The Vietnam War Era An Era of Protest and Change

The Vietnam War Era & An Era of Protest and Change US History Unit #17 – Chapters 29 and 30 Ho Chi Minh  The most import ant leader for Vietnamese independence; Born in 1890, Ho became involved in anti-French organizations as a young man In 1912 he left Vietnam and traveled the world before ending up in Moscow, where he was trained in communist ideas He returned to Vietnam after WWII, leading rebels to defeat the French in 1954, then continuing the fight against the United States Review Question #1 Which U.S President refused to meet with Ho Chi Minh in Paris after World War I? Dien Bien Phu  French military base in northwest Vietnam in which Ho Chi Minh’s army, known as the Vietminh, trapped a large French garrison in 1954 After suffering 15,000 casualties, the French surrendered At a peace conference in Geneva in 1955 the Vietnamese agreed that their country would be divided in two: North Vietnam was to be ruled by Ho Chi Minh’s communists; South Vietnam, by an anti-communist government supported by the United States Review Question #2 Why was France’s military severely weakened by the 1950s? Closure Question #1: Identify one argument for and one argument against Truman’s decision to support the French rather than the Vietnamese nationalists (At least sentences)  Vietnam thus became a pawn in Cold War politics To ensure French support in the Cold War, Truman agreed to aid France’s efforts to regain control over Vietnam After communist forces won the civil war in China in 1949, American increased its aid to the French in Vietnam Truman did not want to see another communist victory in Asia Between 1950 and 1954, the United States contributed $2.6 billion to France’s war efforts Containing Ho Chi Minh’s communist Vietminh – an abbreviation for the Independence of Vietnam – became a national priority When President Dwight D Eisenhower took office in early 1953, he continued Truman’s policies toward Vietnam He sent monetary aid to the French, arguing that by battling Ho Chi Minh, they were containing the spread of communism The domino theory was the idea that if Vietnam fell to communism, its closest neighbors would follow This in turn would threaten Japan, the Philippines, and Australia In short, stopping the communists in Vietnam was important to the protection of the entire region SEATO / Vietcong  SEATO – Southeast Asia Treaty Organization; Alliance of seven Asian countries and the United States whose goal was to contain the spread of communism in Southeast Asia; Through SEATO the U.S provided economic and military aid to South Vietnam  Vietcong – Communist guerrilla fighters within South Vietnam that wanted to unite Vietnam under a communist government The Vietcong used surprise hit-and-run tactics to assassinate government officials and destroy roads and bridges, weakening support of the anti-communist government led by Ngo Dinh Diem Review Question #3 What was the European equivalent of SEATO? Closure Question #2: What goals motivated President Kennedy’s policy decisions regarding Vietnam? (At least sentence)  After his election in 1960, President John F Kennedy took a more aggressive stand against the communists in Vietnam Beginning in 1961, he sent Special Forces troops to South Vietnam to advise the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) on more effective ways to fight the communist forces By 1963, more than 15,000 American “advisers” were fighting in Vietnam  Although U.S advisers fought bravely and achieved some success, Diem continued to alienate South Vietnamese citizens By late 1963, his regime was in shambles Buddhists protested his restrictive policies, occasionally by setting themselves on fire The Kennedy administration eventually concluded that South Vietnam needed new leadership Working behind the scenes, Americans plotted with antiDiem generals to overthrow Diem’s government On November 1, 1963, Diem was removed from power and later assassinated Closure Question #3: How did the Maddox incident contribute to the outbreak of war? How did it lead to a change in the balance of power in the American government? (At least sentences)  Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on the On August 2, 1964 a North Vietnamese torpedo boat fired American destroyer USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam Congress passed the resolution, authorizing the use of American military force in Vietnam, giving President Johnson the power to commit U.S troops to the area to “defend American troops”, though an official war had not been declared Review Question #31 In what region of the United States did Cesar Chavez focus his efforts to improve the treatment of migrant farm workers? Migrant Farm Workers / United Farm Workers  Migrant Farm Workers – Laborers who travel from farm to farm – and often from state to state – to pick fruits and vegetables The majority of migrant farm workers in the United States are Latinos  United Farm Workers – Union organized by Cesar Chavez in the late 1960s which used nonviolent protest and strikes to improve the treatment of migrant farm workers Most famously, in the early 1970s the UFW went on strike against California grape growers and sparked a nationwide boycott of California grapes In 1975, California’s government responded by enacting laws requiring growers to negotiate with UFW representatives Review Question #32 The