What is Nationalism and what is patriotism? How does the Vietnam war influence nationalism?
Nationalism
Sense of pride in your country
Some symbols- eagle, magnolia, school shirt, American flag, etc.
Patriotism
Loyalty
Problems in V. start with WWII
France controlled Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia
WWII- japan invades Indochina
US supports Ho Chi Minh- Vietminh- commu nist group
Vietnam declares independence from France after WWII
The French
Try to drive out Ho Chi Minh
France needs help and asks US
Anti- colonization v. anti- communist
Fear of domino effect
Soviet union- China- Korea- Vietnam… where does it stop?
By 1945 US paid around 3/4 of Frances war co sts.
Geneva Accords (1954)
Recognized Vietnam as independent nation
But Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel (2 years)
North- Ho Chi Minh
South- Ngo Dinh Diem
General election in 1956
South refused general election
Civil war- US in the middle.
Search and destroy missions
Missions
Find enemy
Bomb enemy
Destroy supply lines
Force enemy into the open
Napalm
Chemical Warfare Program
Operation ranch hand 1962-1971
20 million gallons of defoliants and herbicides over rural areas of south Vietnam agent orange estimated 400000 people were killed or maimed and 500000 children were born with defects.
War of attrition-
3.2 million tons of explosives used
American soldier stats:
Poor and working class 90%
19- 26 year olds until 1966 a lot of them were African American a lot of women but they were mostly nurses.
Media
Death list
The press had unprecedented freedom of access to combat zones.
Newspaper reporters
Photographers
Television crews
The military hired own crew to take pictures. Over 1 million photos
Kent university shootings
Ohio
Students burned a building
Ohio national guards came
Students throw rocks at them
Guns fire, 4 students killed
The effects soldiers
58200 killed
100000 wounded (45000 permanently wounded)
PTSD- post traumatic stress disorder
Agent orange
Drug abuse
Alcoholism
Negative stereotypes
Divisiveness led to improper commemoration
Vietnam timeline:
1945- Ho chi Mahn declares independence
50- us pledged to provide military aid
53-
LBJ and the great society
Johnson wanted the great society to be his legacy.
Tax cuts
Pushes through Kennedy’s 10 billion tax cut. Results in substantial economic growth
Civil rights
Economic inequality
War on poverty; Medicare and Medicaid; head start; model cities; education programs
Gulf of Tonkin
Johnson commits to escalating…

V. tactics
No front lines
Search and destroy
Agent orange
Bombing
Napalm
My Lai massacre
Soldiers morale low.

90% of soldiers are poor or working class average is 19
Goals of women’s movement baby control- by the 60s 80% of women used birth control equal pay- make about 60% of a mans pay today is 77% end to domestic violence more women in management and executive positions civil rights act end to discrimination shared responsibilities for housework and child rearing
The personal is political
Women's liberation movement-
Target gender norms
Radicalization of the movement
1968 miss America pageant
PEST- 1970s
Politics- Nixon, distrust in government
Economics- recession, stagflation (when unemployment goes up then inflation goes up.)
Social- movements radicalized, lose