5/1/2012

Nixon and Vietnam

The End of the War and Its
Legacy
Chapter 22 Section 5

Vietcongs Proposal
The North had no intention of giving into
these demands.
They demanded that US troops withdraw
from Vietnam.
And that the Thieu government steps down
and allows a coalition of Vietcong to replace
it.

Henry Kissinger and

Vietnamization
Henry Kissinger was the National Security Advisor under
Nixon.
Kissinger was a German emigrant, earned three degrees
from Harvard,
and was an expert on international relations.
Nixon relied heavily on Kissinger opinion to end the war.
Together they developed a plan known as vietnamization.
This called for the gradual removal of US troops from
South Vietnam
Encourage the South Vietnam soldiers to take a more
active role in the war.

1969 Nixon announced the first U.S troop

removal from Vietnam.
One of the nightmares is war without
end
As Nixon pulled troops out he continued the
war.
The war without end continued for several
more years.

Negotiations Begins
As Nixon settled into the white house peace
talks were going nowhere.
The US and south Vietnam insisted that all
North Vietnamese withdraw from the south.
Along with this the North must agree too let
the South current government, Nguyen Van
Thieu remain in power.

Peace With Honor

Another part of Vietnamization was peace with
honor
Nixon secretly ordered massive bombing raids
against supply routes and bases in North Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia.
Nixon intended to keep the dignity of the US while
withdrawing from the war.
He wanted to uphold the US power at the
negotiations as well.

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Trouble at Home

MY LAI Massacre

Nixon sought to win support for his war

policies, he appealed to the silent majority.
Moderate and mainstream Americans who
quietly supported US efforts in Vietnam.
Many Americans already supported the
president but events in the war continued to
divide the country.
The My Lai massacre did not help.

November of 1969 New York Times printed the story that

shocked the country.
March 16, 1968 a US platoon under command of Lt. William
Calley Jr. had massacred the civilians of My Lai village.
They were searching for Vietcong rebels.
Finding none they rounded up the villagers and killed 200
innocent Vietnamese.
The troops insisted they were only following Calleys orders.
When the Lt. was asked directly he said he was to Kill
anything that breathed.
Calley was convicted and imprisoned for this heinous crime.

Cambodia

Nixon Loses Support

Despite the news of the My Lai massacre the country seem

to be unhindered in 1970.
On April 30, 1970 Nixon announced that US troops invaded
Cambodia to wipe out Vietcong supply centers.
Hearing this the countries youth struck up in protest.
Over 1.5 million students went on strike and shut down over
1,200 campuses.
This became the first general student strike in the nations
history.

Nixon and Kissingers Cambodia policy cost the president

significant support.
By attacking Cambodia without even notifying congress
Nixon sparked anger on Capitol Hill.
December 31, 1970 congress revoked the Tonkin Gulf Act.
This act gave the president near independence in the
Vietnam conflict.
It became worst when former Defense apartment work
leaked what became known as the pentagon papers.

The Pentagon Papers

The War Comes to a Close

A 7000-page document, written for Defense

Secretary Robert McNamara, revealed that
the government planned to enter war even
as LBJ promised not send troops to Vietnam.
It also revealed no plan to end the war as
long as North Vietnam persisted.
For many this concluded that the government
was not honest about the war true
intentions.

1972 North Vietnam launched its largest assault since the Tet
offensive in 1968.
Nixon responded by ordering massive bomber raids on
North Vietnamese cities.
He also ordered mines to be placed in Haiphong harbor,
where Soviet and Chinese brought supplies.
The assault ended but the warring nations were still in a
bitter stalemate.
After this the Nixon Administration began the final steps to
end Americas involvement in Vietnam.

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Kent State University

Nixon Moves for Peace

Kent State was one of the hundreds of campus shut down by

student protest.
But this one took on a violent nature when the ROTC
building was burned down.
In response the mayor called the National guard to quell the
protest.
On May 4, 1970 Guards fired live ammo into a crowd.
Wounding 9 people and killed 4.
10 days later at Jackson State 12 students were injured
and 2 killed.
In polls taken following these events, Americans actually
supported the National Guard.

