His Ch22-2

Name: Period:

Email:

His Ch22-2

Multiple Choice

Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Much of the nation supported Lyndon Johnson's determination to contain communism in Vietnam . Therefore, President Johnson began sending large numbers of American troops to fight alongside the South Vietnamese Army against the forces of the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army. Johnson did not want to send more troops to Vietnam but his Generals believed the South Vietnam army could not win alone. Working closely with his foreign-policy advisers, particularly Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Johnson began dispatching tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers to fight in Vietnam.

A 1965 poll showed that 61 percent of Americans supported the U.S . policy in Vietnam, while only 24 percent opposed it. There were dissenters in the Johnson administration. In October of 1964, Undersecretary of State George Ball argued against escalation. Remember, Johnson kept Kennedy’s advisors and continued his policies on Vietnam. They had a strong influence on Johnson so he sent more troops.

The American commander in South Vietnam, General William Westmoreland said he wanted more troops. By 1967, the number of U.S .

troops in Vietnam had climbed to about 500,000.

Johnson felt that the South Vietnam army was not able to fight the war against the North without help. What did Johnson do?

a.	Sent more military aid to the South	c.	Asked the Chinese in Taiwan to help
b.	Discussed ways to get out of Vietnam	d.	Send more American troops

What percentage of the American people supported the war in 1965?

a.	50	c.	76
b.	61	d.	most people were against the war

One of the strongest Johnson advisors who supported the war was Secretary of Defense _____

a.	George Ball	c.	Dean Rusk
b.	Robert McNamara	d.	George McBundy

Who was General of U.S. forces in Vietnam?

a.	General George Ball	c.	Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara
b.	General William Westrmorland	d.	Secretary of State Dean Rusk

The Vietcong

*Vietcong*	*Ho Chi Minh* *North Vietnam Leader* *Supported the Vietcong in the South*
The United States entered the war in Vietnam believing that its superior weaponry would lead it to victory over the Vietcong. However, the jungle terrain and the enemy's guerrilla tactics soon turned the war into a frustrating stalemate. Because the Vietcong lacked the high-powered weaponry of the American forces, they used hit-and-run and ambush tactics, as well as a keen knowledge of the jungle terrain, to their advantage. Moving secretly in and out of the general population, the Vietcong destroyed the notion of a frontline by attacking U.S . troops in both the cities and the countryside . Because some of the enemy lived amidst the civilian population, it became increasingly difficult for U .S. troops to discern friend from foe . A woman selling soft drinks to U .S. soldiers might be a Vietcong spy. A boy standing on the corner might be ready to throw a grenade. In addition, the enemy laced the terrain with countless booby traps and land mines . American soldiers marching through South Vietnam's jungles and rice paddies dealt not only with sweltering heat and leeches but also with deadly traps. The Vietcong also had an elaborate system of tunnels throughout Vietnam. General Westmorland introduced the concept of the body count, or the tracking of Vietcong killed in battle, the general believed that as the number of Vietcong dead rose, the enemy's surrender would become inevitable . However, the Vietcong had no intention of quitting their fight. What Ho Chi Minh had told the French in the 1940s applied also to the Americans, "You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours," he warned, "but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win ." The campaign to win the "hearts and minds" of the South Vietnamese villagers proved more difficult than the Americans imagined. Some of the tactics the Americans used to battle the Vietcong also harmed much of the rural population. For instance, in their attempt to expose Vietcong tunnels and hideouts, the U.S . planes dropped napalm, a gasoline-based bomb that set fire to the jungle. American planes also sprayed Agent Orange, a leaf-killing toxic chemical that devastated the landscape. The saturation use of these weapons often wounded villagers and left villages and their surrounding area in ruins.

Who had the superior weapons in Vietnam?

a.	the Americans	c.	the Vietminh
b.	the Vietcong	d.	the North Vietnamese

It can be said that Americans were

a.	happy about their success in winning over the civilian population in South Vietnam	c.	frustrated about their inability to win over the villagers
b.	unconcerned about winning over the civilian population	d.	able to win over the civilian population

Judging by the comments of their leaders, who had the greatest concern for human life?

a.	the Vietcong	c.	the South Vietnamese
b.	the North Vietnamese	d.	the Americans

Sinking Morale

In the beginning the morale of the American troops was high. Also many of the troops were volunteers and many came from middle and upper middle class home. As the war continued, American morale dropped steadily. as some soldiers turned to alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. The new people coming into the army reflected the new American culture with its emphasis on drugs. The late 1960’s was the start of the “hippie” generation. Morale would worsen during the later years of the war when soldiers realized they were fighting even as their government was negotiating for peace.

Despite the low morale among some U.S. troops, most soldiers firmly believed in their cause-to halt the spread of communism. They took patriotic pride in fulfilling their duty, just as their fathers had done in World War II.

Many American soldiers fought courageously. Particularly heroic were the thousands of soldiers who endured years of torture and confinement as prisoners of war.Their torture was made worse by the anti-war protests at home.

