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Background to the Vietnam WarVietnam is a country south of China. Like in Korea, the sides were fighting, with North Vietnam advocating for communism, and South Vietnam attempting to keep its previous government. The US stepped in to South Vietnam. However, because JFK did not want to be directly involved in Vietnam, he sent what he called 'advisers.' The Job of these advisers was to train the South Vietnamese people to fight for themselves. This eventually established ARVN, the South's military.
However, by 1963, JFK has sent over 15,000 advisers to supposedly 'train' the people. The South's leader at the time, Ngo Diem was not exactly the best possible leader for keeping Communism at bay. He faced the people's protests about Catholicism v. Buddhism. Because of his issues, the US opted to have him removed from office. While JFK wanted him simply removed from his position, the CIA had him assassinated. After JFK was assassinated, LBJ took over office, and promised to stop the war in Vietnam, but he did not do so. |
Gulf of TonkinTo really get involved in the Vietnam War, some incident was needed. For this, the Gulf of Tonkin was needed. In this incident, American ships fired upon Vietnamese ships because they thought they were being attacked. This incident triggered Congress to pass the president a 'Blank Check.' The 'Blank Check' authorized the President to spend as much money and resources as needed to combat the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia.
A major part of the war in Vietnam was containing the spread of Communism into Southeast Asia. As many thought, however, Vietnam was very similar to Korea. When recommended to go to war, LBJ was told that strategic air force attacks would be conducted against Viet Cong bases and forces, minimizing loss of American life, as well as spending |
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Tet Offensive and ProtestsThe offence in Vietnam was called Rolling Thunder. It was the longest US bombing campaign. It achieved very little strategically, as the missions were designed to demoralize, not destroy. The bombings were spread out enough that the enemy had time to recover. More bombs were dropped in Vietnam and Laos than on Germany and Japan combined. LBJ decided that he would not back down, and he would not strike a deal. By 1965, 125,000 soldiers were in Vietnam. By the end of the war, 60,000 US soldiers die. Johnson was following the Containment examples of Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy. LBJ knew that he was stuck in Vietnam, but he could not get out. Walter Lippman thinks the US should lead the world by example, not by firepower. The vast majority of the US agrees with that. LBJ used carefully gathered statistics to show that we were wearing down the enemy. He brought General Westmoreland to the Senate to claim the US will win within the next two years. At the time, if we struck a deal, it would have been seen as a defeat.
The Tet Offensive of 1968 was a turning point of the war. The Viet Cong launched a surprise attack on all American positions. This proves that the VC and Hanoi were nowhere close to being defeated. This event changed the way people saw the war. Columbia University protests the college’s connections at the war. This led to students taking over 5 of the University buildings. The Anti-War protest outside the Chicago Democratic convention led to police violence. On May 17, 1968, nine men and women entered the Selective Service Offices and removed hundreds of draft records. Their trial was highly publicized, as the American public saw them as heroes. The most trusted news anchor traveled to Vietnam and returned with the opinion that the US could not win the war. On March 31, 1968, Johnson announced he would stop the bombing on Vietnam, and withdrew from the presidential race. |