Question | Answer |
Vietminh | Vietnamese Communists who fought for Vietnamese independence from France |
domino theory | idea that if a nation falls under Communist control, nearby nations will also fall under Communist control |
Geneva Accords(1954) | peace agreement that divided Vietnam into Communist N. Vietnam & non Communist S. Vietnam |
Ngo Dinh Diem | S. Vietnam's anti-Communist, Catholic president who cancelled elections in 1956 |
Vietcong | S. Vietnamese Communists who fought against S. Vietnam |
Ho Chi Minh Trail | jungle path along the borders of Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia used by N. Vietnam to supply arms to Vietcong |
Tonkin Gulf Resolution(1964) | gave the president broad powers to wage war in Vietnam |
Robert McNamara | Secretary of Defense, advised president on escalation of Vietnam War |
Dean Rusk | Secretary of State, advised president on escalation of Vietnam War |
Wiliam Westmoreland | US General, requested more troops |
napalm | gasoline based substance used in bombs that the US dropped in Vietnam to burn away jungle |
Agent Orange | a leaf killing chemical sprayed by US planes to expose Vietcong hideouts |
search-and-destroy missions | US military raids on S. Vietnamese villages to find Vietcong. Often resulted in destruction of village & displacement of villagers |
credibility gap | the difference between what is said & what is actually being done that created public distrust of government |
New Left | youth dominated political movement of the 1960's such as: Students for a Democratic Society & the Free Speech Movement |
dove | a person who opposed the Vietnam War & believed the US should withdraw |
hawk | a person who supported US involvement in the Vietnam War & believed US should increase military support |
Tet Offensive (1968) | massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on S. Vietnamese towns & cities during lunar new year truce |
Vietnamization | Nixon's strategy for ending US involvement in Vietnam War, included gradual withdrawal of US troops |
Silent majority | Nixon's term for moderate, mainstream Americans who quietly supported his policies |
Pentagon Papers | document leaked to press in 1971 revealing US government was not honest about its intentions in the Vietnam War |
Henry Kissinger | advisor to President Nixon who helped negotiate US withdrawal from Vietnam |
War Powers Act(1973) | law limiting a president's right to send troops into battle without consulting Congress |
My Lai Massacre | US troops killed over 100 innocent Vietnamese(mostly women & children) as ordered by their commanders |
Hubert Humphrey | Johnson's Vice President who ran as Democratic candidate in 1968 presidential elections |
George Wallace | third party candidate in the 1968 presidential elections |
Robert Kennedy | New York Democratic senator who chose not to run in the primary elections against Johnson |
Eugene McCarthy | Ran in Democratic primary elections against Johnson, but lost by a slim margin |
Free Speech Movement | antiestablishment New Left organization that originated in a 1964 clash between students & administrators at the Univesity of CA at Berkeley |
Ho Chi Minh | Communist leader of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War |
Dien Bien Phu(1954) | French outpost in N. Vietnam where the Vietmenh defeated the French & resulted in France's withdrawal from Vietnam |