Key Figures and Events of the Vietnam War
Opposition and Public Sentiment
William Fulbright
Leading the opposition to the war in Congress, the Arkansas senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, held a series of televised hearings showcasing anti-war views.
George Wallace
As the public felt increasingly deceived by the government, distrust began to grow between the government and the people.
Doves
Calling for peace in Vietnam, this group actively opposed the war and the policies of Lyndon Johnson.
Hawks
This group believed that Johnson and the country were not doing enough to win the war in Vietnam and supported escalation.
CIA
In violation of its charter as a foreign intelligence agency, the CIA began to spy on domestic anti-war activists.
COINTELPRO
The FBI used this program to gather information on and discredit anti-war activists within the country.
Tet Offensive
In January of 1968, the North Vietnamese launched this surprise attack against 27 key South Vietnamese cities. Although a military defeat for the North Vietnamese, it succeeded in turning public opinion against Johnson’s policies in Vietnam.
Eugene McCarthy
A little-known senator from Minnesota, he became the anti-war presidential candidate when he garnered over 41% of the Democratic vote in the New Hampshire primary.
Robert Kennedy
This Senator from New York entered the race for the Democratic nomination shortly after the New Hampshire primary. He was poised to win the nomination after his victory in the California primary when he was assassinated by a young, Arab immigrant.
Lyndon Johnson
This president shocked the nation when he went on live television and announced that he would not seek re-election in 1968.
Hubert Humphrey
He would win the Democratic nomination for president at the tumultuous 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago but would lose in the general election.
Historical Context and Key Players
Dien Bien Phu
The French lost their attempt to restore control over their former colony in Indochina when they were defeated by Vietnamese nationalists at this fortress.
Dwight Eisenhower
This American President refused to bail out the French with direct military intervention in Indochina but promised economic and military aid to a new South Vietnam.
Geneva Accords
This agreement by a multinational conference divided Vietnam into North and South, with the assurance that Vietnam-wide unification elections would be held within two years.
17th Parallel
This became the dividing line between a Communist North Vietnam and a Western-backed South Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh
He led the successful resistance of the Viet Minh against the French and became the leader of North Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem
Brutal and corrupt, this South Vietnamese leader would cancel reunification elections. He would be overthrown in a successful coup encouraged by the US in November of 1963.
John F. Kennedy
This American president oversaw a growing American involvement in Vietnam, ordering a sharp increase in the number of military advisors under his flexible response strategy.
“Modernization Theory”
This was the idea that traditional societies of Asia, Africa, and Latin America could develop into modern industrial and democratic nations by following the West’s own path. It provided the impetus for an activist foreign policy in the underdeveloped world.
Viet Cong
These were guerillas loyal to the North Vietnamese communists who conducted attacks, raids, and assassinations in the South.
Lyndon Johnson (Presidency and Escalation)
As president, he oversaw the largest build-ups of American forces in Vietnam. By the end of 1965, he had ordered more than 184,000 American troops into South Vietnam.
Operation Rolling Thunder
This was the code-name for the first regular, full-scale bombings against North Vietnam by the US.
Withdrawal and Aftermath
Vietnamization
This plan called for a gradual drawdown of US troops in Vietnam, with the fighting being taken over by the South Vietnamese, financed and trained by the US.
Nixon Doctrine
Under this policy, the US would honor its existing defense commitments in Southeast Asia but would no longer supply large numbers of American ground troops.
Silent Majority
Nixon appealed for support for his Vietnam policies from this group, whom he believed continued to support the war in Vietnam.
My Lai
Opposition to the war in Vietnam grew when Americans learned that US troops had murdered innocent women and children in this Vietnamese village.
Cambodia
In April of 1970, President Nixon ordered American forces into this neutral country, which North Vietnam had been using as a staging ground for troops, weapons, and supplies.
Kent State University
During nationwide campus protests against the war, four students were killed by the National Guard at Kent State University.
Pentagon Papers
In 1971, the New York Times published these, which documented the blunders and deceptions of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations in Vietnam.
War Powers Act
Passed by Congress in 1973, this act required the president to report to Congress within 48 hours after committing troops to a foreign conflict, and such limited authorization would end in 60 days unless extended by Congress.