The Vietnam War- Cold War Build-up- Longest American War in Cold War History

Understanding the phases of USA involvement in Vietnam

What were the goals of the USA in Vietnam and what did they reflect about the perceptions of the Cold War?

USA Presidential Polices of the Cold War: Roots of Involvement in Vietnam

  1. President Truman’s Policy of Containment

President Truman: Democrat- 1945-1953

Secretary of State- Dean Acheson

Orthodox Belief

Truman Doctrine

Marshall Plan

Containment Policy

1947- USA National Security Act- created the CIA and the NSC (National Security Council)

Berlin Crisis & Airlift

NATO Established

USA support of Nationalists in China

Use of the United Nations

Korean War- extension of Executive powers for an undeclared war

1950- Truman grants aid to France in its war against the Vietminh in Vietnam. Truman wanted to secure his alliance with France and its support of Containment

1950-1954 - USA grants more than $2.6 billion to France for its war in Indochina (Vietnam)

Military Build-up - Arms Race begins!

1954- Dien Bien Phu campaign- French lost control of Vietnam to the Nationalists/ Communists

  1. President Eisenhower’s Policy of Massive Retaliation

President Eisenhower: Republican- 1953-1961- IKE

Vice-President- Richard Nixon

Secretary of State- John Foster Dulles

Eisenhower Doctrine- Empowered the President to extend economic and military aid to nations of the Middle East if threatened by communists.

1952 (Days before Eisenhower came into office) USA tests the 1st H-Bomb (Hydrogen Bomb)

15 Megaton blast

*Death of Stalin (March 1953)

USSR tests the H-Bomb in July 1953

France surrendered in Vietnam (USA, Great Britain, France, USSR, China, Laos, Cambodia, and the Vietminh met in Geneva to design the Peace Accord.

Geneva Accords- 1954- Divides Vietnam, 17th Parallel- Vietminh North, French South

Eisenhower’s “Chance for Peace” speech- called for a new era of relations… would not come.

Domino Theory- presented as need to support South Vietnam after Korea- 1954

Massive Retaliation- If the USSR attacked, the USA would retaliate instantaneously.

“…. by means and at places of our own choosing.”[1]

Decrease in armed personnel, Increase in Air Power and Nuclear Power

Brinkmanship- a critical name given to the policy of massive retaliation “reckless”

USSR Launches Sputnik- August, 1957 (1st possible intercontinental ballistic missile)

Missile Gap- USAincreases funding for missile development

NASA - established to close the missile gap.

National Defense Education Act (NDEA) $$$$ of support for education and universities -

USA Established short-range missiles in Europe.

Suez Crisis- Nasser takes power in Egypt, demands control of the Suez Canal from the British.

USA offered to assist Nasser with the building of the Aswan Dam.

Nasser made a deal with the Soviets for Arms, and Dulles withdrew support of the Dam. July 1956- Nasser seized control of the canal.

Israel, Britain and France invaded Egypt.

Eisenhower did not support.

Opened the Middle East to the Soviets.

Cuban Revolution- 1958

1961- In his Farewell Speech, Eisenhower warns of the “Military Industrial complex”

  1. Decolonization after World War II brings greater instability

1946-1960- There were 37 emerging nations (new Cold War battlegrounds)

Korean War-

Vietnam War-

Eastern Europe-

Middle East-

Suez Crisis- 1956

  1. CIA involvement in emerging nations:

Iran- Overthrow of the Iranian government (Mossadeg) in 1953 to reinstate the Shah. Operation AJAX-

Guatemala- 1954 Successful Coup

Laos and South Vietnam- Supported friendly governments 1954->

Indonesia- Unsuccessful overthrow- 1957

Cuba- 1961 Unsuccessful coup

Dominican Republic – 1960 Successful Coup

Congo- Attempted assassination of leader 1961

Overview of Vietnam War:

Summary of Vietnam Events:

1900-1954- Vietnamese Nationalism and 1st Indochina War

1947-1955- USA Involvement in the Cold War Context

1955-1960- Diem and the Republic of Vietnam

1961-1963- Kennedy and the 1st USA Involvement in Vietnam

1964-1966- Johnson and Escalation

1966-1968- Quagmire and the Tet Offensive

Quagmire- An dangerous and difficult situation that is difficult to escape.

