The Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War

Question 1

What were the two competing visions that were the sources of Soviet-American tensions?

Answer 1

1. Soviet deceitfulness and expansionism

2. American provocations and imperial ambition

Question 2

What was the Atlantic Charter and in what year was it signed?

Answer 2

The Atlantic Charter was a document that outlined visions for the post-WW2 world, signed in 1941

Question 3

What 3 visions are outlined in the Atlantic Charter?

Answer 3

1. Nations abandon their traditional beliefs in military power and spheres of influence
2. Governed relations with each other through democratic processes
3. An international organization arbitrates disputes and protects every nation’s right of self-determination

Question 4

What were the topics of discussion of the Yalta Conference in 1945?

Answer 4

Conference between Stalin, FDR, and Churchill in the Soviet city of Yalta

1. Stalin agrees to enter the war in the Pacific to help the US
2. Agreement to make a plan for a new international organization (UN)
3. Disagreement about the type of government that should be instituted in Poland
4. Disagreement about Germany’s future

Question 5

What was the Yalta Conference, in retrospect?

Answer 5

The Yalta Conference was less of a settlement of post-war issues and more of a set of loose principles that detoured around the important issues

Question 6

What was the American policy towards the civil war in China?

Answer 6

Truman sends weapons and money to the Nationalists, led by Chiang, who are fighting against Mao Zedong, even when it is clear that the war is lost. However, he refuses to send troops over there and actually fight.

Question 7

What did the Truman administration decide to do instead of fighting against the Communists in China?

Answer 7

They decide to open Japan up and lift its economic sanctions, encourage rapid economic growth, and hope that it will either unite or provide balance against the communists in Asia

Question 8

What was containment?

Answer 8

Rather than attempting to organize a unified, “open” world, the US and their allies would work to “contain” the threat of further Soviet expansion (Communism)

Question 9

What is the Truman Doctrine and in what year was it made?

Answer 9

1. Outlines the containment policy
2. Asks for 400M to help Greece and Turkey, who were in the middle of communist uprisings
3. Written and presented to Congress in 1947
4. Establishes an American stance on foreign policy that would last for 40+ years

Question 10

What was the Marshall plan and what were its goals?

Answer 10

Proposal to aid in the economic reconstruction of Europe

1. It was believed that unless we did something, pro-American governments there would fall under communist control
2. Put 12B dollars worth of American aid into 16 eastern European countries who applied for the program

Question 11

Was the Marshall plan successful?

Answer 11

By the end of 1950:

1. European industrial production rose 64%
2. Communist strength in the member nations declined
3. Opportunities for American trade revived

Question 12

What was the purpose of NATO?

Answer 12

April 4, 1949: 12 nations sign an agreement starting NATO

1. Declare that an armed attack against one of them would be considered an attack against all of them
2. They all maintain a standing military force in Europe to stop the threat of Soviet expansion

Question 13

What was NSC-68?

Answer 13

1950:
Truman calls for a thorough review of American foreign policy. The result was a document from the National Security Council outlining the changes in American position. It argued that:
1. The US could no longer rely on other nations to take the initiative in resisting communism
2. Called for a major expansion of American military power

Question 14

What major events caused the re-evaluation of NSC-68?

Answer 14

The collapse of the Chinese Nationalist party, taken over by the communists

Question 15

What happened in 1950 that caused the US to commit itself to the 1st engagement of the Korean War?

Answer 15

June 24, 1950: The North Koreans invade South Korea and within days take the capital, Seoul

Question 16

After WWII, where was Korea divided?

Answer 16

Temporary division from 1945-1949 along the 38th parallel

Question 17

Describe the governments and military of North and South Korea in 1949.

Answer 17

NK: Very strong communist government and army, equipped by the Soviets
SK: Weak pro-Western government led by Syngman Rhee; small military used mainly to suppress domestic opposition

Question 18

What did North Korea hope to accomplish with its invasion?

Answer 18

Relative weakness of SK tempted the NK who hoped to unify the country. When the US implied that SK was out of its defense, the temptation grew stronger, and the Soviets supported their offensive once it began

Question 19

How did the Truman administration respond to the invasion of South Korea?

