Chapter 29: The Vietnam War Flashcards
French Indochina
Vietnam, Loas, and Cambodia
Vietmihn
League for the Independence of Vietnam; fought the Japanese; created the national liberation front
after WW2 the
Vietminh declared independence, but France quickly moved in to claim Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh
growing nationalist movement in Vietnam; “He Who Enlightens”; joined the French communist party to get rid of the French; peasants liked because he took land from the rich; North Vietnam
domino theory
if one country falls to communism its neighbors will
Eisenhower believed
in the domino theory and sent supples to French forces in Vietnam
Dien Bien Phu
French soldiers made last stand; Eisenhower didn’t want to send US soldiers; French surrendered on May 7, 1954; French trapped on military base
Geneva Conference
peace agreement; Vietnam temporarily divided by 17th parallel; communist controlled North; French would withdraw from the country
Ngo Dinh Diem
South Vietnam; corrupt and brutal leadership; US supported; assassinated in 1963; killed buddhists
national liberation fund
South Vietnam and Vietminh formed; military force called Vietcong
vietcong
undercover North Vietnamese soldiers; assassinated South Vietnamese government officials
military advisors
sent to train South Vietnamese Army
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Johnson needed authority of Congress; USS Mattox attacked by North Vietnam; Johnson said attack was unprovoked when Mattox had been a spying mission and fired first; passed on Aug 7
operation rolling thunder
bombing campaign over North Vietnam; military targets, army bases, airfields, bridges, roads, and railways targeted; main target was Ho Chi Minh trail; agent orange, napalm, and cluster bombs used
agent orange
defoliant that destroys vegetation
napalm
jellied gasoline used to create firebombs
cluster bombs
sprayed sharp metal fragments when exploded
General William Westmorland
commanded US ground troops in South Vietnam
pacification
US forces implemented to win the hearts and minds of South Vietnamese people
the draft
25% excused for health; 30% received determents; college students deterred; draft lottery began in 1960 and ended in 1973; 3% of eligible men escaped by refusing to register or leaving the US
several women
worked for the Red Cross
Saigon
capital of South Vietnam
doves
people who opposed the war
Hawkes
people who support the war’s goals
tet offensive
massive coordinated attacks in South Vietnam; NVA and Vietcong attacked 12 US military bases; began Jan 30,1968 at the start of tet; more than 100 cities across South Vietnam
Robert McNamara
seeked ways to end the war
Sirhan Sirhan
assassinated Robert Kennedy
George Wallace
independent; former Alabama governor
Spiro Agnew
Nixon chose as his running mate
Henry Kissinger
Nixon’s national security advisor
Nixon started
bombing Laos and Cambodia to disrupt the flow of supplies on the Ho Chi Minh trial
campus violence
Kent State (4 killed) and Jackson State
weathermen
created 5,000 bombs to protest the war
My Lai massacre
troops under Cally killed 450 people; Cally convicted of murder
pentagon papers
collection of secret government documents; traced the history of US; officials were misleading
Daniel Elisberg
leaked the pentagon papers
26th amendment
lowered the voting age form 21 to 18
peace agreement
January 1963; North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and US
2 years after Saigon
North Vietnamese troops invaded South Vietnam; 130,00 South Vietnamese evacuated
