Vietnam Expert Groups:

Working in groups, your task is to learn about one of the key American decision makers during the Vietnam conflict and the decisions they faced about U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. You will work with your group as one of five presentation teams. Each links to a set of relevant documents for each topic.

Team 1: President John F. Kennedy’s policy and response to Vietnam.

Team 2: President Lyndon B. Johnson’s policy and response to Vietnam.

Team 3: President Richard M. Nixon’s policy and response to Vietnam.

Team 4: North Vietnam policy and response to South Vietnam and the United States

Team 5: South Vietnam policy and response to North Vietnam and the United States

Use the following guiding questions to help your group thoroughly examine the roles of the presidents. Remember: your task is to prepare an informative and creative presentation to members of a new team that will be comprised on one member from each expert group.

1. Name of president/leader
2. Dates the president/leader was in office
3. Political party (where relevant)
4. Write a summary of this president’s/leader's policy on Vietnam.
5. What steps did this president/leader take toward the conflict in Vietnam?
6. Did this president’s/leader's decisions show a change in policy over time? Give examples.
7. Did this president/leader increase or decrease the role of the United States in Vietnam when compared with the previous president/leader? If so, how?
8. How did this president/leader keep the public informed of his decisions regarding Vietnam and the rest of Southeast Asia?
9. What is your evaluation of this president’s/leader's policy on Vietnam?

Required Elements:

Your expert group must provide the following as visual support during your presentations to your reformed group. Minimally, it must include:

• A map to represent areas of importance, conflict, negotiation, etc.
• Excerpts from at least 2 primary source documents
• At least 2 non-map visuals representing issues of your topic
• A timeline highlighting events important to your topic

Useful Web Links:

The Wars for Vietnam This site provides a history of the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1975. It includes a history of the war and related documents.

Vietnam: Yesterday and Today. Table of Contents of relevant links includes: Aftermath, Australia, Cambodia/Laos, Film/Photography, The French, History, Literature/Art, Memorials, Periodicals, Personal Accounts, POW/MIA, PTSD/Dioxin, Resources, Teaching Materials, and Veterans.

Choronology of US/Vietnam Relations, 1930-1998. Includes links to information relevant to timeline information.

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