the reunification of vietnam and impact of the war Flashcards
what was vietnamization?
in 1968 johnson decided to open peace talks following the tet offensive, then he didn’t run again -sick of war
nixon won with a promise to end the war
nixon began vietnamisation - taking US troops out of vietnam and leaving south vietnamese troops to do the fighting
the us would still send aid
at the same time nixon continues peace talks and continued bombing north vietnam heavily to try to persuade them to give up
what happened in
1970-71?
- nixon ordered the invasion of cambodia in 1970 and then laos in 1971. the aim was to disrupt the Ho Chi minh train and to destroy vietcong bases in these countries
- the south vietnamese army failed their attempts and this seemed to prove that they couldn’t cope without the US troops
- the invasions also led to more protests against the war back in the USA. it seemed as if nixon was escalating the war, not trying to bring about peace
4 american students were shot dead by police in a demonstration at kent state university. this made even more ppl angry about the US involvement in vietnam
how did the war end?
on october 1972, a peace agreement was reached
the south vietnamese president - Thieu was furious because he believed the peace agreement would leave his country at the mercy of north vietnam
the usa had to promise to keep providing aid to south vietnam, but started to decrease the amount they sent
north vietnam then invaded south and by july 1976 vietnam was one country again - ruled by the communists
what was the impact of the war on vietnam?
- many villages and communities were destroyed during the fighting
- civilians suffered brutal treatment including torture and murder - about 2 mil vietnamese died
- hundreds of thousands of orphans and wounded civilians and soldiers to be cared for
- fields, animals, crops and forests were destroyed makinging a poor country even poorer
- vietnamese were soon unable to feed their population
- environment was badly damaged - littered with crashed planes, vehicles and guns and a shells and mines
what were the effects of the war on the united states?
during the fighting, lots of opposition - a protest movement started and many young american men avoided or refused the draft, some fled to canada or burnt their draft papers
there was widespread resentment that many well-off young men managed to avoid the draft mainly by going to uni
it was mainly lack men who did the fighting
why did americans oppose the war?
- there were heavy casualties - a total of 58,000 troops were killed
- TV showed pictures of the war, e.g. the use of napalm
many americans said the war was immoral - the US government had no right to impose its views on a poor nation like vietnam
apart from this many americans still supportes the war anf fight against communism
how did americans protest against the war?
a protest movement started in 1964 and grew quickly after 1965 and became bigger after the bombing of cambodia in 1970
marches and demonstrations were common - especially at universities - an incident occurred at kent state uni
young people were especially critical of the war. the late 1960s and early 1970s were a period of rebellion and dropping out, hippies told ppl to “make love, not war”
some war veterans opposed the war too - at the veterans march in washington in 1971 some ex-soldiers threw away the medals they had won for bravery
what effects did the war have on americans who fought in it?
some suffered illness, or had deformed children, if they had handled agent orange
many veterans had serious mental problems and tens of thousands committed suicide after the war
vietnam veterans were often treated as second-class citizens, not returning heroes
returning soldiers were more likely to turn to crime, alcohol, drug addiction, suicide or suffer broken marriages
what other effects on the USA were there?
the war cost billions of dollars
some blamed the war for increasing racism in the US as many blacks rightly or wrongly believed that too many of their young men had fought in the war
the US was blamed for war crimes in vietnam
large numbers of books, flims, tv shows ect were produced during and after the war
some ppl though the war led to less respect for authority, this was linked to the student movement
