Chapter 30:5

Pentagon Papers

A 7,000-page document leaked to the press in 1971 by the former Defense Department worker Daniel Ellsberg. They revealed that the U.S. government had not been honest about its intentions in the Vietnam War and were going to continue to wage war so long as the North Vietnamese still were.

War Powers Act

A law enacted in 1973 which stipulated that a President must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending forces into a hostile area without a declaration of war. The troops may remain there for 90 days unless Congress approves the President's actions or declares war.

Silent majority

A name given by President Richard Nixon to the moderate, mainstream Americans who quietly supported his Vietnam War policies.

My Lai

A village in northern South Vietnam where more than 200 unarmed civilians, including women and children, were massacred by U.S. troops on March 16, 1968. News of the event was broadcasted in November of 1969 to the public.

Kent State University

Location of a massive student protest against the Vietnam War and the invasion of Cambodia and Laos. On May 4, 1970, the National Guard was called in to stop the protests. Students threw rocks at the Guards, and they responded with gunfire.

Henry Kissinger

National Security Adviser during the Nixon presidency. He was an expert on international relations and was directly involved in the withdrawal of American forces in Vietnam.

Vietnamization

President Nixon's strategy for ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, involving the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops and their replacement with South Vietnamese forces.

Richard Nixon

President of the United States during the Vietnam War. In the summer of 1969, he announced the first U.S. troop withdrawals, but continued the war against North Vietnam as he pulled out troops for several more years.