Answer 19

Truman appeals to the UN, and the Soviets can’t veto it because they were boycotting the UN at the time. Within 3 days, the UN had troops in Korea (1/3 of that force were Americans and General MacArthur leads the UN forces)

Question 20

What was Truman’s goal in Korea?

Answer 20

To create “a unified, independent, and democratic” Korea

Question 21

Why did China get involved in the Korean War?

Answer 21

UN forces pushed too close to the border between North Korea and China; Truman feared that by getting involved in a war with China, it would cause WW3

Question 22

What caused the controversy between Truman and MacArthur?

Answer 22

MacArthur believed that they needed to win a total war (defeat China and anybody else who challenged them) in order to really destroy communism. Truman believed that they needed to just take the limited cease-fire and not cause WW3. Eventually, Truman fired MacArthur because he sent a letter to Congress detailing why he thought they should keep fighting after multiple warnings to keep his opinions to himself, and Truman saw it as insubordination.

Question 23

Why can the Korean War be called a “limited war” or “police action”?

Answer 23

The Korean War was limited to just Korea and stopped there, and the US had attacked North Korea more to reprimand them for invading South Korea than anything else

Question 24

How and when was the Korean war settled

Answer 24

War continued until 1953. In 1951, negotiations began at Panmunjon and the war continued until a cease-fire was reached

Question 25

What is the status of the Korea’s today and American involvement?

Answer 25

NK: Communist
SK: Pro-Western
US: Relatively uninvolved

Question 26

Describe the French involvement in Vietnam in WWII

Answer 26

Mid-1800s: Vietnam becomes a French colony
WWII: Falls under Japanese control
After WWII: Must be decided whether Vietnam will become part of France again or independent

Question 27

Describe the Vietminh

Answer 27

1. Powerful nationalist movement in Vietnam whose mission was to make Vietnam an independent nation
2. Created by Ho Chi Minh in 1941
3. 1945: Declared itself an independent nation and set up its government in Hanoi

Question 28

After WWII, what was Truman’s dilemma in regards to Vietnam?

Answer 28

He was under heavy pressure from the British and French to support the French against Vietnam. Truman doesn’t help the French but he doesn’t stop them either.

Question 29

What was the First Indochina War?

Answer 29

1946:
1. France goes back into Vietnam
2. At first, easily regains control
3. Vietminh begins to push back
Late 1953:
1. Vietminh wins at the battle of Dien Bien Phu

Question 30

What were the terms of the Geneva Accords and did the US sign them?

Answer 30

Conference planned to settle problems with Korea and included Vietnam at the last minute. The US didn’t sign the Vietnam part because they didn’t believe in negotiating with communists

Question 31

What were the terms of the Geneva Accords?

Answer 31

1. Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17th Parallel
2. Vietminh would control the North and a pro-Western regime would control the South
3. 1956: elections would be held to unite the two countries

Question 32

Contrast North and South Vietnam

Answer 32

North Vietnam:
1. Controlled by the Vietminh
2. Heart of traditional Vietnamese society
3. Area where the French had the least influence
4. Most people still lived in tight-knit traditional villages
5. Poorest area of Vietnam (overpopulated, land wasn’t distributed well, and had a serious famine at the end of the war)
6. Passionately committed to the unification of the country
South Vietnam:
1. Much more recently settled area
2. More individualistic society
3. Many powerful sects were competing for power (factionalized)
4. More prosperous and fertile than the North
5. Not overpopulated
6. Had no legacy of strong commitment to the Vietminh
7. Influence of the French had been strongest here
8. Much more difficult to unite and govern than the North

Question 33

Who led the governments of North and South Vietnam?

Answer 33

North Vietnam:
Ho Chi Minh

South Vietnam:
Ngo Dinh Diem

Question 34

What was the Buddhist crisis?

Answer 34

People were unhappy with Diem’s rule (he was a very cruel leader). The Viet Cong forms and starts to fight back against the oppressive regime. Buddhists began to stage huge anti government demonstrations in retaliation, so military and police action was taken against them. In return, several Buddhist monks lit themselves on fire in the middle of the street.

Question 35

How does the Kennedy administration react to the Buddhist crisis and what happens to Diem?

