North Vietnam
What kind of economic system was North Vietnam under?
Communism
Who helped support South Vietnam?
The U.S.
When did the Vietnam war end?
1975
When did the U.S. first send troops and not advisors to Vietnam?
1965
What is it called when young men are forced to join the military?
A draft
What Cold War country was North Vietnam allied with?
USSR
What made supporting South Vietnam so difficult for the US?
There was communism in the South as well, and the government was seen as corrupt.
What year did the Vietnam war begin?
1955
Which U.S. president was elected in part because he promised to pull American troops out of Vietnam?
Richard Nixon
Why was Vietnam called the Living Room War?
Because Americans were getting nightly reports on their televisions in their living rooms (unlike WWII)
What is domino theory?
The belief that if Vietnam became communist, other Southeast Asian countries would also become communist.
What was the capital city of South Vietnam?
Saigon
Who became president after John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Lyndon B. Johnson
List at least three reasons Americans opposed the war.
Possible answers: Class warfare, racial inequality, didn't understand why we were there, didn't like being lied to, moral reasons, media coverage, didn't want to be drafted
Which civil rights leader famously opposed the Vietnam War?
Martin Luther King Jr.
Who was the leader of North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong?
Why was Ngo Dinh Diem such an unpopular leader?
Due to the corruption of his government and his persecution of Buddhists.
What were the tactics that the North Vietnam soldiers used to successfully attack U.S. soldiers.
Guerrilla tactics or hit-and-run tactics
What was the name of the event that took place on the Vietnamese new year in which the North Vietnamese army attacked US forces by surprise. This event effectively convinced the US to leave Vietnam.
Tet Offensive
What was the name of the document Ellsberg released to the New York Times, as well as other newspapers?
Pentagon Papers
What was the name of the agreement that divided Vietnam into North and South along the 17th parallel?
Geneva Accord (1954)
Who was the leader of South Vietnam?
Ngo Dinh Diem
Why did the U.S. lose the Vietnam War?
Acceptable answers discuss: poor objectives, American unhappiness with the war, North Vietnamese refusal to surrender, etc.
What was the name of the conflict that Johnson used to persuade Congress to allow more troops to go to Vietnam?
Gulf of Tonkin
What do we call it when someone leaks official government documents to the media in order to highlight an injustice?
Whistleblowing