1960-1970- USA Domestic Anti-war movement

1969-1975- Nixon and Vietnamization

1975- Aftermath of the War

  1. President John F. Kennedy 1961-1963

President Kennedy: Democrat- 1961-1963- JFK

Pragmatist- a leader who looked for practical solution

The New Frontier (JFK’s Domestic Policies)

Television plays a major role in the USA elections (JFK only 43 years old)

Secretary of State-

SPACE Race begins- USSR Yuri Gagrin orbited the Earth 1961

JFK- Calls for the USA to land a man on the moon and return him to earth before 1970.

Project Mercury (Glenn orbited the Earth) 1962, Project Gemini 1965-66, Apollo Program 1968

USA Established the Peace Corps 1961

Bay of Pigs

Cuban Missile Crisis

Background to unrest in Vietnam:

  • World War II- Vietnam was occupied by Japanese
  • September 2, 1945- Vietnam declares its independencefrom French rule
  • Ho Chi Minh- Leader of the Vietnam nationalist forces (The Vietminh)- Communists
  • French unwilling to give up control of Indochina : Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam
  • By 1945- Vietminh controlled the North of Vietnam, French secured the South.
  • 1950- France appeals to the USA for aid and assistance
  • 1950- Truman reluctantly grants aid $20 million to France
  • France surrendered in Vietnam 1954- (USA, Great Britain, France, USSR, China, Laos, Cambodia, and the Vietminh met in Geneva to design the Peace Accord.
  • Geneva Accords- 1954- Divides Vietnam, 17th Parallel- Vietminh North, French South.
  • Domino Theory- 1954- coined by Eisenhower as reason to support South Vietnam

South Vietnam:

Ngo Dinh Diem 1954- came to power in the South Vietnam 1954

1954-1961- USA sends $1 billion in aid to South Vietnam (80% went to military)

Diem canceled elections (held a special referendum instead). He “won” 98% approval. 

NLF (National Labor Front)– aka the Vietcong- Established in South Vietnam (largely communists) to oppose Diem.

Civil War in the South-

Diem’s ForcesVietminh- Communists

Supported by USANLF- Vietcong

Close to Ho Chi Minh government

Support from North Vietnam

Indirect support from China and USSR

JFK- Viewed Vietnam as part of the larger Global struggle - Extension of the Domino Theory established under Eisenhower.

  1. President John F. Kennedy’s Policies in Vietnam
  1. Strengthen South Vietnamese army with USA technology and advisors
  2. USA gave triple the aid under Kennedy
  3. Pressure Diem to make economic and political reforms to lessen the attraction of communists and radicals in Vietnam
  4. USA sent 16,000 advisors to Vietnam by 1963
  5. Little impact…. Widespread corruption
  6. Monks setting themselves on fire in protest… “Thich Quang Duc”

1963- Diem was overthrown by his own South Vietnamese Generals- Evidence points to heavy involvement of the Kennedy Administration in hopes of gaining North Vietnamese support.

November 1, 1963- Diem was assassinated in the Coup

(Three weeks later, JFK was assassinated) Vice-President Johnson took over power.

  1. President Johnson’s Polices and actions in Vietnam

Lynden B. Johnson- Democrat- 1963-1969

Most known for the Domestic Polices of “The Great Society”

Secretary of State- Dean rusk

Secretary of Defense- Robert McNamara (1968 Replaced by Clark Clifford)

National Security Advisor- McGeorge Bundy

  1. Expansion of involvement in Vietnam\
  2. General Westmoreland - Commander in Vietnam- Later admitted that US polices were often “trial and error” because of the little experience that US commanders and troops had with the same type of forces and atmosphere.
  3. Repeated Coup d’états in the South- Johnson- “I’m sick of this coup shit.”
  4. 1965 – USSR aided North Vietnam- Soviet Premier Kosygin met with North Vietnamese in Hanoi and agreed to aid.
  1. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- USA victims of unprovoked attacks in the Gulf

Congress granted Johnson authority to “take all necessary measures to repel an armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression.”

