Vocab Flashcards
Peace corps
Sent volunteers to developing countries to help with projects
Berlin Wall
A barrier of concrete and barbed wire between east and east Berlin
Cuban Missile Crisis
U.S. Blockaded Cuba so that the Soviet Union couldn’t put their missiles there
Neil Armstrong
First man on moon
Buzz aldrin
Second man on moon
Ho Chi Minh
Believed that only a communist revolution could free the Vietnamese people
Domino theory
American leaders thought that if one country became communist their neighbors would too
Vietcong
Communist guerilla forces
Fidel castro
Led a revolution against unpopular dictator
Tonkin gulf resolution
Congress passed it giving the president the authority to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S.
Ho Chi Minh trail
A supply route used by the north Vietnamese the trail was a network of paths and tunnels that led from north Vietnam, through Laos and Cambodia, and into south Vietnam
Escalation
Increased involvement
Search and destroy missions
Where U.S. Patrols searched for hidden enemy camps, then destroyed them with massive firepower and air raids
William Westmoreland
General and commanded the U.S ground forces
Tet offensive
Surprise attacks all over south Vietnam, including an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, south vietnams capital
Doves
Opponents of the war
Hawks
Supporters of the war
SDS
Members of SDS protested the draft, as well as companies that made weapons used in Vietnam
Hippies
Members emphasized individual freedom, non violence, and communal sharing
Richard M. Nixon
Won presidency 301 electoral votes to 191
Henry Kissinger
Nixon’s security adviser
Vietnamization
A plan to pull U.S. Troops from Vietnam and have south Vietnam army take over all the fighting
26th amendment
Ratified in 1971 lowered the voting right age to 21-18
War powers act
Requires the president to get congressional approval before committing U.S. Troops to an armed struggle
