Unit 9 Test Flashcards
Ho Chi Minh
Leader of Vietnamese revolutionaries, communist, strived for Vietnam’s independence
Vietminh
An organization who goal was to win Vietnam’s independence from the foreign rule.
domino theory
A theory explained by Eisenhower where he compares the countries on the brink of communism to a row of dominos waiting to fall one after another.
Geneva Accords
They temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel.
Vietcong
The South Vietnamese who, with North Vietnamese support, fought against the government of South Vietnam in the Vietnam War.
Ho Chi Minh Trail
A network of paths used by North Vietnam to transport supplies to the Vietcong in South Vietnam.
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
A resolution adopted by Congress in 1964, giving the president broad powers to wage war in Vietnam.
Robert McNamara
Secretary of Defense, helped President Johnson come up with plans for what to do about Vietnam.
William Westmoreland
American commander in South Vietnam, in the early years of the war, the Johnson administration complied with his requests.
ARVN
The Southern Vietnamese soldiers with whom US troops fought against communism and forces in the North during the Vietnam War.
napalm
A gasoline-based substance dropped in Vietnam in order to burn away jungle and expose Vietcong hideouts.
Agent Orange
A toxic leaf-killing chemical sprayed by US planes in Vietnam to expose Vietcong hideouts.
search and destroy missions
US military raids on a South Vietnamese village, intended to root out villagers with ties to the Vietcong but often resulting in the destruction of the village and the displacement of its inhabitants.
credibility gap
a public distrust of statements made by the government
draft
forced to serve in the army
New Left
People started to drift towards socialism and, in some cases, communism.
SDS
Charged that corporations and large government institutions had taken over America. It called for a restoration of “participatory democracy” and greater individual freedom.
Free Speech Movement
An antiestablishment New Left organization that originated in a 1964 clash between students and administrators at the University of California at Berkeley.
Tet Offensive
A massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on South Vietnamese towns and cities early in 1968.
Robert Kennedy
JFK’s brother, senator from New York, became Democratic presidential candidate, shot on June 5th after winning the California Democratic primary.
Richard Nixon
Newly elected president, pulled out the troops but continued war against North Vietnam.
Vietnamization
It called for the gradual withdrawal of US troops in order for the South Vietnamese to take a more active combat role in the war.
silent majority
Moderate and mainstream Americans who quietly supported the US efforts in Vietnam
Kent State University
An Ohio university where national guardsmen opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War on May 4, 1970, wounding 9 and killing 4
War Powers Act
Stipulated that a president must inform Congress within 48 hrs of sending forces into a hostile area without a declaration of war.