Later discovered that Johnson had used the attack in Tonkin to gain Congressional support, but in reality the destroyers in the gulf had been assisting South Vietnamese soldiers to raid two islands in the North.[2]

  1. Widespread Aerial Bombing- Operation Rolling Thunder- February, 1965. USA

responds to Vietcong attacks in the South.

Represented a Policy of Graduated Response

  1. Response to Vietcong Attacks at Pleiliu Airbase in 1965- 8 Americans killed
  2. Johnson orders the 1st American bombing of North Vietnam by the USA
  3. Three years of bombing in the North
  4. Targeted the Ho Chi Minh Trail (weapons supply route through Laos and Cambodia)

New leader in South Vietnam- General Nguyen Van Thieu- even more unpopular.

  1. Use of Agent Orange and Napalm

1965- USA ground forces ordered to Vietnam to guard the airbase at Da Nang at request of general Westmoreland.

1965- 180,000 American Troops in Vietnam

1966- 360,000 American Troops in Vietnam

1967- 500,000 American Troops in VietnamBy 1967- 14,000 American Deaths

  1. Johnson believed that the real goal of the North was to legitimize China’s position in Asia. Johnson feared USSR and Chinese involvement (a repeat of Korean at the Yalu River)

Split occurred between the USSR and China because the Chinese often smuggled the Soviet weapons back to China. Very little trust between China and USSR

