(Class 23) The Vietnam War

Question 1

Bay of Pigs

Answer 1

• April 17, 1961
• 1400 anti-Castro exiles (living in US) that had been trained and armed by the CIA
• Landed at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba
• No popular uprising on island materialized to support the exiles’ invasion – did not happen
• Kennedy refused to provide direct military support for the invasion
• Invaders quickly fell to Castro’s forces

Question 2

Peace Corps

Answer 2

• Kennedy borrowed the idea from Hubert Humphrey
• Recruit young Americans to work in developing countries
• Embodiment of “idealism and sacrifice”
• Volunteers worked directly with local people
• Opened schools, provided basic health care, assisted with agriculture and economic projects
• Worked in Latin America, Africa, Asia
• Kennedy put brother in law (Shriver) in charge

Question 3

Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 3

• 1962
• Khrushchev decided to install nuclear missiles in Cuba to protect Castro
• Violated the Monroe Doctrine
• Oct. 22 - CIA located sites by air
• Kennedy put military on full alert and warned that US navy would turn back Soviet vessels carrying missiles to Cuba
• Threatened full nuclear attack on Soviet Union if Cuba launched an attack on the US

Question 4

Going to the “Brink of War”

Answer 4

• Super powers went to the brink of war (Brinkmanship)
• Kennedy and Khrushchev exercised restraint and caution
• Kennedy refused advice from the military to bomb the missile sites in Cuba
• On October 24, Russian ships carrying nuclear warheads to Cuba suddenly turned back
• Kennedy and Khrushchev negotiated an agreement
• Soviets agreed to removed weapons from Cuba
• US promised not to invade Cuba
• Kennedy agreed to remove US missiles from Turkey
• Kennedy emerged triumphant and Khrushchev fell from power in Soviet Union

Question 5

The Berlin Wall

Answer 5

• Soviets were worried that Germans from East Berlin would try to exit to West Berlin
• Posed an embarrassment to the Soviets and Communism
• To prevent this escape East Germany built a wall between east and west Berlin in August 1961
• A decade later the two nations recognized East and West Germany as separate nations with guaranteed western access to West Berlin
• Soviets were worried that Germans from East Berlin would try to exit to West Berlin

Question 6

National Liberation Front (NLF)

Answer 6

• Composed of South Vietnamese rebels directed by the northern army
• Hanoi also constructed a network of infiltration routes, called the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia through which it sent people and supplies to help liberate the south
• Violence escalated between 1960 and 1963
• Kennedy escalated American commitment with military aid and advisers
• Guerrilla warfare of enemy made combat difficult for US and South Vietnamese
• Advanced weapons were ill suited for this type of warfare
• South Vietnam air force dropped napalm to quell Vietcong
• US planes in 1962 began spraying herbicide Agent Orange to destroy Vietcong

Question 7

Agent Orange

Answer 7

• US planes in 1962 began spraying herbicide Agent Orange to destroy Vietcong
• Toxic to humans

Question 8

Tet Offensive

Answer 8

• January 30, 1968 – Vietnamese New Year holiday
• North Vietnam and the Vietcong launched campaign of attacks on key south cities, US bases and US embassy in Saigon
• North lost 10 times as many soldiers as the US and the South – it showed the reality of the war
• People realized we were not winning in Vietnam
• Johnson’s approval rating dropped to 26%
• Tet Offensive made the case for disengagement

Question 9

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Answer 9

• August 1964
• Two US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin reported that North Vietnam fired on them
• Johnson responds ordering air strikes on North Vietnam torpedo bases and oil storage
• Congress passes resolution authorizing Johnson to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against US forces and to prevent further aggression
• War starts to escalate

Question 10

Woodstock

Answer 10

Musical Festival in New York

Question 11

Detente

Answer 11

• Term used for “easing conflict/strained relations” with the Soviet Union
• Policy of containment continued
• Focused on issues of common concern – arms control and trade
• Creating a stable world order
• Balance the interests of all nations

Question 12

The Pentagon Papers

Answer 12

• June 1971 - Bombshell
• New York Times publishes portions of these papers
• A secret Pentagon study of the war which began in 1967
• Nixon tried to suppress publication
• Revealed pessimism about war prospects by members of the Defense department
• Heightened disillusion with the war
• Cast doubt on government credibility
• Poll in 1971
• 60% of Americans considered American involvement in Vietnam a mistake
• 58% believed Vietnam war to be immoral

Question 13

War Powers Act of 1973

Answer 13

• War Powers Act of 1973 - Required congressional approval of all major long-term deployment of troops abroad
• All volunteer Military in the future
• The draft ended
• No future conscription/draft
• Made for a more disciplined and professional fighting force

Question 14

America: Love it or Leave it

Answer 14

• Many refused to serve
• Muhammad Ali refused to serve and was stripped of his heavyweight title
• 170,000 men gained conscientious objector status
• 60,000 fled the country to escape the draft
• 200,000 failed to register for the draft
• Support for the war existed among older individuals
• Slogan: “America: Love It or Leave It.”