Chapter 27, Section 2:

American Involvement Grows

Jasmine Belza, Zoubeida Fliesen, Aki Jewell

Essential Question
What were the causes and effects of the Vietnam War?

Essential Question Answer

The causes of the war was because North Vietnam was
communist and South Vietnam was not, Ho Chi Minh of North
Vietnam wanted to spread and make it a communist country.
THe south did not want that and the US sided with the south as
well and made a war.

Essential Question Answer

The effects of the war was the major death toll, it was an
estimated of 2 million Vietman citizens, 1.1 million North Vietnam
troops, 200,000 South Vietnam troops, and 58,000 US troops.
Lyndon Johnson was also taken out of office and many soldiers
suffered from post-war depression and trauma.

Section Objectives:
Describe how President Johnson widened the
war in Vietnam
President Johnson widened and changed the course of the war in
Vietnam by announcing that North Vietnam torpedo boats
attacked the US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Explain how the war in Vietnam was different

from any previous war in American history.
The Vietnam War was different from any previous war in
American history because this war, the conflict was long and
longer then any other conflict we commited troops to. This war
was also so wide spread that we used helicopters as a tactical
weapon on the battle feild.

Describe how the Vietnam War divided

Americans at home.
The Vietnam War divided Americans at home because of the
people who were on different sides and believed ifferent things,
causing them to choose sides and fight against eachother.

August 1964
President Johnson escalated the US involvement in the Vietnam War and asked
Congress for approval to do whatever they could do to settle/resolve the conflict
Congress approves by passing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

March 1965
Johnson ordered 3,500 Marines to supervise their base in Da Nang. Afterwards, he
started using ground troops for attacks. The number of troops in Da Nang increased
from 3,500 to 184,000 by the end of the year.

June 1965
Nguyen Cao Ky takes power in South Vietnam and destroys any anti-government
protests. South Vietnams government if finally restored.

January 1968
(Tet offensive) Viet cong and North Vietnam attack South Vietnam by surprise. They
attacked the American Embassy in Saig on a communist attacked capital Hue(way)

Febuary 1968
The Tet Offensive ends and 40,000 North Vietnamese and Vietcongs died in battle.
Afterwards, America became divided into groups called Hawks and Doves. Hawks
supported the war, and Doves thought the war could not be won.

Escalate
Definition: Step up.
Example Sentence:
President Johnson began to escalate , US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Napalm
Definition: A jelly like substance that burst into flames when dropped on
villages or vegetation.
Example Sentence:
The Americans who poured into Vietnam dropped bombs containing napalm
in the airplanes.

Hawks
Definition: Camp that supported the war in Vietnam.
Example Sentence:
As the war draged on, the Americans began to split up into the hawks and
doves, the hawks supported the war in vietnam.

Doves
Definition: Camp that believed the Vietnam War could not be won and morally
wrong.
Example Sentence:
The doves was the group that believed that the Vietnam War could not be won
and morally wrong.

Conscientious objectors
Definition: People who refuse to participate in war because of a strong belief
that it was wrong.
Example Sentence:
The men who did not brun their draft cards, sought recognition as
conscientious objectors.

A wider war
In his first months as president ,johnson tried to continue the polics in southeat asis
that esinhower kemdy had set in motion
But before long he began to expand the us commitment
Growing american involvement
After the falll of diem, the goverment of south veitnam became incresingky unstable
Leaders manage staying in power for only a few months
The ruling genarals argued among themselves, the south vietnamise militart rapidly
lost ground to vietcong
Johnson belived in the domino theory (just like esienhower and kenedy). He saw
vietnam as a test of a resolve of the us to resist the spread of comunism. I am not
going to lose vietnam johnson said.
Right after johson took power, he ordered an increase in economic aid and military
advisers to the giverment and aremnt froces of south vietnam
He authorized a sires of secert actions againts north vietnam
While the soveit union and china supported the vitecong with arms and supplies.

The gulf of tonkin incident

On august 1964 reporters say that torpedo boats had attacked
American destroyes in the gult of tonkin
This further pushed president johnson to pass the gulf of tonkin
resolution through congress to authorize airstrikes on north vietnam.
Congress passed this piece of legislation

Check Point Question

Why was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution so important?

An unconventional war
The constitution states that only congress may declare war but this was broken
because the president had authority to use military force
A massive build up
Won the elctions by a land slide
After the attack of pleiku three years of amricans bombing the vietcong would
continue
In march of 1965 president johnson order 3500 marines to come a protect the
american air base in da nang
Following this combat troops where sent over until in 1968 half a million troops
where in veitnam

Search and destroy

The us coming into south vietnam greatly affected the government in a good
way.
Since the government was now stabilized and combated troops were provided
they officially went to war
Napalm , herbicides and agent orange were all used during this time and all
caused tremendous amounts of health risks and birth defects.
Throughout the war the tactic being used was to search and destroy and to not
try and gain territory but rather kill as many as you can until vietcong must give
up.

The Tet Offensive

On january 31,1968 vietnamese celebrate their new year's while vietcong
decide to attack all of the major cities and even break into an American
Embassy
This makes americans back at home afraid of what vietcong is capable
off because it takes until february 25 for us to regain the territories

Check point question

How did fighting the Vietnam War differ from fighting other wars?

A nation divided
The nation then separated into hawks vs. Doves
Doves believed the war was morally wrong while hawks supported it
Of Course there were conscientious objectors who opposed it because war is
wrong and they refused to participate.

Song Analysis

Song Analysis
We chose the Eve of Destruction, because we thought it suited
the Conscientious objectors and the people that fought in the
war who did not want to be there. The lyrics reminded us of what
we thought that the people who got drafted to war and did not
want to be there to experience and fight in the war. The song is
sung by Barry McGuire, made in 1965 and is called the Eve of
Destruction.

Work cited
https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2014/11/26/10-songs-thatembody-the-vietnam-war-era/?singlepage=true
Http://www.google.com
http://www.history.com/