o    Ho Chi Minh: the leader of the Indochinese Communist party

o    Dien Bien Phu: The French had to surrender and were forced to surrender when the Vietminh overran the French outpost at Dien Bien Phu, in northwestern Vietnam

o    Geneva Accords: this temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel.

o    Ngo Dinh Diem: South Vietnam's president, a strong anti-Communist

o    Vietcong: a Communist opposition group in the South

o    Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Congress approved Johnson's request, granting Johnson broad military powers in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh Trail: a network of paths along the borders of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia

o    Napalm: a gasoline-based bomb that set fire to the jungle.

o    Agent Orange: a leaf-killing toxic chemical

o    Credibility Gap: the media and government telling the people how many Americans were dying and comparing them to actually what was happening.

o    Vietnamization: called for the gradual withdrawal of U.S troops in order for the South Vietnamese to take on a more active combat role in the war.

o    Silent Majority: moderate, mainstream Americans who quietly supported the U.S efforts in Vietnam

o    My Lai Massacre: Lieutenant William Calley Jr. had massacred innocent civilians in a small village of My Lai in northern South Vietnam.

o    Kent State University: a massive student protest led to the burning of the ROTC building.

o    Pentagon Papers: a 7,000 page document revealed among other things that the government had drawn up plans for entering the war even as President Johnson promised that he would not send American troops to Vietnam.

o    War Powers Act: stipulated that a president must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending forces into a hostile area without a declaration of war.

Early Years of Vietnam

The U.S involved with France to stop the spread of communism in the Southeast Asia, the U.S used its military to support South Vietnam. Robert McNamara was the Secretary of Defense. Congress approved Johnson's request and adopted the Tonkin Gulf resolution, while not declaring a war, it granted Johnson broad military powers in Vietnam. Most men were drafted during the Vietnam War, under this system, all males had to register with their local draft boards when they turned 18. All registrants were screened, unless they were excluded- such as for medical reasons- in the event of war, men between the ages of 18 and 26 would be called into military service. Thousands of men attempted to find ways around the draft.

Some men sought out sympathetic doctors to grant medical exemptions. One of the most common ways to avoid the draft was to receive a college deferment by which a young man enrolled in a university could put off his military service. The fighting in Vietnam was terrible because of their terrain was often treacherous, such as the thick jungles and rivers, and the very humid and hot weather in Vietnam. No one knew Vietnam's territory, or how the land looked like, their rivals were at an advantage since they knew the territory of South Vietnam. The Tet offensive greatly shook the American public, which had been told repeatedly and had come to believe that the enemy was close to defeat.

1968

On April 4, 1968, America was rocked by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in Memphis. King stood on his hotel balcony, James Earl Ray thrust a high-powered rifle out of a window and squeezed the trigger. Two months later, Kennedy had became a strong candidate in the Democratic party, on June 4, Kennedy won the crucial California primary. On June 5, he gave a victory speech at a Los Angeles hotel. On his way out he passed through the hotel's kitchen, where a young Palestinian immigrant, Sirhan Sirhan, was hiding a gun, Sirhan, who later said he was angered by Kennedy's support of Israel, shot the senator.

The Tet Offensive was surprise attack from Vietcong. On January 30 was the Vietnamese equivalent of New's Year's Eve, the beginning of the lunar new year festivities known in Vietnam as Tet. Throughout that day in 1968, villagers were taking an advantage of week-long truce proclaimed for Tet. That night the Vietcong launched an overwhelming attack on over 100 towns and cities in South Vietnam, as well as 12 U.S air bases. The Tet offensive continued for about a month before U.S and South Vietnamese forces re-gained control of the cities. The Vietcong lost about 32,000 soldiers, while the American and ARVN forces lost little more than 3,000. After Johnson learned about Walter Cronkite's pessimistic analysis of the war, the president lamented "If I've lost Walter, then it's over. I've lost Mr. Average Citizen."

Later Years of the War

Nixon's plan to stop the war was known as Vietnamization, called for the gradual withdrawal of U.S troops in order for the South Vietnamese to take on a more active combat role in the war. But he was also keeping his policy which was establishing what the called a "peace with honor." Disaster struck hardest at Kent State University in Ohio, where a massive student protest led ti the burning of the ROTC building. In response to the growing unrest, the local mayor called in the Nation Guard. On May 4, 1970, the Guards fired live ammunition into a crowd of campus protesters who were hurling rocks at them. The gunfire wounded nine people and killed four.



On March 16, 1968, Lieutenant Calley Jr. had massacred innocent civilians in the small village of My Lai in Northern South Vietnam. The troops insisted that they were not responsible for the shootings because they were only following Lieutenant calley's orders. 25 army officers were charged with some degree of responsibility, but only Calley was convicted and imprisoned. On March 29, 1973, the last U.S combat troops left for home. For America, the Vietnam war had ended. Almost 60,000 Americans were killed, 303,000 were wounded. Many Vietnam veterans readjusted successfully yo civilian life. However, about 15% of the 3.3 million soldiers suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. About $173 billion was wasted during the Vietnam War.

1960's culture

A hippie was a person who rejected established institutions and values and sought spontaneity, direct personal relations expressing love, and expanded consciousness, often expressed externally in the wearing of casual, folksy clothing and of beads, headbands, and used garments. Fashion became a huge impact to their society but also in today's society. Bright colored shirts, tie die t-shirts, long hair, beards. Women wearing extremely short shorts and showing off skin even more.

Music was also another huge impact on modern day society, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and so much more. Many taboos were broken, in this time period, different types of genres were created, such as, rock n roll, blues rock, garage rock, and R&B. Sports were also another aspect of the 1960's, dividing the racial tensions, and proving to the world that race doesn't determine how well your performance is.