Terms

Ngo Dinh Diem

After rejecting the Geneva accords, the U.S. became allies with Ngo Dinh Diem. Diem was a Southern-Vietnamese Catholic in a largely Buddhist nation. He was anti-Communist and extremely corrupt. A fraudulent election gave him 98% of the vote. Diem’s Saigon regime was aided by American money and a national guard created by Michigan State University police experts. Diem started to overstep the boundaries of his power as he abolished village elections, appointed his supporters to public office, threw dissenters in jail, and shut down newspapers. Diem attracted more opponents as he could not effectively use American aid. With American backing, Vietnamese generals killed Diem in November 1963.

Ho Chi Minh

While the French exploited Vietnam for its natural resources, Vietnamese nationals turned to Ho for help. Born in 1890, Ho had joined the French communist party after WWI. During WWII, the Ho-led Vietminh joined with the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to harass Japanese and French imperialists. However, the U.S. later backed a return to French rule because it wanted French cooperation in the Cold War, Southeast Asia was a source of natural resources, the area was vital for defense, and Ho was communist.

Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger was President Nixon’s national security advisor and called bombing North Vietnam (Hanoi) in order to got concessions, jugular diplomacy. Kissenger and Nixon escalated the war with more attacks on North Vietnam, the CIA’s Operation Phoenix (assassination of enemy civilians in the South), the bombing of Cambodia, and the mining of Haiphong.

General Westmoreland

In 1968, the Viet Cong controlled much of the Vietnamese countryside. General William Westmoreland used search-and-destroy tactics that were ill-suited to face the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese ambushes. Westmoreland’s prodigal use of American firepower then destroyed the countryside and killed many civilians. Survivors often turned to the communists.

Daniel Ellsberg

Ellsberg was a former Defense Department official working at the RAND Corporation when he provided The New York Times with the Pentagon Papers in June 1971. The papers showed the lies of many American politicians during the Vietnam War.

Peace Corps

This group was created in 1961 and sent teachers, agricultural specialists, and health workers to Third World Nations. 10,000 people volunteered in the first three years. However, many conflicts arose between corps members looking out for the Third World citizens’ desire for neutrality and Washington’s desire for a Third World ally in the Cold War.

Alliance for Progress

This multibillion-dollar program attempted to win favors for the U.S. by helping Latin American Third World Nations with agriculture, transportation, and communications.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

This was an attempted invasion of Cuba by 1,400 Cuban exiles that was planned and backed by the U.S. In April 1961, the expedition left Nicaragua and scrambled ashore at the Bay of Pigs. Within two days, most of the commandos had been captured. The terrain of Castro’s favorite fishing spot had been a major problem for the invaders.

Berlin Crisis, 1961

The Russians called for an end to Western occupation in Berlin since it rested in Eastern Germany. President Kennedy then called for $3.2 billion for defense and the authority to call up reservists. In August, the Soviets built the Berlin Wall in order to stop East Germans from entering the more prosperous West Berlin. After many international protests against Soviet actions, the crisis passed.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

This 1963 treaty with Russia banned nuclear testing in the atmosphere, in outerspace, and underwater. However, this lead to an accelerated arms race.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Castro turned to the Soviets and Premier Khrushchev for help after an American attempted assassination code-named Operation Mongoose failed. Soviet missiles and nuclear bombers were installed in Cuba. Even though the Kennedy administration suspected a weapons build-up, it was not until October 14, 1962 when a U-2 spy plane photographed sites for medium-range missiles that this threat was confirmed. Kennedy then choose to use a naval quarantine of Cuba, preventing military shipments. On October 22, on national TV, Kennedy sent warships and B-52s to the Caribbean and warned the Soviets. Khrushchev demanded that the U.S. pledge to never attack Cuba again and to remove American missiles from Iran. Kennedy refused the 2nd demand. On October 28, the Soviets promised to remove missiles from Cuba. Kennedy later promised to remove missiles from Iran.

“Operation Mongoose”

This was Attorney General Robert Kennedy’s plan to eliminate Fidel Castro. Government officials disrupted Cuban trade, helped anti-Castro groups in Miami, and worked with organized crime to plot to assassinate Castro. The U.S. blockade of Cuba was tightened and Cuba was evicted from the Organization of American States.

“flexible response”

This was a Kennedy principle that replaced “massive retaliation.” Kennedy wanted to contain the Soviets and Third World revolutions in any way possible including guerrilla and nuclear warfare. With this plan, the military budget increased by 15% in 1951 and weapon supplies continued to increase.

JFK and the arms race

JFK may have actually accelerated the arms race. While the Soviets were inferior in the Cuban missile crisis, they had caught up by the late 1960s. However, the Teletype “hotline” between Washington and Moscow was installed to try to prevent new confrontations.

