The Vietnam War
Sonja Dickerson, Salem M.S. (Virginia Beach, VA)
Beverly Weddle, Independence M.S (Virginia Beach, VA)
General Topic
The Vietnam War
Specific Topic
Events that shape perspectives
Virginia Standards of Learning
Describe the causes of American involvement in Vietnam. (USII.7c) Describe the policies of the Nixon administration toward the conduct of the Vietnam War and protests at home. (USII.7c) Describe the differing points of view regarding American involvement in Vietnam. (USII.7c)
Objectives
Students will:
- Define and apply selected vocabulary related to the Vietnam Era
- Describe American involvement in the Vietnam War from 1954-64.
- Describe American involvement in Vietnam after 1964
- Compare and Contrast how the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon Administrations dealt with the challenges of the Vietnam War.
- Prepare a quilt panel to demonstrate analysis of the Administrations.
- Activity
Historical Context
Students should keep in mind that in an effort to stop communism in Southeast Asia, the United States was engaged in the wars for Vietnam, in one way or another, for a quarter of a century. This classroom activity allows students to identify key events, develop historical empathy, and decide how to convey these ideas and concepts to other members of the class.
Transcripts
- "Dispatching the Wheeler Mission," January 15, 1963.
- "Eisenhower on Vietnam," August 18, 1965.
- "LBJ and the Logic of Escalation," July 7, 1965.
- "President Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and H.R. Haldeman discuss John F. Kerry," April 23, 1971.
Resources
- President Eisenhower, John Foster Dulles, and Ngo Dinh Diem, http://www.psywarrior.com.
- Maps of Vietnam from 1945 to the Postwar, http://www.pbs.org.
- Graph of Troop Increases, January 1965-December 1968, http://www.pbs.org.
- Transcripts of President Kennedy’s Television Interviews, September 2-9, 1963, http://www.mtholyoke.edu.
- John F. Kennedy and Foreign Policy, www.pbs.org.
- more
Assessment
The student essay, which concludes the activity, will be assessed according to a Vietnam writing rubric.