AH Chapter 20

How did Nixon redirect the peace process when he became President? Did his plan have the desired result?

* forced Vietnam to the peace table, won treaty concessions from them* that protected freedom for South Vietnam, and withdrew our troops with those agreements in place. *No, because* after the democrats seized the opportunity to discredit him, and *used his political disgrace to renege on the treaties *when North Vietnam ignored them and again attacked the South. Millions of deaths can be laid at the door of politically opportunistic democrats.

Realpolitik

*"real politics"* According to realpolitik, political goals should be defined by *concrete national interests instead of abstract ideologies.*

What was the strategy of North Vietnam's leader, Ho Chi Minh, and how successful was it?

*Fight only small battles. *This strategy was very successful.

How did the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution lead to a change in the balance of power in the government under Lyndon Johnson?

*Gives the president Johnson all the power he needs to fight back.* He can sent airstrikes, soldiers, torpedo. He didn't have to ask for permission from congress.

How did Richard Nixon change Cold War diplomacy during his presidency?

*He redefined America's relations with the Soviet Union and China.*

My Lai massacre

*Lieutenant William Calley's unit began shooting and killing unarmed civilians, *during the assault US soldiers killed between 400 and 500 Vietnamese

How did the Maddox incident contribute to the outbreak of war?

*Maddox was a US destroyer. Its patrolled the coast of Vietnam. The torpedo attacked the Maddox. Then we returned fire and shot back. President Johnson didn't like that they hurting US. Then he says to bomb them.*

What impact did the events of 1970 and 1971 have on Nixon's actions in Vietnam?

*Nixon administration never made an iron-clad pledge* as to the inviolability of Soviet hegemony.

How did the Vietnam War end, and what were its lasting effects?

*Nixon drew American troops from South Vietnam - Americans reviewed how much power a president should have,* *had a very low morale, economy started to crash because of the cost of war*

How did the American war effort in Vietnam lead to rising protests and social divisions back home?

*President Johnson sent more troops to Vietnam to win the war. But as casualty lists got longer and victory seemed further away, more people questioned the war. *The Vietnam War divided Americans more deeply than any conflict since the Civil War.

Vietnamization

*President Nixon's plan for gradual withdrawal of US forces* as South Vietnamese troops assumed more combat duties

Even though we supported the non-communist South Vietnam, why did JFK support the effort to remove their leader?

*President of South Vietnam was not a good president. He angered the people and people protested. Kennedy helped get rid of DM (President of South Vietnam)*

Vietcong

*South Vietnamese communist rebels* that waged a guerrilla war against the government of South Vietnamthroughout the Vietnam War

SALT I, ICBMs

*Strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT I) - treaty froze the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).*- guided ballistic missile designed for *nuclear weapon delivery.*

How did spending on the Vietnam War weaken the U.S. economy?

*There wasn't money to spend on social programs,* taxes went up, government spending.

What information from the text proves that the policies of Truman and Eisenhower in Vietnam in the 1950s was part of the Cold War conflict?

*Truman: US is supporting France in taking over the Vietnam. * *Eisenhower: he wants to send money, he doesn't want communism in Vietnam.*

Even though the military defeated the communist Tet Offensive, why did American public opinion begin to turn away from support of the Vietnam War?

*When the Tet offensive didn't work to bring the end to the war, The US people got very discouraged. Some decided they wanted peace.*

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

*authorized the president "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack* against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression"

Selective Service Act

*drafted more than 1.5 million men into military service during the Vietnam war*

Why did Nixon and Kissinger believe détente was a beneficial foreign policy?

*educed tension, suspicion, and distrust between ussr and US.*

Détente

*flexible diplomacy adopted by Richard Nixon* to ease tensions between US and Soviet union and the people republic of China.

What were the causes and effects of America's growing involvement in the Vietnam War?

Causes:* shooting at the Maddox. Vietnam wasn't scared so we sent more soldiers.* We had to send more people for South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh would not fight unless he could win. The south Vietnamese government was corrupt. Effects- *the war expanded to other countries.* He devised ways to sneak up on us. American soldiers didn't do that well in their environment. More civilian causalities. The effects at home was that economy suffered and taxes went up.

SDS-- students for a democratic society

Founded at the UOM, considered radical. Demonstrating against the war.

What military strategies did the United States employ in Vietnam? How successful were these strategies?

bombing, dropped chemicals (agent orange). Search and destroy mission, burn houses etc. They were not successful, because US lost.

