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100
Who was U.S. President at the end of the Vietnam War?
Richard Nixon
100
French military base attacked by Vietminh troops; French surrendered
Dien Bien Phu
100
Expanded Johnson's war powers; allowed him to commit troops to South Vietnam; allowed him to declare war without Congressional approval
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
100
Eisenhower's theory that if Vietnam became communist, its closest neighbors would follow
domino theory
100
Which U.S. president sent Special Forces troops to help fight the Vietcong?
President Kennedy
200
Who was leader of communist North Vietnam?
Ho Chi Minh
200
North Vietnam attacked American destroyer; Johnson ordered airstrike against North Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin
200
Restricted President's ability to send nation to war; can send troops but must ask congress within 48 hours
War Powers Act
200
South Vietnamese guerilla fighters supported by communists in North Vietnam
Vietcong
200
Group of people who questioned the war; included liberal politicians and students who saw the conflict as localized civil war
Doves
300
Who was the unpopular, noncommunist South Vietnam leader?
Ngo Dinh Diem
300
Village in South Vietnam where American soldiers killed unarmed civilians
My Lai massacre
300
Name one reason the U.S. became involved in Vietnam.
1. U.S. wanted France as an ally in the Cold War 2. U.S. wanted to support any government that was fighting communists
300
jellied gasoline that was dropped in canisters and exploded on impact, setting fire to large areas
napalm
300
How was Americans knowledge and understanding of the Vietnam war different than earlier wars?
It was the first televised war; they could see for themselves what was happening in Vietnam; "the living room war"
400
Group who supported Johnson's war policies; mostly conservatives who believed the war was crucial to American Cold War victory.
Hawks
400
named after Vietnamese New Year; coordinated assault by Vietcong and North Vietnamese on South Vietnamese cities and bases
Tet Offensive
400
Nixon's plan for American forces to withdraw and South Vietnamese forces to assume more combat duties
Vietnamization
400
classified government history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, published by the New York Times in 1971
Pentagon Papers
400
Explain the credibility gap.
The difference between what the government was telling Americans about the war and what they were seeing on TV; American public's growing distrust of government
500
Johnson's advisor and American commander in Vietnam
William Westmoreland
500
Name two ways fighting in Vietnam was different than anything the U.S. had encountered in previous wars.
1. traveled quickly and quietly 2. attacked suddenly then faded into jungle/tunnels 3. set booby traps around U.S. encampments 4. were difficult to tell apart from friendly Vietnamese
500
What were the agreements made in the Paris Peace Accords? (4)
1. U.S., S. Vietnam, N. Vietnam and Vietcong would stop fighting 2. American troops withdraw from S. Vietnam 3. N. Vietnamese troops remain in S. Vietnam 4. S. Vietnam's noncommunist government remain in power
500
Nixon's foreign policy based on concrete national interests rather than ideology
realpolitik
500
Nixon did this secretly to cut off supplies going to North Vietnam
bombed Ho Chi Minh Trail