Smithsonian Institution
New American Roles
America has dealt with its fair share of hardships in contemporary history. The resource discusses the events of the Gulf War, September 11th, the Afghanistan War, and The Iraq War. Scholars click on artifacts to learn more information,...
Judicial Learning Center
Your 1st Amendment Rights
Why should classes care about the First Amendment? An engaging lesson serves as a powerful tool for answering just that. As all four cases in the lesson relate directly to freedom of expression in schools, young scholars explore the...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Early Involvement
The U.S. early involvement in Vietnam during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations consisted of military aid to the doomed South Vietnamese government. Read about Ho Chi Minh and his leadership of North Vietnam.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Years of Escalation: 1965 1968
Read about how American involvement in the Vietnam War escalated after the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which essentially gave President Lyndon Johnson the ability to do whatever he thought necessary to defeat the North Vietnamese.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Vietnam War
An overview of the Vietnam War, including how the United States became involved, the eventual antiwar movement, and the outcome.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: The Price of Freedom: Americans at War
View comprehensive sets of artifacts that tell the story of America's wartime past and present. Artifacts from every major American military conflict, beginning with the American Revolution, can be closely examined. Full curatorial notes...
![Digital History: The War Is Finished [Pdf] Website](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Digital History: The War Is Finished [Pdf] Website")
Digital History
Digital History: The War Is Finished [Pdf]
Read about the end of the Vietnam War after the peace agreement in January, 1973. Find out about the violations of the agreement by both the North and South Vietnamese and the eventual fall of the South Vietnamese government.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Years of Withdrawal
Winding down the war in Vietnam took several years. Read about Richard Nixon's plans for Vietnamization and "peace with honor." Find out how other events in Vietnam pushed the antiwar movement to even more demonstrations.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive showed the resolve of the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese. See how the continuing war, with no end in sight, began to shift public opinion away from support for the war, and read about how Lyndon Johnson made some...
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: Maps: Causes of the Vietnam War
This essay from The Oxford Companion to American Military History goes into the causes of the Vietnam War and shows how the United States became embroiled incrementally from the 1950s up to 1965. An interesting section explains how the...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of the u.s. Becoming Free Webisode 16
A brief look at contemporary American history from the administration of Richard Nixon to Sept. 11, 2001.
The History Place
The History Place: The Bitter End of the Vietnam War
This History Place timeline series discusses the Paris Peace Accords and the United States' attempts to withdraw from Vietnam.
Digital History
Digital History: Vietnamization [Pdf]
Richard Nixon claimed to have a secret plan to end the Vietnam War when he was campaigning for president in 1968. See what that secret plan was and read about how it extended the war by another four years and galvanized anti-war...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Antiwar Movement
As the Vietnam War dragged on, antiwar sentiment grew. Read about the increasing antiwar movement, the demonstrations by antiwar supporters, and the violence used to break up the demonstrations.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: The Modern Era
For a brief overview of the period after World War II until the present, visit this Library of Congress resource. Learn about the Cold War and the first man to walk on the moon.
US Navy
Naval History and Heritage Command: By Sea, Air, and Land
From the Department of the Navy, this site provides a detailed description of naval activities and strategy during the war in Southeast Asia. Great maps and pictures too.
Digital History
Digital History: Was the 'Whole Thing a Lie' or a 'Noble Crusade' [Pdf]
Read the opposing viewpoints of General Westmoreland, U. S. commander in Vietnam during the troop escalation, and Sgt. Donald Duncan, a Vietnam veteran, who became one of the first critics of the U.S. Vietnam policy. Was the Vietnam War...
Digital History
Digital History: Fighting a Guerrilla War [Pdf]
Read the personal memories of U.S. Vietnam veterans who talk about fighting against guerilla warfare that was carried out by the Vietcong. The accounts are touching and thought-provoking. [pdf]
Digital History
Digital History: Lbj and Vietnam
Discussion of President Lyndon Johnson and the U.S. involvement in Vietnam during his term in office.
Other
Kent May 4 Center
Information about the shooting of four Kent State students on May 4, 1970, including chronology, quotations, and descriptions of the students who were killed and wounded.
Digital History
Digital History: Fighting Against Guerrillas: The Strategic Hamlet Program [Pdf]
Read about the ill-conceived Strategic Hamlet Program, designed by the government of Ngo Dinh Diem to fight against the growing influence of Ho Chi Minh and his Vietcong in the fight for Vietnam. [pdf]
Digital History
Digital History: 'Sink or Swim, With Ngo Dinh Diem' [Pdf]
After the French left Vietnam, there was a void that was filled by anti-Communist Ngo Dinh Diem. Read about the excesses his government carried out against suspected communists, and the excesses carried out by North Vietnamese leader, Ho...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Politics From Camelot to Watergate
A brief overview of the state of the United States between the election of 1960 and 1968. See how a nation full of enthusiasm and confidence could become so divided in eight short years.