The 1970's and on

1. Vietnam War

3. SSUSH20.D
DESCRIBE THE VIETNAM WAR, THE TET
OFFENSIVE, AND GROWING OPPOSITION TO THE
WAR.
SSUSH20.E
EXPLAIN THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHY OF THE U.S.
CONTAINMENT POLICY, THE KOREAN WAR, THE
BAY OF PIGS, THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, AND
THE VIETNAM WAR.
USH24.C
ANALYZE THE ANTI-VIETNAM WAR MOVEMENT.
Why are we there?

4. A little geography

6. A little geography: Vietnam

7. In a nutshell….
• What war are we
currently in?
• What does America
want to fight against?
• Ho Chi Minh rebels
against French rule,
embraces communism.
• Truman wanted France
as a friend so….
• Eisenhower continued
this
• Give France $$, Truman
Doctrine & domino theory
• France lost, gave up
Vietnam in 1954, divided
into two on 17th
parallel
• North Vietnam –
communist, Ho Chi Minh
• South Vietnam – anti-
communist, Ngo Dinh
Diem

8. Cold War : Vietnam
• May 5, 1961
President John F. Kennedy announces it may be
necessary to send U.S. troops to Vietnam. In his
inaugural address four months earlier, Kennedy
had declared that Americans will be ready to
"...bear any burden, meet any hardship, support
any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival
and the success of liberty." There were already
800 U.S. advisers in Vietnam; by November 1963
there were 16,700.

9. December 8, 1961
U.S. State Department publishes a “white
paper” claiming that South Vietnam is
threatened by “clear and present danger” of
Communist aggression.

10. February 7, 1962
Two U.S. Army air support companies arrive
in Saigon, bringing total of U.S. troops in
South Vietnam to 4,000.

11. May 1, 1963
• Buddhists gather in the city of Hue to protest a
decree prohibiting them from flying their flag.
Several months of rioting break out.
• Tensions between Buddhists and the Diem
government are further strained as Diem, a
Catholic, removes Buddhists from several key
government positions and replaces them with
Catholics.
• Buddhist monks protest Diem's intolerance for
other religions and the measures he takes to
silence them.
• In a show of protest, Buddhist monks start setting
themselves on fire in public places.

13. May 8, 1963
Diem’s troops fire on 20,000 Buddhists
gathered in the city of Hue to celebrate
Buddha’s birthday, killing 8 children and 1
woman.

14. • August 24, 1963
Washington cables Saigon embassy,
recommending that Diem be removed.

15. • November 1, 1963
With approval from the United States,
operatives within the South Vietnamese
military overthrow Diem.
He and his brother Nhu are shot and killed in
the aftermath. Diem is replaced by Vice
President Nguyen Ngoc Tho and General
Duong Van Minh.

16. • November 22, 1963
John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Kennedy's
death meant that the problem of how to
proceed in Vietnam fell squarely into the
lap of his vice president, Lyndon Johnson.

17. January 30, 1964
In a bloodless coup, General Nguyen Khanh
seizes power in Saigon. South Vietnam
junta leader, Major General Duong Van
Minh, is placed under house arrest, but is
allowed to remain as a figurehead chief-of-
state.

18. August 2, 1964
Three North Vietnamese PT boats allegedly fire
torpedoes at the USS Maddox, a destroyer located
in the international waters of the Tonkin Gulf,
some thirty miles off the coast of North Vietnam.
The attack comes after six months of covert US
and South Vietnamese naval operations. A second,
even more highly disputed attack, is alleged to
have taken place on August 4 against another U.S.
destroyer, the Turner Joy. The U.S. retaliates with
an air strike in North Vietnam.

19. August 7, 1964
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorizes President
Lyndon Johnson to "take all necessary measures to
repel any armed attack against forces of the United
States and to prevent further aggression." The
resolution passes unanimously in the House, and
by a margin of 82-2 in the Senate. The Resolution
allows Johnson to wage all out war against North
Vietnam without ever securing a formal
Declaration of War from Congress.

20. January 31, 1968
In a show of military might that catches the US
military off guard, North Vietnamese and
Vietcong forces sweep down upon several key
cities and provinces in South Vietnam, including
its capital, Saigon. Within days, American forces
turn back the onslaught and recapture most areas.
From a military point of view, Tet is a huge defeat
for the Communists, but turns out to be a political
and psychological victory. The US military's
assessment of the war is questioned and the "end
of tunnel" seems very far off.

