?

this treaty set the goal of "ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam." To that end, it established a cease-fire and kept the dividing line between North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel. It also called for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and the release of all U.S. prisoners of war. By March 29, 1973, the United States had withdrawn all combat forces from Vietnam.

The Pentagon Papers

top-secret Pentagon study of the U.S. role in Vietnam that was leaked to the press in 1971, revealing that previous administrations had deceived Congress and the public about the war