Nixon

Question 1

Why was Nixon elected in 1968?

Answer 1

• The Tet Offensive (1968) had made many Americans turn against the war.
• Nixon promised “Peace with honour” — to end the war without surrender.
• He appealed to the “silent majority” — Americans who supported the war quietly.

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Question 2

Vietnamisation?

Answer 2

➤ Let the South Vietnamese fight the war themselves

•	Reduce U.S. troops gradually
•	Train and equip ARVN to defend itself
•	By 1973, most U.S. combat troops had withdrawn

Question 3

Increased bombing (even outside Vietnam)?

Answer 3

➤ Use airpower to pressure North Vietnam into peace

•	Operation Linebacker I and II: heavy bombing of North Vietnam
•	Secret bombings of Cambodia and Laos to target the Ho Chi Minh trail
•	These attacks caused controversy and protests in the U.S.

Question 4

🕊️ Peace talks?

Answer 4

Nixon’s Secretary of State Henry Kissinger led peace negotiations with the North
• Talks dragged on for years but led to the Paris Peace Accords (1973)

Question 5

Paris Peace Accords (Jan 1973):

Answer 5

• U.S. would withdraw all troops
• North Vietnam would not attack the South
• U.S. aid would continue to the South
• Prisoners of war released

❗Despite this, fighting continued — and in 1975, Saigon fell to North Vietnam.

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Question 6

Controversy and protest?

Answer 6

• Bombing Cambodia led to massive protests, including:
• Kent State University shootings (1970) — 4 students killed by National Guard
• Nixon was criticised for expanding the war even as he claimed to be ending it

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Question 7

End of Nixon’s presidency:

Answer 7

• Nixon resigned in 1974 after the Watergate scandal — unrelated to the war but weakened him politically.