21. March 16, 1968
As Johnson’s popularity plummets, Sen. Robert
Kennedy announces that he will run for the
presidency. On the same day in Vietnam, Lt.
William Calley orders his men to fire on the
village of My Lai, killing nearly 500 villagers.
"This is what you've been waiting for -- search and
destroy -- and you've got it," said their superior
officers. When news of the atrocities surfaced, it
sent shockwaves through the US political
establishment, the military's chain of command,
and an already divided American public.

22. March 31, 1968
With his low approval ratings and dismayed by
Senator Eugene McCarthy's strong showing in the
New Hampshire primary, President Lyndon
Johnson, in a televised address, stuns the nation
and announces that he will not be a candidate for
re-election.

23. October 31, 1968
Johnson halts bombing of North Vietnam.
Seven days later Richard Nixon, running on
a platform of "law and order," defeats
Hubert H. Humphrey to become U.S.
president.

24. March 15, 1969
In an effort to destroy Communist supply
routes and base camps in Cambodia,
President Nixon gives the go-ahead to
"Operation Breakfast." The covert bombing
of Viet Cong sanctuaries in Cambodia,
conducted without the knowledge of
Congress or the American public, will
continue for fourteen months.

25. June 8, 1969
Nixon announces first U.S. troop withdrawal
of 25,000 soldiers.

26. July 25, 1969
The president announces the “Nixon Doctrine.” He
calls for sending more economic and military aid
to South Vietnam to strengthen the South Vietnam
military. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird
described the policy of "Vietnamization" when
discussing a diminishing role for the US military
in Vietnam. The objective of the policy was to
shift the burden of defeating the Communists onto
the South Vietnamese Army and away from the
United States.

27. October 15, 1969
Thousands of Americans participate in
demonstrations against the war. Two weeks
later, Nixon appeals to what he calls the
“silent majority,” Americans who support
the war, claiming that total withdrawal from
Vietnam would harm U.S. interests.

28. April 29, 1970
U.S. forces invade Cambodia to attack North
Vietnamese and Viet Cong sanctuaries.

29. June 13, 1971
A legacy of deception concerning US policy in
Vietnam on the part of the military and the
executive branch is revealed as the New York
Times begins publication of leaked portions of the
Pentagon Papers. The Nixon administration,
eager to stop leaks of what they consider sensitive
information, appeals to the Supreme Court to halt
the publication. The Court decides in favor the
Times and allows continued publication.

30. January 27, 1973
A cease-fire agreement that, in the words of Richard
Nixon, "brings peace with honor in Vietnam and
Southeast Asia," is signed in Paris by Henry
Kissinger and Le Duc Tho. The agreement is to go
into effect on January 28. Later that year the
Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Kissinger and
Tho. Kissinger accepts the award, while Tho
declines, saying that a true peace does not yet exist
in Vietnam.

31. March 29, 1973
North Vietnam releases 60 American
prisoners of war, who leave Vietnam along
with the last remaining U.S. forces.

32. August 8, 1974
Nixon resigns to avoid being impeached for his role
in the Watergate scandal. In May, impeachment
hearings against Nixon had begun by the House
Judiciary Committee. Among the articles of
impeachment introduced was a resolution
condemning Nixon for the secret bombing of
Cambodia

33. April 23, 1975
Anticipating the fall of Saigon to
Communist forces, President Gerald Ford,
speaking in New Orleans, announces that
as far as the US is concerned, the Vietnam
War is "finished."

34. April 30, 1975
South Vietnamese President Duong Van Minh
delivers an unconditional surrender to the
Communists in the early hours. North Vietnamese
Colonel Bui Tin accepts the surrender and assures
Minh that, "...Only the Americans have been
beaten. If you are patriots, consider this a moment
of joy." As the few remaining Americans evacuate
Saigon from the roof of the U.S. embassy, the last
two US servicemen to die in Vietnam are killed
when their helicopter crashes.

35. January 21, 1977
In a bold and controversial move, newly inaugurated
President Jimmy Carter extends a full and
unconditional pardon to nearly 10,000 men who
evaded the Vietnam War draft.

