"the American Nation: Civil War To Present" Chapter 23: War In Vietnam

Front 1

Vietminh

Back 1

League for the Independece of Vietnam; Ho Chi Minh organized Vietminh 1941; declared Indepence for Vietnam 1945

Front 2

domino theory

Back 2

Cold War-era belief that if one nation in Southeast Asia fell to communism, the rest would fall as well

Front 3

Vietcong

Back 3

National Liberation Front; communist guerrilla force that began fighting against Ngo Dinh Diem's government in Southeast Vietnam 1950s

Front 4

Le Loi

Back 4

Emporer of Vietnam 1400s; used guerilla warfare to defeat chinese invaders in 1400s.

Front 5

Ho Chi Minh

Back 5

aka: Nguyen That Than; a world wandere and man of many names; Ho Chi Minh means "He Who Enlightens"; 20s & 30s Ho lived in China & USSR; became committed to communism; returned to vietnam & organized a resistance movement (Vietminh) tried to gain US support; Truman unwilling to back Vietminh

Front 6

Ngo Dinh Diem

Back 6

former government official under French; strongly anti-communist; became new president of Republic of Vietnam (1955) aka South Vietnam; election rigged; Roman Catholic; unpopular; Vietcong formed against him; favored wealthy landowners.

Front 7

French Indochina

Back 7

Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam

Front 8

Hanoi

Back 8

Capitol of North Vietnam

Front 9

Saigon

Back 9

Capitol of South Vietnam

Front 10

Dien Bien Phu

Back 10

Battle where the Vietnamese finally defeated the French.

Front 11

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

Back 11

gave president authority to take "all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States"

Front 12

escalation

Back 12

buildup of U.S. military forces in Vietnam

Front 13

Operation Rolling Thunder

Back 13

A bombing campaign against military targets in North Vietnam (launched march 1965 by Pres. Johnson)

Front 14

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Back 14

a network of jungle paths; North Vietnamese used trail to bring weapons and supplies to South Vietnam (key bombing target)

Front 15

defoliants

Back 15

chemicals that strip the land of vegetaion over thousands of acres; goal- to expose jungle supply routes and enemy hiding places and to destroy Vietcong food supply (ei: Agent Orange)

Front 16

Search-and-Destroy Missions

Back 16

U.S. strategy in Vietnam in which ground patrols searched for hidden enemy camps and supplies and destroyed them wih massive fire power and air raids.

Front 17

pacification

Back 17

U.S. and South Vietnamese policy of moving villagers to refugee camps and then burning their villages.

Front 18

Doves

Back 18

people who opposed Vietnam War

Front 19

Hawks

Back 19

people who supported the Vietnam Wars's goals

Front 20

J. William Fullbright

Back 20

Dove; senatory from Arkansas; head of Foreign Relations Committee; criticized Johnson administration's policies as too extreme; held Congressional hearings (1966)televised that made antiwar positions more believable

Front 21

Tet Offensive

Back 21

Attack by North Vietnamese & Vietcong troops against South Vietnam during Vietnam War; came during Tet, Vietnamese New Year; demonstrated that the North Vietnamese were still militarily strong.

Front 22

Vietnamization

Back 22

Policy followed by the Nixon administration of gradually turning over all fighting in Vietnam War to South Vietnamese Army.

Front 23

Kent State Shootings

Back 23

Incident in which National Guard troops fired at a group of students during an anti war protest at Kent State University in Ohio, killing 4 and injuring 9.

Front 24

Pentagon Papers

Back 24

leaked by Daniel Ellsberg published in New York Times; secret government documents published 1971; revealed that U.S. government had misled Americans about Vietnam War

Front 25

Search-and-Destroy Missions

Back 25

U.S. strategy in Vietnam in which ground patrols searched for hidden enemy camps and supplies and destroyed them wih massive fire power and air raids.

Front 26

Robert S. McNamara

Back 26

Secretary of Defense to Johnson; advised Johnson that U.S. military commitment to South Vietnam would have to increase to prevent a communtist victory

Front 27

William Westmoreland

Back 27

commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam

Front 28

Eugene McCarthy

Back 28

Senator from Minnesota; challenged Johnson for Democratic presidential nomination (1968); war critic; strong showing in beginning of campaign.

Front 29

Robert F. Kennedy

Back 29

Senator form New York; former U.S. attorney general; strong contender for Democratic nomination (1968) won majority of primaries including California; shot by Sirhan Sirhan & died next day.

Front 30

Richard J. Daley

Back 30

Chicago mayor who ordered helmeted police to clear protesters from Democratic convention; August 28 police clubbed protesters & used tear gas 2 disperse crowd; 100s injured; 100s more in jail.

Front 31

Richard Nixon

Back 31

won Republican nomination easily; chose Maryland governor Spiro Agnew as running mate; promised "law-and-order" crackdown on urban crime; planned to end Vietnam war; won election 1968; foreign affairs was his top priority.

Front 32

Ron Kovic

Back 32

wrote "Born on the Fourth of July"; Vietnam veteran.

Front 33

Maya Ying Lin

Back 33

Young, Chinese American architecture student at Yale University; design chosen for Vietnam War national monument; designer of Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Front 34

Le Ly Hayslip

Back 34

Born in Village near Da Nang 1949; experienced constant warfare; Married U.S. civilian worker 1971, fled to U.S. shortly after; wrote "When Heavan and Earth Changed Places"; published 1989; created East Meets West Foundation- charity to provide comfort to all victims of the Vietnam War.

Front 35

George McGovern

Back 35

opposed war (antiwar canidate); senator from South Dakota; campaigned in 1972 Democratic presidential primaries; strong support from ethnic minorities, women and youth; easily won nomination.

Front 36

George Wallace

Back 36

opposed McGovern for 1972 Democratic nomination; shot at political rally in Maryland paralyzed from the waist down; withdrew from race.

Front 37

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Back 37

Memorial dedicated in Washington, D.C., in 1982 to honor those who died or are missing from the Vietnam War; designed by Maya Ying Lin.

Front 38

War Powers Act

Back 38

(1973) Legislation that reaffirmed Congress' constiutional power to declare war; set 60-day limit on president's authority to commit U.S. troops to serve in a foreign conflict.

Front 39

Le Duc Tho

Back 39

revolutionary from North Vietnam; 1969 troop withdrawals began and Tho met with Kissinger secretly in Paris to discuss peace.

Front 40

Henry Kissinger

Back 40

Born 1923 in Furth Germany; moved to NYC in '38; U.S. citizen in '43; attended Harvard University; recieved Ph.D. from Harvard in '54 and joined faculty as professor of government; advised Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, & Nixon; national security adviser before he was Nixon's Secretary of State; came up with Vietnamization; won Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiations that eventually ended Vietnam War.

Front 41

Twenty-sixth Amendment

Back 41

Constitutional amendment that lowered the federal voting age from 21 to 18.