United Farm Workers organized a successful strike and boycott against the growers of what type of fruit in California? Closure Question #1: How did the government make immigration for Latinos and Asians easier in the 1960s? (At least sentence)  Along with Mexicans who had migrated to the U.S illegally in search of work, braceros who had outstayed their permits were targeted for deportation in the 1950s In 1965, however, the government passed the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments, eliminating national-origin quotas for immigrants In the decades that followed, the number of legal Mexican and Asian immigrants surged More than 400,000 Mexicans arrived during the 1960s, another 630,000 in the 1970s, and more than 1.5 million in the 1980s  After World War II, large numbers of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans migrated to the United States As citizens of a United States territor y, Puerto Ricans came legally, leaving their homeland in search of better-paying jobs In contrast, most Cuban and Dominican immigrants came to America as political refugees, fleeing their countries to escape the harsh rule of dictators Most Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican immigrants settled in urban areas, especially in New York City and Miami, Florida Chicano Movement  Mexican American social and political effort begun in the 1960s dedicated to increasing Latinos’ awareness of their history and culture, reducing poverty and discrimination, and support ing the election of Latino politicians American Indian Movement  Activist group established in 1968 to help Indians living in inner-city ghettos Eventually, AIM played an active role in securing land, legal rights, and self-government for Native Americans How and why was the Native American struggle for equality different from that of Latinos? (At least sentences)  Native Americans: As Indians’ dissatisfaction with the government grew, their activism became more militant In late 1969, a group of American Indians occupied the island of Alcatraz, the site of a federal prison in San Francisco Bay that had closed in 1963 Members of the Sioux tribe asserted that the island belonged to them under a treaty provision granting them unused federal land About 100 American Indians representing 50 tribes joined the occupation In spite of efforts by the Coast Guard and other federal authorities to evict them, the Indians maintained control of the island until mid-1971 The 1970s saw another series of confrontations Led by Dennis Banks and Russell Means, AIM orchestrated a “long march” from San Francisco to Washington D.C., in 1972 Upon arriving in the capital, they took control of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building They temporarily renamed it the Native American Embassy, suggesting that Native Americans are treated as foreigners  Latinos - Cesar Chavez organized the United Farm Workers in the late 1960s, which used nonviolent protest and strikes to improve the treatment of migrant farm workers Most famously, in the early 1970s the UFW went on strike against California grape growers and sparked a nationwide boycott of California grapes In 1975, California’s government responded by enacting laws requiring growers to negotiate with UFW representatives Japanese American Citizens League  Organization founded in 1929 to protect Japanese Americans’ civil rights The JACL worked for decades to receive government compensation for property lost by Japanese Americans interned in camps during World War II Ralph Nader  Leader of the consumer rights movement during the 1960s and 1970s; A lawyer, Nader investigated American automakers and discovered that flawed car designs led to increased traffic accidents and deaths The publishing of his findings in Unsafe at Any Speed (1965) led Congress to enact legislation regulating safety features for all automobiles, including making seat belts standard equipment Closure Assignment #8 Answer the following questions based on what you have learned from Chapter 30, Section 3: How did the government make immigration for Latinos and Asians easier in the 1960s? (At least sentence) Why was it particularly important to Latino activists to gain political rights? (At least sentence) How and why was the Native American struggle for equality different from that of Latinos? (At least sentences)  Toxic Waste  Poisonous byproduct of human activity; In 1962, biologist Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring described the deadly impact that pesticides, acid rain, and other toxic wastes were having on birds and other animals Carson’s book sparked the environmental movement Earth Day  (April 22, 1970) Nationwide protest against human caused pollution involving 20 million Americans The protest eventually developed into an annual government-sponsored conserv ation event Environmental Protection Agency  Created by Congress in 1970, the agency’s mission is to protect the “entire ecological chain” by cleaning up and protecting the environment Clean Air Act / Clean Water Act / Endangered Species Act  Clean Air Act (1970) – Law aimed at reducing air pollution by limiting the emissions from factories and automobiles  Clean Water Act (1973) – Law which limits the pollution of water by industry and agriculture  Endangered Species Act (1973) – Law which promotes the protection of endangered animals and plants Endangered Species Act