Answer 35

1. The Kennedy administration begins to question their support of Diem and gives several high ranking military officials their permission to overthrow him
2. The officials assassinate Diem and his brother and take power (the US hadn’t known about or condoned the killings)

Question 36

What major factors caused Lyndon Johnson to escalate American involvement in Vietnam?

Answer 36

1. He was pressured to expand it much more than he was to limit it
2. He felt obligated to prove his worthiness for the office by continuing the policies of his predecessor
3. He felt it necessary to retain in his presidency many of the key people in Kennedy’s administration

Question 37

Dean Rusk

Answer 37

Secretary of State under Kennedy and Johnson

Question 38

Robert McNamara

Answer 38

Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and Johnson; quietly leaves the government in 1968 after the anti-war movement takes off

Question 39

McGeorge Bundy

Answer 39

National Security Advisor under Kennedy and Johnson

Question 40

What was the strategy of attrition?

Answer 40

Belief that the US could caused so much damage and casualties on the enemy that it would eventually be unable and unwilling to continue.

Question 41

Why did the strategy of attrition fail?

Answer 41

Failed because the North Vietnamese proved willing to commit far many more soldiers in the conflict than the US had expected and because the US relied heavily on bombing the North to eliminate the communists’ war making capacity

Question 42

What was the pacification program and how was it to be achieved?

Answer 42

Program to push the Viet Cong from particular regions and then pacify those regions by winning the “hearts and minds” of the people

Question 43

Why does Johnson decide to not escalate the war by using nuclear weapons or heavier bombing?

Answer 43

He didn’t want to provoke China or the Soviets

Question 44

How where Americans at home reacting to the war by 1967?

Answer 44

The anti-war movement takes off, and American students opposed to the war become a significant political force

Question 45

What was happening to the American economy as a result of the war and how did it affect Johnson’s Great Society program?

Answer 45

The American economy begins to suffer.
Early 1967:
1. Johnson asks Congress for a tax increase
2. In return, Congress asks him for a 6B reduction of funding for his Great Society programs

Question 46

What was the Tet Offensive and why was it so significant?

Answer 46

January 31, 1968, First day of the Vietnamese New Year
North Vietnam launches a huge offensive. Is successful at first, but eventually the Americans push them back for devastating loses. Part of the battle in Saigon is recorded and a South Vietnamese official shooting a North Vietnamese man in the head after capturing him is caught and shown on TV to the public. Public approval for the war drops to very low levels. Johnson’s approval rate falls to 35%

Question 47

Why did Johnson decide not to run for president in 1968 and what major concession did he make to antiwar groups?

Answer 47

1. Public animosity towards him is so intense that he can barely leave the White House
2. March 31, 1968: Johnson announces a limited halt in the bombing of North Vietnam

Question 48

Who won the Republican nomination in 1968 and what were his major campaign promises?

Answer 48

1. Richard Nixon

2. Offered a vision of stability, law and order, government retrenchment, and “peace with honor” in Vietnam

Question 49

Henry Kissinger

Answer 49

1. Person who Nixon appointed to be his special assistant for national security affairs
2. Set out to find an acceptable solution to the stalemate in Vietnam

Question 50

Vietnamization

Answer 50

1. Nixon and Kissinger’s new policy in Vietnam
2. Training and equipping of the South Vietnamese army to assume the burden of combat in the burden of combat in place of American forces

Question 51

What new military steps were taken to break the stalemate at the Paris peace talks?

Answer 51

Nixon drops his insistence on the removal of NV troops from SV before any American withdrawal

Question 52

What were the Pentagon Papers and how did they affect public opinion?

Answer 52

June 1971

1. New York Times began publishing excerpts from a secret study of war by the Defense Department during the Johnson administration
2. Showed that the government had been dishonest in its reporting of both the military progress of the war and the motives for American involvement
3. Revealed that American officials were justifying the war to themselves as a way to protect American prestige

Question 53

Describe the My Lai tragedy and what it implied about military morale?

Answer 53

1. Trial and conviction of Lieutenant William Calley
   Charged with overseeing a massacre of 300+ SV civilians (1971)
2. Morale and discipline among US troops were deteriorating

Question 54

What were the terms of the Paris Peace Accords?

Answer 54

1. Immediate cease-fire
2. NV would release several hundred American POVs
3. NV forces in the south would remain there