Cold War Context & Escalation
This foreign policy goal aimed to stop the spread of communism throughout Southeast Asia.
Containment
This was the primary style of hit-and-run warfare used by the Vietcong against U.S. forces in the dense jungles.
Guerilla Warfare
Ratified in 1971, this amendment lowered the voting age to 18, argued by the phrase "old enough to fight, old enough to vote."
Passed in 1973, this law requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops to limit executive power.
War Powers Act
President Nixon’s policy of gradually withdrawing U.S. troops while training South Vietnamese forces to take over the fight.
Vietnamization
This theory suggested that if one country in Southeast Asia fell to communism, its neighbors would quickly follow.
Domino Theory
U.S. forces used this chemical defoliant to clear jungle leaves, though it later caused major health issues for veterans.
Agent Orange
Because it was the first conflict where citizens saw graphic daily footage on the news, Vietnam is often called the first one of these.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was eventually repealed because many felt it gave this branch of government too much power.
Executive Branch
This 1975 event marked the final collapse of South Vietnam and the official end of the war.
Fall of Saigon
This 1964 event involved reported attacks on U.S. ships and led to a massive escalation of American involvement in the war.
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
This 1968 surprise attack by the North Vietnamese during a holiday ceasefire was a military defeat for them but a massive political turning point in the U.S.
Tet Offensive
This term describes the growing gap between what the Johnson administration reported and what the public saw happening on the news.
Credibility Gap
In New York Times Co. v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not use "prior restraint" to stop the publication of these.
Pentagon Papers
The War Powers Act was a direct reaction to the perceived overreach of the President during this conflict
Vietnam War
This resolution gave President Lyndon B. Johnson a "blank check" to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
This was the network of paths through Laos and Cambodia used by North Vietnam to supply the Vietcong in the South.
The Ho Chi Minh Trail
These leaked top-secret documents revealed that the government had been dishonest with the public about the progress and scope of the war.
The Pentagon Papers
This term refers to the U.S. military draft system that was criticized for being unfair to the poor and minorities during the conflict.
Selective Service
Following the war, American foreign policy became much more cautious about intervening in foreign conflicts, a trend known as this "Syndrome."
Vietnam Syndrome
This international organization was formed in 1954 to prevent communist expansion in Southeast Asia, similar to NATO in Europe
SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization)
This Texas native and U.S. Army Master Sergeant was awarded the Medal of Honor for his "heroism or charity" during a daring 1968 rescue mission.
Roy Benavidez
President Richard Nixon used this term to describe the large group of Americans who supported the war but did not join public protests.
Silent Majority
This landmark Supreme Court case ruled that students did not lose their 1st Amendment rights at school when they wore black armbands to protest the war.
Tinker v. Des Moines
Designed by Maya Lin, this V-shaped black granite wall in D.C. honors those who served and died in the conflict
Vietnam Veterans Memorial