Early Involvement & Causes
This Cold War belief said if one country fell to communism, others would follow.
What is the Domino Theory?
This resolution gave President Johnson broad power to expand the war (ex. green light)
What is the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
This 1968 offensive shocked Americans and showed the war was not close to ending.
What is the Tet Offensive?
This amendment lowered the voting age to 18 during the Vietnam War.
What is the 26th Amendment?
This event marked the end of the Vietnam War when North Vietnam captured the South’s capital.
What is the fall of Saigon?
This young president increased military advisors and aid to South Vietnam, but did not send large combat troops.
Who is John F. Kennedy?
This U.S. president unquestionably escalated U.S. troop involvement the most.
Who is Lyndon B. Johnson?
This policy shifted fighting responsibility to South Vietnam while the U.S. withdrew troops.
What is Vietnamization?
This movement described young people rejecting traditional values in the 1960s.
What is the "counterculture" or "hippies"?
This leaked government report revealed officials had misled the public about the war.
What are the Pentagon Papers?
This conflict between France and Vietnamese nationalist forces led by Ho Chi Minh ended with a major French defeat at Dien Bien Phu.
What is the First Indochina War?
This bombing campaign targeted North Vietnam to weaken its ability to fight.
What is Operation Rolling Thunder?
This term describes young American men avoiding military service during the Vietnam War, often by fleeing the country or finding legal exemptions.
What is draft dodging or draft evasion?
This domestic program created by LBJ suffered because war spending took priority.
What is the Great Society?
This concept refers to the constitutional system of dividing power among branches of government, reinforced after Vietnam through laws limiting presidential war powers.
What is checks and balances?
This agreement temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel.
What are the Geneva Accords?
This supply route allowed North Vietnam to send troops and materials to the South
What is the Ho Chi Minh Trail?
This law limited the president’s ability to keep troops in combat without Congressional approval.
What is the War Powers Act?
This group (sometimes referred to as the 4th branch of government) played a key role in turning public opinion against the war through reporting.
What is the news media?
This psychological condition, experienced by many Vietnam veterans after returning home, includes symptoms such as anxiety, flashbacks, and difficulty adjusting to civilian life.
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
This type of Cold War conflict describes Vietnam, where superpowers supported opposing sides without directly fighting.
What is a proxy war?
This chemical used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War was intended to destroy dense jungle vegetation but had severe long-term environmental and health effects.
What is Agent Orange?
This term describes the growing distrust between the U.S. government and the public during the war.
What is the credibility gap?
This 1970 event, in which National Guard troops fired on student protesters, intensified anti-war sentiment across the United States.
What is the Kent State shootings?
This Supreme Court case protected the press’s right to publish government documents (even if they are Secret).
What is New York Times Co. v. United States?