Final Exam
Vietnam and America

1. Discuss the war under Johnson (1963-68). Why did the Johnson administration expand U.S. military in Vietnam in 1965? How did it do this? Were these actions effective? If not, why were they ineffective? In what ways did the Johnson administration deceive the U.S. Congress and the American people about the reasons for increasing American intervention in Vietnam and the tactics the administration employed to fight the war?

Vietnam consumed Johnson’s energy and his presidency. Johnson, who believed in containment and the domino theory, saw Vietnam as a test. His foreign policy advisors, many who remained from the Kennedy administration, shared his views. Johnson had been in Congress when China became Communist, and he vividly recalled the domestic political turmoil that followed as Republicans attacked Democrats for “losing” China. He would not, he said, “be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.” The war was going poorly in South Vietnam and the political situation in Saigon became uncertain as one unstable government succeeded another. Also, the 1964 Tonkin Gulf crisis was a crucial event in the war’s escalation. Out of frustration, President Johnson, acting on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, ordered bombings of military targets in North Vietnam. This was known as Operation Rolling Thunder. President Johnson also explained that the reason for being over in Vietnam was to help South Vietnam defend its independence and to strengthen world order. Operation Rolling Thunder was a bombing campaign that began in February 1965 and lasted until the end of October 1968. It was the longest bombing campaign ever conducted by the U.S. Air Force. During this period the U.S. engaged in a bombing campaign designed to force Ho Chi Minh to abandon his ambition to take over South Vietnam.