36. November 11, 1982
Designed by Maya Ying Lin, a 22 year-old Yale architectural
student, the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial opens in
Washington, DC. The quiet, contemplative structure
consisting of two black granite walls forming a "V", lists
the names of the 58,183 Americans killed in the Vietnam
War. The memorial itself stirred debate as some thought its
presentation was too muted and somber, lacking the
familiar elements of war-time heroics found in most war
memorials.

38. Extra credit opp.
• Research John McCain’s POW journey.
• Write me 5 original sentences (no copying
and pasting).
• Submit via turnitin.com

39. What else is going on???

40. • SSUSH24.b
• Describe the National Organization of Women
and the origins and goals of the modern
women's movement.
• SSUSH24.d
• Analyze Cesar Chavez and the United Farm
Workers movement.
• SSUSH24.e
• Explain Rachel Carson and Silent Spring, Earth
Day, the creation of the EPA, and the modern

41. • SSUSH25.a
• Describe President Richard M. Nixon's opening
of China, his resignation due to the Watergate
scandal, changing attitudes toward government,
and the Presidency of Gerald Ford.
• SSUSH25.b
• Explain the impact of Supreme Court decisions
on ideas about civil liberties and civil rights
including such decisions as Roe v. Wade (1973
and the Bakke decision on affirmative action).

42. USH24.b
What’s up ladies?
• Feminism
• Goals of the
movement?
• NOW
• ERA (-3)
• Betty Friedan
• Last name
• Ms. Movement
• Gloria Steinem
• Bra burnings

43. USH24.d
Cesar Chavez and UFW
• Who is he?
• What did he do?
• Why?
• Was he successful?
• Chicano Movement–
Mexican American

44. USH24.e
Environmental Mvt.
• The “Rights Revolution”
• Right to a clean/safe
environment
• Rachel Carson
• “Silent Spring”
• DDT & toxic waste
• Environmentalist Nixon
• EPA, Clean Air, Clean
Water, Endangered Species
• Earth Day
• Modern movement?

45. Gay Rights Movement
• Stone Wall Riots, 6/28/69
• NY – no homosexuality in
public
• Stonewall Inn, NY
• Harvey Milk
• 1st
openly gay man elected
to public office
• Assassinated 1978.
• Matthew Shepard
• Hurting a gay person is a
hate crime.
• Massachusetts 2003
• Today…

47. • Gay brothers and sisters,… You must come out. Come
out… to your parents… I know that it is hard and will
hurt them but think about how they will hurt you in the
voting booth! Come out to your relatives… come out to
your friends… if indeed they are your friends. Come
out to your neighbors… to your fellow workers… to
the people who work where you eat and shop… come
out only to the people you know, and who know you.
Not to anyone else. But once and for all, break down
the myths, destroy the lies and distortions. For your
sake. For their sake. For the sake of the youngsters who
are becoming scared by the votes from Dade to
Eugene.

48. Obergefell v. Hodges

49. USH25.a
Richard Nixon
• What do we know already?
• Lost to JFK, Vietnam,
Environment
• New Federalism
• Help Middle America
• Gov’t give $$ to states
• Growing gov’t:
• EPA, DEA, FAP (family
assistance plan)
• China – officially
recognized (ping pong)

50. Ping Pong Diplomacy
• The Ping heard round
the world.
• Time Magazine
• 1st
Americans in China
since the fall to
communism.

51. Watergate – page 1050-1
• 1972 botched burglary of
Democratic National HQ.
• 1973 trail – top
administration officials
named as being involved
• Got back to Nixon
• “I am not a crook”
• Deep Throat
• 25th
amendment
• Certain impeachment ->
resignation 8/8/74

52. USH25.a – Gerald Ford
• Only President….
• Controversial pardon
• Environmentalist:
• Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, 1974
• Inflation – WIN (whip
inflation now)
• Beaten by Carter in 76.

53. USH25.b
Roe v. Wade
• Background…
• Ruling
• Women have the
right to privacy (9th
amendment)
• Including the right to
an abortion in the
first trimester

54. USH25.b pg. 1062
Bakke Decision
• 1970’s affirmative action
• Increase # of women and
minorities in college &
high-paying jobs.
• Why?
• Bakke – white, smart, 14th
amendment
• 5-4 vote:
• Racial quotas violated
Bakke’s rights