29. Vietnam and the End of the Cold War Consensus, 1961

Quiz for Analyzing Historical Evidence: Ending the War in Vietnam

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question 29.6

1. Why did President Richard Nixon argue that immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam in 1969 would be a bad idea?

Bringing home so many veterans from the war at the same time would overwhelm available veterans’ services.

Nixon did not want to give any additional fodder to the anti-war protestors that had gained so much momentum.

The United States didn’t have the resources to pull all troops out at once, and those left behind would be extremely vulnerable.

If the troops left too early, the North Vietnamese would easily conquer the South and murder its people.

Question 29.7

2. What did President Richard Nixon fear would be the consequence at home if the United States lost the Vietnam War?

Congress would severely cut the nation’s defense budget, leaving the military weak.

Anti-war protests would cause chaos in places like Berkeley, California.

The American people would lose all faith in the U.S. government’s ability to lead.

He would probably lose his campaign for reelection as President in 1972.

Question 29.8

3. John Kerry, a leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, argued in 1971 that the United States should not have gotten involved in Vietnam in the first place because

the cost of waging war for so many years had taken valuable funds away from domestic programs.

the Vietnamese people did not want an outside power to interfere with their politics and economy.

the United States' involvement in the war had severely (perhaps irreparably) damaged its international reputation.

there were many problems on the home front that had not been solved before the war, and were still unsolved.

Question 29.9

4. When John Kerry said that he believed the weapons used in Vietnam would never be used in a European theatre of war, he was implying that

the United States had a racially prejudiced perspective of the Vietnamese people.

weapons technology had changed significantly since World War II.

the geography and botany of Europe and Asia were extremely different.

the American troops sent to Vietnam were inexperienced and poorly trained.

Question 29.10

5. How did John Kerry’s opinion of Vietnamization differ from President Richard Nixon’s view on this strategy?

Nixon wanted to begin pursuing Vietnamization immediately, while Kerry thought it should be implemented slowly over a few years.

Nixon supported Vietnamization with reservations, while Kerry embraced the strategy wholeheartedly.

Nixon thought Vietnamization was the only way to secure peace in Vietnam, while Kerry thought it was extremely arrogant.