Vietnam+the+end


 * Nixon became President and introduced his policy of Vietnamization- getting U.S. troops out and giving training and equipment to the South Vietnamese.
 * by 1972, only 24,000 troops left in Vietnam
 * Bombing raids increased, however- hurt supply line of North Vietnamese and expanding bombing to Laos and Cambodia
 * Nixon wanted the enemy to believe that he would do anything to win.
 * U.S ground forces invaded Cambodia in Spring 1970
 * May 4th, 1970 at Kent State University 4 students were killed by the National Guard
 * Nixon loses support from the public and Congress, Gulf of Tonkin Resolution repealed
 * The Pentagon Papers showed the real thing was not was being told to the public
 * Peace talks- 1972 Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho say peace is at hand
 * January 1973- peace talks are complete- we have brought peace with honor to Vietnam and Southeast Asia
 * But in 1975 North Vietnam military attacks, Saigon falls
 * Vietnam is reunited under Communism
 * In Southeast Asia
 * 1.5 million Vietnamese deaths
 * countless Vietnamese civilians wounded homeless
 * agrarian society in shambles
 * Southeast Asia left highly unstable
 * Cambodia falls to a terrible dictator
 * 58,000 Americans killed
 * 365,000 wounded
 * $150 billion in direct costs
 * U.S. attempts to cope with a loss
 * Government abolishes the draft
 * War Powers Act- curb the power of the President
 * altered American foreign policy
 * overall cynicism in Americans
 * veterans extended a cold hand
 * some veterans suffered from stress
 * many citizens embittered toward government
 * entire generation of Americans affected
 * entire generation of Americans affected