  1. Pacification Program- a type of scorched earth policy pursued by the USA ground troops. Destroyed villages, burning fields, capturing villages, and taking prisoners.
  2. Johnson repeatedly attempted to negotiate with the North. He would withdraw bombing and attempt negotiations.
  1. Failures in Vietnam
  1. USA Policy makers greatly underestimated the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese allies under Ho Chi Minh
  2. Key example… 1967 General Westmoreland announced that the enemy was losing.
  3. Vietcong and Ho Chi Minh fought for a type of “Pyrrhic Victory” – one in which the costs for the USA would outnumber those for the Vietnamese, even though the North may suffer more casualties.
  1. USA reliance on Air power was relatively ineffective given the terrain and tactics of the North Vietnamese
  2. Widespread bombing of civilian and military targets did not break the moral of the North Vietnamese…. Actually increased it.
  3. Huge devastation: by 1967 USA used more bombs in Vietnam than had been dropped in all of WWII by the Allies.[3] Use of B-52 Bombers
  4. Use of Agent Orange and Napalm - very drastic
  1. USA Ground troops- Search and Destroy missions were largely ineffective
  2. Inexperienced soldiers
  3. Average age of USA solder was 19 years old…
  4. Unfamiliar terrain
  5. Pacification Program created more enemies for the USA and supporters for the Vietcong
  1. Inability to respond to the Guerilla Tactics of the Vietcong
  2. Vietcong were familiar with the local terrain
  3. Vietcong had the support of the local peasant population
  4. USA soldiers found it difficult to distinguish friend from foe.
  1. The Tet Offensive- Major turning point of the Vietnam War 1968
  2. No place in the South was safe from communist attack, even the USA embassy.
  3. Decreased USA domestic confidence and raised doubts about Johnson’s policies.
  4. Tet- 1st day of the Vietnamese New Year
  5. Major offensive by the Communists against the South- They infiltrated Saigon
  6. Communist goal- “to spur uprisings throughout the South”
  7. Huge losses on both sides- Greatest USA loss was to regain city of Hue
  8. For the 1st time Johnson would not agree to General Westmoreland’s request for an additional 200,000 troops
  1. Costs of the Vietnam War-
  2. 58,000 + Americans dead
  3. 300,000 Americans wounded
  4. $150 Billion
  5. America lost the War! American confidence shattered.
  6. 8 million tons of bombs dropped in Vietnam, equivalent to 640 Hiroshimas. [4]
  7. Economy and infrastructure of Vietnam destroyed
  8. Demonstrated the power of Nationalist Movements
  1. Represented the Politicization of War- goals became more political (domestically) than militarily. Vs WWI and WWII, which saw complete mobilization
  1. Irony of the Vietnam War- High Tech war for USA, fighting a low tech enemy
  2. Example of operation IGLOO white- Sensors along the Ho Chi Minh Trail
  3. Examples of air dominance. B52s- 12 taken down with basic anti-aircraft weapons
  1. Vietnam Effects USA Domestic Politics:
  1. 1st War to be Televised- reporters were embedded with the troops and the pictures were brought into Americans’ living rooms.
  2. Johnson announces that he will not seek reelection
  3. Democratic favorite and potential nominee, Robert Kennedy, assassinated (June 4, 1968)
  4. USA Presidential politics turn more conservative
  5. Democratic party torn apart by the death of Kennedy and MLK
  6. The Democratic Candidate, Hubert Humphrey support Johnson’s Vietnam Policy
  7. Widespread public outrage with Humphrey’s stand.
  8. Nixon’s only contender, Governor Wallace was too far right… his VP running mate even spoke of using nuclear weapons to win in Vietnam. Frightened voters and most sided with Nixon.
  1. Democrats blamed for failure in Vietnam and many feared that democratic push for Civil Rights had gone too far. End to the “Liberal Era” declared Nixon.
  2. Vietnam had been seen by some as “a bone in the nation’s throat.” [5]
  1. 1970s in the USA witnesses an “Era of Social Consciousness”
  1. The Pentagon Papers, June 1971, brought widespread protest: (wikileaks of the 70s.)
  2. Secret Defense department study of USA involvement in Vietnam…
  3. Leaked by Daniel Ellsberg, (former Defense Department analyst)
  4. Revealed that the government had lied about the war
  5. Exposed the real reason was not to fight communism but to “avoid a humiliating defeat.” - Nixon tried to block the papers from being released even though his administration was not implicated.
  1. Rise ofStudent Activism in the 1960s-
  2. Large number of baby boomers attending university in the 1960s. 4xs the # of students in the 1950s in American Universities. By 1970, 8xs the # of students.
  3. Reality was that only a small % joined the activists movements. Many were well off economically and not part of the New Left
  4. Students for Democratic Society- SDS Movement Spread.
  5. University of Michigan
  6. Led protest movement at the Washington Monument
  7. Berkeley University- Protests and sit-ins
  8. Kent State- Ohio- students outraged with Nixon’s move to send troops into Cambodia, in April 1970.
  9. Kent State uprising at the ROTC building
  10. Ohio Governor Rhodes called in the National Guard
  11. 600 Students protested peacefully
  12. Tear gas ensued, verbal conflict… troops fired into the crowd. Four students killed.
  13. Later determined that the actions of the National Guard were “unwarranted and inexcusable.”
  14. Jackson State University- Mississippi
  15. Violence between protesters and the National Guard
  16. 500 troops brought in, 80 state officers, and 125 police
  17. Violence broke out, 2 protesters killed, 12 students wounded.
  1. Resisting the Draft- Rise of Conscientious Objectors
  2. By 1950s all 18 year olds had to register for the draft (despite not having the right to vote.)
  3. Critics claimed that the Draft unfairly targeted low income citizens due to the ability of college students to obtain draft deferments.
  4. African Americans accounted for 18% of the fighting forces in Vietnam (yet they were only 10% of the American population.)
  1. Widespread Opposition to the War- Media alters public opinion.
  2. Hawks- Americans who supported the war
  3. Doves- Americans who opposed the war
  4. Best example of American brutality brought to the screens: The My Lai Massacre-
  5. Scoop by Journalist Seymour Hersh
  6. March 1968, US forces under the command of Lieutenant William L Calley had massacred 350 Vietnamese civilians.
  1. Richard Nixon elected President- Policies in Vietnam:
  1. President Nixon, 1969-1974: Republican