By 1972 60% of the American public wanted to withdraw

from war by the end of the year.
With the upcoming election the Nixon Administration
changed its negotiation policies.
Kissinger was the top negotiator for the United States, and
had been secretly meeting with Le Duc Tho, North Vietnams
chief negotiator, since 1969.
Kissinger dropped his proposal that North Vietnam should
withdraw before the US did.
Days before the election Kissinger announced that peace is
at hand.

Elusive Peace

Nations Seek Peace

Nixon won reelection but peace was nowhere to be seen.

South Vietnam refused Kissingers proposal, that north
Vietnam troops would still be stationed in south Vietnam.
Talks broke off on December 16, two days later the president
ordered brutal bombing raids on Hanoi and Haiphong.
This became known as the Christmas bombings, 11 days of
consistent bombing pausing only on Christmas day.

The War Continues

Within months of the US departure the cease fire
agreement between North and South Vietnam
shattered.
In March of 1975 North Vietnam launched a full
assault.
Thieu begged the US for aid. The US agreed to send
economic aid but refused to send troops.
On April 30, 1975 North Vietnamese tanks rolled
into Saigon and the South surrendered.

After the Christmas bombings everyone

wanted this war to end.
From Moscow, Beijing, to the halls of
Congress they have grown weary of war.
Talks began again and on January 27, 1973 a
peace agreement was made in Paris.
March 29,1973 the last US troops left
Vietnam soil.

A Painful Legacy
The war cost a terrible price from its participants.
58,000 troops were killed and 303,000 wounded.
North and South Vietnamese deaths topped 2
million.
The war left Southwest Asia highly unstable and
lead to future war in Cambodia.
It also cost many Americans to have a cautious
outlook on foreign affairs and a more skeptical
outlook towards the government.

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Veterans Cope With Home

Families welcomed their sons and husbands
home with open arms, but the nation as a
whole had little sympathy for the veterans.
There were no welcoming parties, no
parades, no support. Only indifference.
Some even experienced hostility from other
Americans.

Post-Traumatic Stress
Many veterans were able to readjust to normal life, but
about 15% of them developed post-traumatic stress.
Some had reoccurring nightmares of their war experiences,
suffered from severe headaches, and memory lapses.
Many turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with this disorder.
Thousands even committed suicide.
Hoping to honor the men and women of the war the
government unveiled the Vietnam Memorial.
Many found a trip to this memorial mentally and spiritually
healing.

Vietnams Legacy

Turmoil in Southeast Asia

Ever since the war ended it remained a great

controversy for Americans.
Many hawks thought it could have been won
with more military power.
Others believed that increased military force
would only continue the stalemate. And
might have prompted the Soviets and
Chinese to enter.

In unifying Vietnam the communist of North Vietnam held a hand out to

South Vietnam saying they had nothing to fear.
But they soon imprisoned 400,000 South Vietnamese in reeducation
camps.
As Communist spread their influence 1.5 million people fled Vietnam.
From civilian supporters of the US to business men they fled in droves.
Along with them large groups of the poor, known as boat people, fled on
freighters, barges, and large row boats.
Many of these boat people meant in tragedy.
Cambodia also entered into a deadly civil war in which the communist
power, under Pol Pot, gained power in 1975.

U.S. Policy Changes

The war caused several major changes to US policy.
First the government abolished the draft that caused antiwar sentiment.
They also started making steps to lessen the presidents war making
powers.
November 1973 congress passed the War Powers Act.
The president must in form Congress within 48 hours of sending
forces into hostile areas without a declaration of war, and those
forces can only stay for 90 days without Congress approval.
It also changed the view on foreign affairs. What is known as Vietnam
Syndrome Americans now paused and looked at possible risk to their
own interests.
Finally many Americans lost their trust for the government that persist
today.