Tet Offensive

communist assault on a large number of South Vietnamese cities in early 1968

Mao Zedong

communist party chairmen

"Credibility gap"

didn't trust what the government was saying.

What role did college students play in the anti-war movement?

professor was opposed and got the students talking about and questioning.

Did Richard Nixon position the United States to win the Cold War? Why or why not?

yes, he put them at the same level.

Draftees

young men drafted into military service

How did Nixon's policy toward China reflect the philosophy of realpolitik? Also, why was this policy nicknamed "ping-pong diplomacy"?

*he looked at the world with fresh eyes* and figured out that china and the ussr-america's ideological enemies-could actually become excellent trading partners. it was called the ping-pong diplomacy* because nine american table-tennis players journeyed to China to play matches against Chinese competitors.* now it's opposite of before, china and the US are friends now, and germany and japan are rivals

Domino Theory

*idea that if Vietnam fell to communism, its closest neighbors would follow*

Henry Kissinger

*leading adviser on national security and international affairs,* altered this cold war policy approach.

Identify three factors that led to the growth of the antiwar movement. Select the one you think was the most important and explain why.

*more colleges students, professors encourage to voice their opinion.* *showed a lot of pictures on the war on TV. People were terrified. * *government kept saying they were winning. * most important was government was kept saying they were winning because raising the taxes.

Ho Chi Minh

*most important voice demanding independence for Vietnam,* became involved in anti-French organizations as a young man and fled Vietnam in 1912, travelled the world, embraced communism

People's Republic of China

*promoted an immediate reaction from the soviet union, *which had strained relations with both countries.

War Powers Act

*restricted the president's war making powers by requiring him to consent with Congress* within 48 hours of committing American forces in a foreign conflict - had a negative impact in terms of American's confidence & trust in their leaders and their cold war foes -congress took steps to ensure future presidents didn't abuse the military powers of their country

Nixon's "southern strategy"

*strategy of courting more conservative southern voters *with appeals to law and order, striving to pull them away from their traditional support of the Democratic party

Which two effects of the Vietnam War do you think had the biggest long-term impact? Explain.

*the lack of recognition for Vietnam veterans and the long period of healing for the nation.* *Neither has been entirely resolved, even today more than 30 years later*

Kent State shooting

*threw rocks and bottles at members of the national guard. 4 people died.*

Paris Peace Accords 1973

1973 *peace agreements between the US, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Vietcong that effectively ended the Vietnam War*

How did the disagreements between hawks and doves reflect divided opinions about war and world politics?

Hawks: *They said to raise the taxes, pay for the soldiers.* They sent people to fight and to continue to fight. Favor of the war. Doves: *They wanted peace.* Let them fight there own battle.

Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy

Robert Kennedy- brother of JFK. He decided he will do a better job then Johnson. Democratic. Eugene McCarthy- senator, was going to run for president. Democratic. Both thought americans are tired of war.

SEATO

SouthEast Asia Treaty Organization. *To help southeast Asia from going to communism.*

What difficulties did American soldiers face in Vietnam? What effect did these difficulties have?

They were fighting in the jungle. Not use to the heat, bugs. Effect: The US didn't have any confidence.

Pentagon Papers

a classified *government history of Americans involvement in Vietnam, *leaked to the New York Times

Agent Orange

a herbicide meant to kill plant life

Napalm

a jellied *gasoline which was dropped in large canisters that exploded* on impact, covering large areas in flames

Deferments

a postponement of your duty to go to war.

Hawks; Doves

hawks- *mostly conservative, supported Johnson's war policy* doves- *broke with Johnson's war policy*

Fall of Saigon to the communists 1975

in 1975 *minor fighting escalated when North Vietnam launched an offensive against the South,*without American aid and ground supply South Vietnam couldn't defend themselves, NV took Saigon

Operation Rolling Thunder

the *first sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam*

"Silent majority"

the parents and grandparents of the hippies, *the people who could vote and pay taxes*

What were the chief weaknesses of the Democrats in the 1968 election? How did these weaknesses aid the election of Republican Richard Nixon?

weaknesses: Johnson was president, he decided not to run again. *there were a lot of riots,* made people think that the democrats can't be the party in charge. increase death in Vietnam. Aid: Bobby Kennedy could't run, he was killed. Martin Luther was killed. People were mad. People did't like Eugene. *So all the trouble made the people look to the republican side.*