Vietnam War Packet
Vietnam War Packet
Vietnam War Packet
1. The Geneva Accords - After the French were defeated in Vietnam, an international conference was held in
Geneva, Switzerland. Representatives of Ho Chi Minh, Bao Dai, Cambodia, Laos, France, the United States,
the Soviet Union, and Britain arranged a peace settlement in which Vietnam was divided into a North Vietnam
and a South Vietnam along the 17th parallel.
1. Ho Chi Minh became president of the Communist dominated North Vietnam, with its capital in Hanoi.
2. Ngo Dinh Diem, a former Vietnamese official who had been living in exile in the United States,
became president of anti communist South Vietnam, with its capital in Saigon.
3. The Geneva agreement called for elections to held in 1956 to unify the country, but Ngo Dinh Diem
and South Vietnam refused to hold the elections because they said that the communist North Vietnam
would not hold fair elections.
4. As a result, Vietnam remained divided.
1. After the dividing of Vietnam, President Dwight D. Eisenhower pledged American support of South Vietnam's
Ngo Dinh Diem in an attempt to enforce the containment policy and stop the spread of communism.
2. By 1960, about 675 U.S. military advisors were in South Vietnam to assist in South Vietnam's struggle against
Communist North Vietnam.
3. Thus, the U.S. became involved in the affairs of Vietnam
Buddhist monk burning himself in the streets of Saigon in protest of Ngo Dinh Diem, 1963.
Source: http://media.photobucket.com/image/burning%20monk/wtsang07/vietnamwarmonk.jpg
Musical Protests
1. During the Vietnam War, many musicians used their music as an avenue to express their anti-Vietnam War
sentiments.
2. Some of the most famous artists and groups to protest the Vietnam War through their music included Creedence
Clearwater Revival, Buffalo Springfield, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Young.
Teach-Ins
1. Teach-Ins took place on college campuses throughout the U.S. during the 1960s as antiwar activists met to
discuss the Vietnam War.
2. Many of the people who participated in these sit-ins felt that the Vietnam Conflict was a civil war that should be
solved by the Vietnamese people alone. Therefore, antiwar protestors continually questioned why America was
involved in the war.
3. Click the link below or google to watch the video and listen to Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth."
1. As you listen, consider the following questions: What does this song teach us about the Vietnam war? Is
it prowar or antiwar? Explain.
2. Buffalo Springfield "For What it's Worth." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5M_Ttstbgs
Draft Resistance
1. In the second half of the 1960s, many antiwar Americans started resisting the draft.
2. Most people who resisted were conscientious objectors, meaning they opposed fighting in the war on moral or
religious grounds.
3. One major point of confrontation for people who resisted the draft was that college students could receive a
deferment, or an official postponement of their call to serve.
1. Meant that those who could not afford to go to college did not have this avenue open to them.
2. Watch the video of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" and consider the following
questions: "What does this song teach us about the Vietnam War and draft? Is it prowar or antiwar?
Explain
Response to Resistance
1. In several instances, Vietnam War Protests ended in violence.
2. Kent State Massacre - 1970, 4 students killed, 9 students wounded at Kent State University in Ohio when U.S.
Army soldiers fired their weapons into a group of protesting student
3. Listen to Neil Young's song "Ohio" written about Kent State Massacre and consider the following questions:
What does this song teach us about the Vietnam war and how Americans felt about the war? Is it pro-war or
anti-war