US History Vietnam War by Moritz Mayer

Domino Theory

moritz_mayerusa — 2015-02-25 17:28:38 UTC

The domino theory was a theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s, that speculated that if one state in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. The domino theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War to justify the need for American intervention around the world.

Ho Chi Minh

moritz_mayerusa — 2015-02-25 17:32:14 UTC

Hồ Chí Minh, born Nguyễn Sinh Côn, or Nguyễn Sinh Cung, also known as Nguyễn Tất Thành and Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He was a key figure in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, as well as the People's Army of Vietnam and the Việt Cộng during the Vietnam War.

The Draft

2015-02-27 16:53:42 UTC

During the Vietnam War, about two-third of American troops were volunteered, the rest were selected for military service through the drafts.Most of U.S. soldiers drafted during the Vietnam War were men from poor and working-class families. For many reasons, a lot of people tried to avoid or delay their military service and there were some legal way to do that. Men who had physical problems, were attending college, or were needed at home to support their families might be granted deferments.

The Media and the War

moritz_mayerusa — 2015-02-27 17:00:09 UTC

Vietnam was the first war that issued full freedom to the press, allowing media to cover the war astheysaw it. Without censorship, appalling images enabled the public to see war, as they never had before. Many people believe that it was the media that sparked the lack of support for the war. The Tet Offensive, for example, would become one of the most controversial and climactic events in which the media played a role. Up to that point, the media had portrayed the U.S. as winning the war. When the North Vietnamese sprung an attack on the U.S. embassy in Saigon, however, the American public watched on as if they were there. As the images filtered across TV screens and magazines pages, people began to doubt President Johnson’s creditability. In just a few days American support for the war took a rapid turn around.

The Antiwar Movement

moritz_mayerusa — 2015-02-27 17:07:30 UTC

A social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many activists distinguish between anti-war movements and peace movements. Anti-war activists work through protest and other grossroots means to attempt to pressure a government (or governments) to put an end to a particular war or conflict.

Tet

2015-02-27 17:28:48 UTC

Tet

2015-02-27 17:28:48 UTC

Tet Offensive

2015-02-27 17:28:50 UTC

On January 31, 1968, around 70,000 Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched the Tet Offensive. A coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam General Vo Nguyen Giap, leader of the Communist People’s Army of Vietnam, planned the offensive in an attempt both to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its support of the Saigon regime.