Vietnam Flashcards
Indochina
Peninsula that held Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam
Geneva accords
Divide Vietnam by the 17th parallel
Buddhism
originated in ancient India, believe in 4 noble truths and the eight fold path to enlightenment. Religion in Vietnam, anti war
Search and destroy
Agent orange
used by America to destroy farms and crops. The chemical had dioxin, which was very toxic and dangerous to humans.
Doves
students and other opponents of Vietnam
Hawks
supporters of the war
Election of 1964
democrat Lyndon b Johnson won by a landslide over Barry Goldwater
Election of 1968
Richard Nixon (Republican) defeated Democratic Party (Humphrey) by promising to represent the voice of the “silent majority”
Vietminh
founded by Ho Chi Minh in 1941. Fought for Vietnamese independence from French colonial rule
Kent state
Domino theory
Eisenhower theory. If one country falls to communism, the country next to it will fall to then, then the country next to that. It will eventually reach America.
Self-immolation
Setting yourself on fire in form of protest
Saigon
South Vietnam capital
Ngo Dinh Diem
American backed leader of South Vietnam, not communist
Robert McNamara
lbj and jfk’s secretary of defense, anti communism
Jfk
supported s Vietnam, reluctant to send too many US troops in. Assassinated in 1963
Operation rolling thunder
Intense, sustained bombing of North Vietnam (1965-1968)
1.Boost morale in Saigon
2.Destroy infrastructure in N. Vietnam
3.Cease flow of men/material in S. Vietnam
4.End goal of communist insurgency in S. Vietnam
Credibility gap
lack of trust in the government in the 60s and 70s, they thought the government wasn’t being honest
Silent majority
Containment
Trumans foreign policy, to contain communism and not let it in the US
Paris peace talk
Generation gap
divide between older and younger generations during the 60s and 70s because of social and political change
Pentagon papers
showed that the government had lied to the public about the war, revealed in 1971
