Vietnam Unit Test Review

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized the

• Authorization for the President to declare war without congressional approval
• Authorization for the President to negotiate peace treaties
• Authorization for the President to increase taxes
• Authorization for the President to take necessary measures to repel attacks and prevent further aggression

What strategy did President Johnson's advisors Robert McNamara and General Westmoreland insist was necessary to winning the war in Vietnam?

• Withdrawing all troops immediately
• Negotiating a peace treaty
• Increasing the number of troops
• Decreasing the number of troops

What objective did American military leaders hope to achieve in North Vietnam with military campaigns such as Operation Rolling Thunder?

• To establish diplomatic relations with North Vietnam
• To weaken North Vietnam's ability and will to fight by targeting infrastructure, supply lines, and industrial capacity.
• To promote economic development in North Vietnam
• To provide humanitarian aid to North Vietnamese civilians

Ho Chi Minh's military doctrine hinged on fighting only when victory was assured, which meant never fighting on his opponents' terms. He compared his troops to a tiger, while the Americans were like an elephant. If the tiger stands still, the elephant will crush it. But if the tiger keeps moving and occasionally jumps on the elephant to take a bite out of it, the elephant will slowly bleed to death.

 

What did Ho Chi Minh believe this strategy would ultimately accomplish against the American military?

• To engage in direct combat and overpower the American military
• To negotiate a peaceful resolution with the American military
• To exhaust and defeat the American military by avoiding direct confrontation and inflicting gradual damage over time.
• To rely on guerrilla warfare tactics to quickly defeat the American military

What caused taxes to be raised significantly during the 1960's?

• Increased government spending on social programs, the Vietnam War, and the Great Society initiatives.
• Decreased government spending on social programs
• The Space Race
• Economic recession

How did U.S. policy in Vietnam change following the Tet Offensive?

• Towards de-escalation and negotiations
• Increased military presence in Vietnam
• Intensified bombing campaigns
• Complete withdrawal of U.S. troops

Critics of the Selective Service System argued that the draft was not fair. The system gave local draft boards considerable influence in selecting men for service, and it also granted deferments to college students and men who worked in certain designated occupations. Most of the 2.5 million men who served in Vietnam came from working-class and poor backgrounds. 

What measure did the Selective Service System take to address these criticisms of the draft in 1969?

• Military draft exemption for all men
• Random selection of veterans for service
• Voluntary enlistment system
• Draft lottery system

American soldiers used Agent Orange to

• defoliate (burn down) forests and stop supply lines

• construct buildings
• build roads
• fertilize crops

Why did President Johnson have to cut some of the Great Society initiatives?

• Decrease in public support for social programs
• Escalating costs of the Vietnam War and strain on the federal budget
• Pressure from foreign governments
• Rising unemployment rates

Due to the conflict in Vietnam, in March of 1968, what surprising announcement did President Johnson make to the American people?

• He announced that he would not seek re-election.
• He announced a plan to withdraw all troops from Vietnam immediately
• He announced a plan to run for a third term as President
• He announced a plan to increase military presence in Vietnam