Dominican intervention

In 1962, Trujillo, the American supported dictator was assassinated. In elections later that year, Juan Bosch was elected. Bosch was a non-communist, but was ousted in 1963 by a military coup because he could not improve the economy. A Civil War raged from 1963 to 1965 until President Johnson sent in 22,000 marines because he feared that Bosch had communist ties. Latin Americans were infuriated by this intervention. In 1966, new elections were held as Johaquin Balaguer was elected president.

Strategic Hamlet program

This was an American project to help the Diem government in Vietnam. However, the program actually built up more resistance against Diem’s Saigon regime.

N.L.F./Viet Cong

In 1960, Southern Vietnamese Communists organized the National Liberation Front or Vietcong against the corrupted Diem government. This group attracted many anti-Diem groups in the South.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

This resolution was passed 466 to 0 in the House and 88 to 2 in the Senate on August 7, 1964. It gave the President the power to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces and to prevent further aggression.” This was after the Maddox had come under attack while assisting Southern Vietnamese soldiers on August 2. Later, sonar falsely detected torpedoes and the Maddox fired ferociously.

1954 Geneva Accords

These accords were signed by France and Ho Chi Minh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam and divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, giving Ho’s government the North. This was a military truce line, not a permanent boundary. National elections would be held in 1956, unifying the country. The United States and Bao Dai refused to accept the accords and tried to sabotage them.

Tet Offensive

The beginning of the end of U.S. fighting in Vietnam was realized in January 1968. During Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), Vietcong and Northern Vietnamese forces captured many provincial capitals. Even the American Embassy was penetrated in Saigon. American and South Vietnamese were able to regain the territory later. The destruction of the village of Ben Tre showed how horrible the war was. While this battle was physically an American victory, it was a psychological defeat.

My Lai

This was a March 1968 massacre of 200 Vietnamese civilians which included many women and children. This action was committed by a frustrated American unit, angry over the inability to achieve victory and the death of many fellow soldiers. This massacre was covered up for 20 months before the public know of what happened.

Vietnamization

Vietnamization was the name eventually given to counterinsurgency. Counterinsurgency was the training of native troops to defend themselves against Communism. Vietnam was the first country that this idea was tried on. It was a complete failure.

Domino theory

This was a theory stating that weak nations were like dominoes, they would all topple if just one fell to Communism. This was used as justification for American intervention.

Cambodian incursion

On April 30, 1970, President Nixon announced that the U.S. and South Vietnam were sending forces to invade Cambodia in search of arms depots and enemy forces.

Kent St. and Jackson St.

Protests at these colleges followed the announcing of Cambodian incursion. At Kent St., Ohio National Guardsmen fired into the crowd, killing four people on May 4. On May 14, police and state highway patrolmen blasted a women’s dormitory at the all-black Jackson State. Two were killed and nine were injured. No evidence of student sniping was present.

Pentagon Papers

On June 13, 1971, the New York Times began to publish this top-secret Defense Department study of the Vietnam War. These papers showed lies by President Johnson when it was revealed that the U.S. had actually escalated the Vietnam War.

S.E.A.T.O.

In September 1954, the U.S., Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan signed an anti-Communist pact named the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. Since the Geneva accords prohibited Southern Vietnam’s membership, the SEATO allies signed a special protocol, extending protection to Southern Vietnam against Communist aggression.

Nixon Doctrine

This doctrine stated that the United States would help nations that helped themselves.

Dien Bien Phu

This was the 1954 battle in which the French finally lost control of Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh.

Spiro Agnew

Agnew was Nixon's Vice President that was forced to resign in order to avoid prosecution for taking bribes while he was the governor of Maryland.

"plumbers"; "enemies list"

The plumbers were a special investigations unit that broke into the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist in order to try to find something to discredit Ellsberg and his Pentagon Papers. The enemies list was basically a list of those that opposed the current administration.

CREEP; John Mitchell

Mitchell lead the Committee to Re-Elect the President.

Watergate

President Nixon was implicated for trying to cover-up the scandal. He had no foreknowledge of the incident.

John Dean

Dean was fired by Nixon in April 1973. Dean later testified to a special counsel about Nixon's role in the Watergate cover-up.

John Sirica

Federal Judge Sirica sentenced the Watergate burglars to very strict sentences.

Sam Ervin

Ervin was the chairman of a committee to investigate the Watergate incident.

"Saturday Night Massacre" (October 20, 1973)

This was when Elliot Richardson, the Attorney General, and Archibald Cox, a Harvard law professor were forced to resign.

Nixon's resignation

On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first President in U.S. history to resign.