Many problems arose for the presidents to deal with in the 1960s. Some of the biggest of these worldly issues are the Vietnam War, The Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, and the USSR being the first into space.
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was one of the most important for America because of the large scale destruction and the hard choices during the war that had to be made by the staff in office. The Vietnam War took place from 1959 to April 30th 1975. Starting from 1960, The National
Liberation From was formed because after Ngo Dinh Diem was elected he alienated
many South Vietnamese during his reign. This angered many people so the
organization was formed. They are also known as the Viet Cong. In 1960 they
used guerrilla tactics to fight against the South Vietnamese.
With the fighting between the South Vietnamese and the Viet
Cong growing, the U.S.
carried on sending more advisors to South Vietnam.
When two U.S.
ships in international water were being directly fired upon on August 2nd and
4th of 1964 (known as the Gulf on Tonkin Incident), Congress countered with the
Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution. This gave the President the power to
have the involvement in Vietnam
rise. He used this power to put the first ground troops in Vietnam
in March of 1965.
Johnson did not want to win the war with America's involvement in the War, but to aid South Vietnam defenses so that they were able to take over. Without the goal of winning in mind, the public and the troops in Vietnam were disappointed as they ended up in a stalemate with the Viet Cong.
From 1965 to 1969 the United States was in a limited war in Vietnam. Johnson wanted to fight a limited War by limiting the fighting parameters. It wouldn't conduct a serious ground assault into the North to directly attack the communists nor be a very strong pull to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was the Viet Cong's path running through Laos and Cambodia that carried supplies.
Most of the War that was fought was a jungle war against the Viet Cong, who were well-supplied. They had good tactics when it came to the element of surprise. They would attack by setting up booby traps and ambushes, and would escape from these by their complex network of underground tunnels. Even trying to have US troops find their enemy was proving to be difficult. Because the Viet Cong hid their camps in dense brush Agent Orange bombs were dropped to make out a clearer vision. Agent Orange was a type of toxin that caused leaves on tress to die or burn away, but it also caused complications and birth defects on humans.
The US and South Vietnam were surprised when the Viet Cong collaborated with North Vietnam to attack around one hundred South Vietnamese towns and cities on January 30th of 1968. The US and South Vietnam were able to ward off this attack, called the Tet Offensive but were now aware that their enemy was stronger and more well-equipped than they had first imagined. Johnson saw this as a turning point in the war because it is when he decided that the war should no longer be escalated.
Richard Nixon then became the president in 1969 and resolved his own plan to end the US' involvement in the Vietnam War. His plan was called Vietnamization which slowly pulled US troops from Vietnam and giving rope back to the South Vietnamese to fight the rest of the war. This withdrawal began in July of 1969, and to work towards peace, peace talks began in Paris on January 25th of 1969.
Johnson did not want to win the war with America's involvement in the War, but to aid South Vietnam defenses so that they were able to take over. Without the goal of winning in mind, the public and the troops in Vietnam were disappointed as they ended up in a stalemate with the Viet Cong.
From 1965 to 1969 the United States was in a limited war in Vietnam. Johnson wanted to fight a limited War by limiting the fighting parameters. It wouldn't conduct a serious ground assault into the North to directly attack the communists nor be a very strong pull to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was the Viet Cong's path running through Laos and Cambodia that carried supplies.
Most of the War that was fought was a jungle war against the Viet Cong, who were well-supplied. They had good tactics when it came to the element of surprise. They would attack by setting up booby traps and ambushes, and would escape from these by their complex network of underground tunnels. Even trying to have US troops find their enemy was proving to be difficult. Because the Viet Cong hid their camps in dense brush Agent Orange bombs were dropped to make out a clearer vision. Agent Orange was a type of toxin that caused leaves on tress to die or burn away, but it also caused complications and birth defects on humans.
The US and South Vietnam were surprised when the Viet Cong collaborated with North Vietnam to attack around one hundred South Vietnamese towns and cities on January 30th of 1968. The US and South Vietnam were able to ward off this attack, called the Tet Offensive but were now aware that their enemy was stronger and more well-equipped than they had first imagined. Johnson saw this as a turning point in the war because it is when he decided that the war should no longer be escalated.
Richard Nixon then became the president in 1969 and resolved his own plan to end the US' involvement in the Vietnam War. His plan was called Vietnamization which slowly pulled US troops from Vietnam and giving rope back to the South Vietnamese to fight the rest of the war. This withdrawal began in July of 1969, and to work towards peace, peace talks began in Paris on January 25th of 1969.
Specifics: Timeline of America's Foreign Affairs from 1960 - 1969
- May 1, 1960 - In the Soviet Union, a United States U-2 reconnaissance plane is shot done by Soviet forces, leading to the capture of U.S. pilot Gary Powers and the eventual cancellation of the Paris summit conference. On August 19, Powers is sentenced by the Soviet Union to ten years in prison for espionage. On February 10, 1962 , he would be exchanged for a captured Soviet spy in Berlin.
- March 1 1961
- President Kennedy initiates 17 billion dollar nuclear missile program, increases military aid to Indochina and announces the creation of the Peace Corps.
- April 25 1961
- The Unites States invades Cuba at the Bay of Pigs and the mission is a failure.
- April 12 1961
- Yuri Gagarin of the USSR becomes the first man in space.
- August 13 1961
- East German border guards begin construction of Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall physically seperated Communist East Gernmany and Democratic West Germany.
- October 22 1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviets establish missile bases in Cuba, Kennedy orders a naval blockade to divert any missiles from arriving in Cuba.
- 1963
- The U.S. and U.S.S.R. sign a treaty banning any atmospheric nuclear tests.
- 1963
- The Battle of Ap Bac in South Vietnam
- 1963
- Fall and assasination of Ngo Dinh Diem in Saigon, South Vietnam. This assasination was planned by the Kennedy Administration.
- 1964
- The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gives President Johnson authority to prosecute an unlimited war in Vietnam unchecked by Congress.
- February 8 1965
- U.S. starts bombing North Vietnam.
- March 6 1965
- First American soldier officially sets foot on Vietnam battlefields, First U.S. combat troops begin fighting in South Vietnam.
- March 8 1965
- 3,500 Marines land to protect Da Nang air base
- April 1965
- 25,000 U.S. troops stationed in Vietnam
- 1965
- Twenty thousand U.S. troops intervene in the Dominican Republic.
- January 27 1966
- US, USSR, UK sign treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.
- February 1966
- 25,000 US troops sent to the Cambodian border
- April 10 1967
- Vietnam Week starts. Draft card burnings and anti-draft demonstrations
- 1967
- Martin Luther King Jr. begins to speak out against the war in Vietnam.
- May 19 1967
- First U.S. air strike on Hanoi
- January 31 1968
- Viet Cong launch Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive throughout South Vietnam turns most Americans against Johnson's policy for war in Vietnam.
- March 16 1968
- Massacre of 200 - 500 Vietnamese civilians at My Lai.
- May 10 1968
- Vietnam peace talks begin in Paris. In hopes of ensuring the South Vietnam will not fall to the communists in the North.
- 1969
- President Nison initiates "Vietnamization" of the war thus decreasing the number of U.S. troops in Indochina.
Page Written By: Elana Bravo