Secretary of State- Henry Kissinger

  1. Vietnam Policies:
  2. Publicly supported Johnson’s attempts to negotiate peace- claimed as he was running for President that he would do nothing to threaten such negotiations. Later evidence suggests that Republicans had actually met and negotiated with the South Vietnamese leaders urging them not to make a deal with Johnson, and that they “would get a better deal with Nixon”. (CNN Cold War Episode 11).
  3. “Peace with Honor”- Pledged to end the war quickly… despite claiming to have a plan to end the war quickly, the war continued on for four more years. Most officials could only optimistically estimate that it would take eight more years.
  4. Nixon Doctrine- USA would no longer intervene in emerging nation’s affairs with military personnel; however, the USA would continue to send weapons and aid for local forces to conduct the fighting.
  5. Foreign Policy almost exclusively conducted by Nixon and Kissinger
  1. Vietnamization- Goal to maintain a pro-western, independent government in South Vietnam
  2. USA trained South Vietnam forces to take the place of USA soldiers.
  3. November 1969, Nixon withdraws 60,000 troops from Vietnam
  4. 1969-1972, USA troops dropped from 500,000 to less than 25,000 in Vietnam.
  5. By 1971- Vietnamization was seen as a failure…. South losing.
  1. The Secret War-
  2. Nixon ordered the bombing of supply bases on Cambodia and Laos in March 1969. Increase of American bombing.
  3. Nixon used a “carrot and stick” approach… force through bombing raids, and tempting North Vietnam with negotiations. Kissinger failed to deliver the negotiations.[6]
  4. April 1970, Nixon orders US Troops into Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese bases.
  5. Nixon Moves to silence Protesters-
  6. Appeal to the “Silent Majority” those not protesting. The “real Americans”
  1. Referred to the protesters as the minority making the most noise.
  1. Kent State- Ohio- students outraged with Nixon’s move to send troops into Cambodia, in April 1970.
  2. Kent State uprising at the ROTC building
  3. Ohio Governor Rhodes called in the National Guard
  4. 600 Students protested peacefully
  5. Tear gas ensued, verbal conflict… troops fired into the crowd. Four students killed.
  6. Later determined that the actions of the National Guard were “unwarranted and inexcusable.”
  7. Jackson State University- Mississippi
  8. Violence between protesters and the National Guard
  9. 500 troops brought in, 80 state officers, and 125 police
  10. Violence broke out, 2 protesters killed, 12 students wounded.
  1. Final Peace Talks-
  2. Paris, October 1972
  3. Cease-fire was negotiated- called for the withdrawal of all American troops and POWs.
  4. Kissinger announced, “Peace is at hand.”
  5. South Vietnam leader, President Thieu, refused to sign the treaty, claiming that the USA was abandoning the South.
  6. The Christmas Bombings- December 18- Nixon orders bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong, lasted for 12 days…
  7. North Vietnamese returned to negotiations, agreed to cease-fire
  8. USA pressured President Thieu to accept the cease-fire
  9. Major question… was this peace with honor? Many critics claim that the same treaty could have been obtained four years earlier and thus save 600,000 Vietnamese lives and 21,000 Americans.
  1. Peace accords Failed to bring Peace
  2. The cease fire collapsed, March 1975 North Vietnam launched a major offensive
  3. Fall of Saigon in April 1975
  4. Evacuation of the American Embassy in Saigon
  5. South Vietnam surrendered to the North.
  1. Nixon’s Foreign Policy elsewhere:
  2. Détente with the USSR
  3. Nixon goes to China
  4. Middle East and Shuttle Diplomacy
  5. Liberation Theology
  6. Interventionism
  7. Chile- Salvador Allende
  1. Nixon brought down by the Watergate Crisis-

Compiled by David Nelson for IB History HL, ACS Athens 2011