Vietnam Key Terms

Question 1

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Answer 1

Failed US sponsored invasion of Cuba in 1961 by anti-Castro forces who planned to overthrow Castro’s government. The disaster humiliated Kennedy and the United States.

Question 2

Berlin Wall

Answer 2

A structure erected by East Germany in 1961 to stop the massive exodus of East Germans into West Berlin, which was an embarrassment to the communists

Question 3

Peace Corps

Answer 3

Program launched by president Kennedy in 1961 through which young American volunteers helped with education, health, and other projects in developing countries around the world.

Question 4

Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 4

1962 nuclear standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States when the Soviets attempted to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba. In a negotiated settlement, the Soviet Union agreed to remove it’s missiles from Cuba, and the United States remove it’s missiles from Turkey.

Question 5

Vietcong

Answer 5

South Vietnamese insurgents who fought for and pushed for communism in Vietnam. They supported Ho Chi Minh and his communism in the north.

Question 6

ARVN

Answer 6

Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the military that defended South Vietnam.

Question 7

Ngo Dinh Diem

Answer 7

Leader of South Vietnam, and leader of Vietnam. South Vietnam did not like him, so they started a civil war.

Question 8

National Liberation Front

Answer 8

South Vietnamese rebels directed by the North Vietnamese army.

Question 9

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Answer 9

A trail used to transport supplies and people to help liberate South Vietnam

Question 10

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Answer 10

Resolution passed by congress in 1964 in the wake of a naval confrontation in the Gulf of Tonkin. It gave the president virtually unlimited authority in conducting the Vietnam war. The semate terminated the resolution following outrage over the US invasion of Cambodia in 1970.

Question 11

Operation Rolling Thunder

Answer 11

A gradually intensing bombing of North Vietnam.

Question 12

Tet Offensive

Answer 12

Major campaign of attacks launched through south Vietnam in early 1968 by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong. A major turnimg point in the war, it exposed credibility gap between official statements and the war’s reality, and it shook American’s confidence in the government.

Question 13

1968 Democratic Presidential Campaign & Convention

Answer 13

• Robert F. Kennedy was campaigning for the democratic presidential nomination, but he was assassinated
• The sight of the Democratic National Convention was a protestor vs police battle