U.S History Ch. 8

How were the North Vietnamese able to send troops and supplies to South Vietnam?

For arms, ammunition and special equipment, the Vietcong depended on the Ho Chi Minh trail. Other needs were met inside South Vietnam.

Why is Kent State, Ohio, a significant location during the Vietnam War?

Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured on May 4, 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. The tragedy was a watershed moment for a nation divided by the conflict in Southeast Asia.

What legislation created a temporary dividing line in Vietnam along the 17th parallel?

The Geneva Accords of 1954

How did the United States' involvement in the Cold War in Europe lead to its military involvement in Vietnam?

The US justified its military intervention in Vietnam by the domino theory, which stated that if one country fell under the influence of Communism, the surrounding countries would inevitably follow. The aim was to prevent Communist domination of South-East Asia.

What happened at Dien Bien Phu?

The Vietminh laid siege to a garrison of French troops who then surrendered

What did the Tonkin Gulf Resolution do?

authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia.

In Vietnam, what were "search and destroy" missions?

sending out platoons, companies, or larger detachments of US troops from a fortified position to locate and destroy communist units in the countryside.

What measure did the Selective Service System take to address these criticisms of the draft in 1969?

A "lottery" system was implemented

Why was the Job Corps created?

It seeks to teach young people the academic and vocational skills they need to secure meaningful and lasting employment.

How did the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act expand economic opportunities for ethnic minorities?

By providing special federal funds for Indian, inner city, and Mexican American schools

Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point in the Vietnam War?

Despite heavy casualties, North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet Offensive and the beginning of the slow, painful American withdrawal from the region.

How was ratification of the 26th Amendment a response to the Vietnam War?

During the Vietnam war there was drafting and all the people that were not at the age of 21 did not have a voice in voting. It seemed unfair that a person who could fight and die for our country would not have a political voice.

Why did President Kennedy start the Peace Corps?

He believed that sending idealistic Americans abroad to work at the grass-roots level would spread American goodwill into developing nations and help stem the growth of communism there.

Why did President Kennedy refer to his domestic proposals as the "New Frontier"?

He wanted to inspire hope and optimism about the tasks that lay ahead.

Who served as National Security advisor, secretary of State and top U.S. negotiator on Vietnam during Nixon's presidency?

Henry Kissinger

Who was the leader of the Indochinese Communist Party that fought French, Japanese, and U.S. forces for the independence?

Ho Chi Minh

In Tinker v. Des Moines School District, what was the Supreme Court's ruling a about students?

In a 7-2 decision, the majority ruled that neither students nor teachers "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."

Why was television important to the presidential election in 1960?

It allowed viewers to concentrate on how the candidates presented themselves and spoke instead of what they said.

What was meant by the "Americanization" of the Vietnam War?

It relied heavily on American technology, which among other advantages provided unprecedented mobility via the use of helicopters to quickly transport large American infantry units into combat areas, and on superior US firepower, both ground based and airborne, to overwhelm Communist forces.

Why might people believe President Johnson's Medicaid program is a good example of Great Society legislation?

Johnson's Great Society aimed to improve the lives of those who needed it the most within the country which is precisely what Medicaid did.

How did the office of the President's ability to conduct military operations change following the end of war in Vietnam?

One major change was the passage of the War Powers Act in 1973, which curbed the President's power to make war without congressional approval.

What city did the North Vietnamese capture that caused South Vietnam to surrender?

Saigon

Which best describes the effect of television coverage of the war on the American public?

Television brought the brutality of war into American homes.

How did U.S. policy in Vietnam change following the Tet Offensive?

The U.S. began to seek a negotiated settlement to the conflict, rather than a military victory. This was a shift from the previous policy of total victory.

Lyndon Johnson's decision not to seek re-election in 1968 underscored what fact about his presidency?

The war in Vietnam had jeopardized his reelection chances.

What was President Johnson's intended objective for Operation Rolling Thunder in the Vietnam War?

This massive bombardment (bombing) was intended to put military pressure on North Vietnam's communist leaders and reduce their capacity to wage war against the U.S.-supported government of South Vietnam.

Angry with Nixon's secret orders to bomb and invade Cambodia, Congress repealed _____

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

What was the name given to the South Vietnamese citizens who fought against the South Vietnamese government and American forces?

Viet Cong

Why did President Johnson support and promote the escalation of American forces in Vietnam?

Vietnam was becoming communist and he wanted to stop it from spreading across South East Asia

What military strategy did President Nixon employ in Vietnam early on in his presidency?

Vietnamization

What was the purpose of the War Powers Act?

for Congress to check the power of the president and his ability to commit to war with another country. He has to get the consent of the Congress.

What values did the counterculture in the 1960s promote?

nonconformity, personal freedom, racial equality, and self-fulfillment.

To expose Vietcong tunnels and hideouts, what was the name of the gasoline-based bomb U.S. planes dropped that set fire to the jungles of Vietnam?

napalm