Lesson 50/51/52

Question 1

What names are listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial monument?

Answer 1

those of U.S. soldiers killed or MIA in the Vietnam War

Question 2

What idea did the Viet Minh oppose?

Answer 2

foreign occupation

Question 3

What countries or groups participated in the First Indochina War?

Answer 3

France and the Viet Minh

Question 4

Why was Vietnam fighting France?

Answer 4

France was trying to reestablish colonial rule.

Question 5

Why did President Truman call for an increase in military aid to French Indochina?

Answer 5

He was determined to block any further communist advance in Asia.

Question 6

President Eisenhower’s domino theory suggested that if Vietnam fell to communism

Answer 6

the rest of Southeast Asia would topple.

Question 7

Why did President Eisenhower not order a bombing of the Viet Minh positions?

Answer 7

He wanted support from allies.

Question 8

What did the Geneva Accords, signed in 1954 by France and the Viet Minh, state?

Answer 8

Vietnam was to be split along the 17th parallel.

Question 9

What war did the Geneva Accords bring to an end in 1954?

Answer 9

First Indochina War

Question 10

What is the responsibility of a military adviser?

Answer 10

to train another nation’s soldiers

Question 11

What kind of warfare did the Viet Cong launch on its enemies?

Answer 11

Guerilla war

Question 12

Prior to any U.S. involvement, President Kennedy continued to favor a policy of

Answer 12

containing communism.

Question 13

In March of 1964, how did President Johnson increase the United States’ involvement in Vietnam?

Answer 13

He sent more weapons and advisors.

Question 14

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution allows the president to

Answer 14

take any armed measures against a threat to the United States.

Question 15

A 1965 Viet Cong attack on a U.S. air base led to

Answer 15

a series of massive air strikes.

Question 16

Those referred to as “hawks” were in favor of taking what action in Vietnam?

Answer 16

expanding U.S. involvement

Question 17

How was Johnson able to expand U.S. troop levels without a declaration of war from Congress?

Answer 17

He acted on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Question 18

The _____________ of the Vietnam War refers to the United States taking over the main responsibility for fighting the war.

Answer 18

Americanization

Question 19

What ideas were in the United States’ two-pronged strategy during the Vietnam War?

Answer 19

all of the above

Question 20

What trail allowed North Vietnam to send weapons and supplies south to the Viet Cong?

Answer 20

the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Question 21

Coined by Ngo Dinh Diem, what is “Viet Cong” slang for?

Answer 21

Vietnamese communists

Question 22

The greatest geographic challenge for American troops in Vietnam was

Answer 22

the swamps and jungle-clad mountains.

Question 23

How were the Viet Cong able to avoid detection by U.S. troops?

Answer 23

all of the above

Question 24

What was the weakness of the search-and-destroy mission tactic?

Answer 24

Small platoons of American soldiers became easy targets for enemy attack.

Question 25

How successful was General Westmoreland's war of attrition?

Answer 25

It failed because there were too many Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces to eliminate

Question 26

Pacification was a policy designed to

Answer 26

promote security and stability in South Vietnam.

Question 27

The United States planned to undermine the communist insurgency in South Vietnam by having the ARVN

Answer 27

remove the Viet Cong and their sympathizers from the villages.

Question 28

How did the United States lose the support of many Vietnamese?

Answer 28

all of the above

Question 29

What was the result of the pacification campaign

Answer 29

It failed to make South Vietnam stable and secure.

Question 30

In television coverage of the war, the credibility gap was the difference between

Answer 30

the reality of the war and the Johnson administration's portrayal of it.

Question 31

As the war dragged on, how did television influence public opinion toward the Vietnam War?

Answer 31

The TV networks showed the graphic realities of the war, leading many Americans to question the war.

Question 32

Before the ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment, what angered men between the ages of 18 and 21?

Answer 32

They were old enough to be sent off to war at age 18, but not old enough to vote against the war.

Question 33

The antiwar movement thrived on many college campuses in part because

Answer 33

male college students could be drafted after graduation.

Question 34

Why did the North Vietnamese choose the holiday of Tet for their attack on South Vietnam?

Answer 34

Many South Vietnamese troops would be home on leave to celebrate Tet.

Question 35

How did the Tet Offensive influence American public opinion about the war?

Answer 35

Unconvinced that the Tet Offensive was a U.S. victory, American opposition to the war increased.

Question 36

What made 1968 such a turbulent year in American history?

Answer 36

all of the above

Question 37

What did President Johnson mean when he said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost America."

Answer 37

Cronkite announced that he no longer supported him, so Johnson had lost the nation's support

Question 38

Why was the commitment of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese to the war so strong?

Answer 38

They saw the United States as another colonial power that had to be expelled from their country.

Question 39

What was Agent Orange?

Answer 39

an herbicide sprayed by the U.S. military to defoliate the forests where the Viet Cong and NVA hid

Question 40

What was the economic impact of the Vietnam War?

Answer 40

The war led to increased inflation and higher taxes.

Question 41

What did ARVN stand for?

Answer 41

Army of the Republic of Vietnam

Question 42

How did President Johnson respond to General Westmoreland's request for more troops after the Tet Offensive?

Answer 42

He fired Westmoreland and announced he would seek the opening of peace talks.

Question 43

On April 29, 1975, why were the South Vietnamese evacuating Saigon?

Answer 43

They were fleeing the invading communist army.

Question 44

Nixon wanted to end the Vietnam War in a way that

Answer 44

left the reputation of the U.S. intact

Question 45

What was the overall strategy of Vietnamization?

Answer 45

South Vietnam takes over the war, and the United States slowly withdraws.

Question 46

Which of the following goals did Vietnamization set for South Vietnam?

Answer 46

all of the above

Question 47

With Vietnamization, U.S. ground forces switched their focus from fighting guerillas in the south to

Answer 47

intercepting supplies from the north.

Question 48

As President, what actions did Nixon take to expand the war?

Answer 48

all of the above

Question 49

What military actions did Nixon consider to pressure North Vietnam to negotiate the end of the war?

Answer 49

all of the above

Question 50

What did the photographs of journalist Seymour Hersh expose of the My Lai Massacre in 1968?

Answer 50

the death of hundreds of South Vietnamese civilians

Question 51

What is a moratorium?

Answer 51

a suspension of activity

Question 52

What famous event occurred at Kent State University in 1970 and sparked antiwar protests?

Answer 52

The National Guard shot and killed four protestors

Question 53

In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg of “The New York Times” leaked top-secret government documents called the

Answer 53

Pentagon Papers.

Question 54

What information did the Pentagon Papers expose to the public?

Answer 54

Previous administrations had deceived Congress about Vietnam.

Question 55

What is prior restraint?

Answer 55

the prevention of speech or expression before publication

Question 56

Passed in 1973, what best describes the limits put in place by the War Powers Resolution?

Answer 56

The president can’t attack enemies without congressional authority.

Question 57

What action did the 1973 Paris Peace Accords call for?

Answer 57

all of the above

Question 57

Many Americans who served in Vietnam suffered from a mental health disorder called

Answer 57

post-traumatic stress disorder.

Question 58

More than 760 American soldiers were made __________ by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War.

Answer 58

POWs

Question 59

What does MIA stand for?

Answer 59

missing in action

Question 60

The South Vietnamese government completely dissolved because

Answer 60

the NVA launched a successful all-out offensive.

Question 61

How did the Vietnam War end?

Answer 61

North Vietnam overtook South Vietnam.

Question 62

Why was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial erected in 1982?

Answer 62

all of the above