Soldiers using drugs in Vietnam

Which statement below is true about American soldiers in Vietnam?

a.	later in the war some took drugs	c.	later in the war none took drugs
b.	later in the war all took drugs	d.	most took drugs all through the war

Which statement below is true about solders in Vietnam?

a.	The use of drugs by some soldiers reflected their frustration with the war	d.	all of these statements are true
b.	Not all soldiers used drugs, most were conscientious and dedicated fighters	e.	none of these statements are true
c.	The soldiers in Vietnam were kids who reflected the culture they cam from

10.

What effect did the anti-war protests have on the American prisoners of war in Vietnam?

a.	made imprisonment a little better	c.	had no effect on imprisonment
b.	made imprisonment a-lot worse	d.	the Vietnamese had no knowledge of the anti-war protests in America

Secretary of State Dean Rusk - President Johnson - Secretary of Defense Robert McManara

THE GREAT SOCIETY SUFFERS

When President Johnson took office from Kennedy, he wanted to put in place many new domestic programs called, “The Great Society.” Medicare was one of those domestic programs. As the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam continued to mount, the war grew more costly. As a result, the nation's economy began to suffer. The inflation rate, which had remained at 2 percent through most of the early 1960s, nearly tripled by 1969. President Johnson had been determined to pay for both the war and his Great Society programs. Inflation means there is a rise in prices.

However, the cost of financing the Vietnam War became too great. In August of 1967, Johnson asked for a tax increase to help fund the war and to keep inflation in check. Congressional conservatives agreed, but only after demanding and receiving a $6 billion reduction in funding for Great Society programs. Vietnam was slowly claiming an early casualty: Johnson's grand vision of domestic reform.

11.

The “Great Society” was a

a.	military program	c.	domestic program
b.	Vietnam war program	d.	financial program

12.

We can infer from the reading that _____ might be part of the President Johnson’s “Great Society”

a.	aid to education	c.	military pay raises to boost morale
b.	scientific research into new weapons	d.	political fund raising

13.

The opposite of a conservative is a liberal. Therefore we can infer from the reading that President Johnson must have been a _____ on domestic issues.

a.	conservative	c.	a hawk
b.	socialist	d.	liberal

14.

Put these wars in the correct order according to the presidents who administered them

World War I - World War II - Vietnam - Iraq

a.	Roosevelt - Wilson - Johnson - Bush	c.	Wilson - Roosevelt - Johnson - Bush
b.	Roosevelt - Johnson - Wilson - Bush	d.	Johnson - Wilson - Bush - Roosevelt

15.

If the inflation rate rises as it did in the Vietnam war, the same amount of money will buy _____

a.	more	c.	the same
b.	less	d.	inflation has no effect on the value of money

The Living Room War

By 1967, a majority of Americans still supported the war. However, cracks were beginning to show. The media, mainly television, helped heighten the nation's growing concern about the war. Vietnam was America's first "living-room war," in which footage of combat appeared nightly on the news in millions of homes. And what people saw on their television screens seemed to contradict the optimistic war scenario that the Johnson administration was painting. Quoting body-count statistics that showed large numbers of Communists dying in battle, General Westmoreland continually reported that a Vietcong surrender was imminent. Victory "lies within our grasp-the enemy's hopes are bankrupt," he declared. Defense Secretary McNamara backed up the general's rosy analyses. saying that he could see *"the light at the end of the tunnel."*	*Senator William Fulbright* *Critic of the Johnson Vietnam policy*
However, the repeated television images of Americans in body bags told a different story. Communists may have been dying, but so too were Americans nearly 16,000 between 1965 and 1967. Critics charged that a credibility gap was growing between what the Johnson administration reported and what was really happening. One such critic was Senator J. William Fulbright, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Fulbright, a former Johnson ally, charged the president with a "lack of candor" in portraying the war effort. In early 1966, the senator conducted a series of televised committee hearings to investigate the Johson war policies. It was in 1967 that the war protest movement on college campuses grew and began to be noticed.

16.

Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara said, “We see light at the end of the tunnel” What did he mean?

a.	there is no end insight for the war	c.	the Vietcong are being driven out of their tunnels
b.	the war will be over soon	d.	critics of the war have “tunnel vision”

17.

Why was the Vietnam war called, “the living room war?”

a.	people could see the war every night on television	c.	America needed living room and that is one of the reasons we went to war
b.	most Americans were untouched by the way and went about their lives normally	d.	most soldiers preferred their living rooms at home to the Vietnam jungles

18.

The difference between what Americans were told by the Johnson administration and what they saw on television every night was called

a.	light at the end of the tunnel	c.	body count
b.	Johnsons folly	d.	the credibility gap

19.

The Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was William Fullbright. How did he feel about the war?

a.	he was unconcerned	c.	he was suspicious and critical
b.	he ignored it	d.	he was supportive

20.

Which media was responsible for raising the American publics concern over the Vietnam war?

a.	television	c.	General Westmorland
b.	the Department of Defense	d.	the college campus protests