The Vietnam War and how Americans saw it

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, a summary in our words, written today: In early August 1964, President Lyndon Johnson reported that two U.S. ships had come under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin, off North Vietnam, and asked Congress for support. On August 7, 1964, Congress passed a joint resolution approving the president's use of necessary measures to answer armed attacks on U.S. forces. It was not a declaration of war. The House voted yes unanimously. Two senators, Wayne Morse and Ernest Gruening, cast the only no votes. Johnson signed the resolution on August 10, 1964. Card B, the Southeast Asia Resolution, sections 1 and 2, August 7, 1964 (primary source; Public Law 88-408; 78 Stat. 384), to approve the President's measures and state a policy: "That the Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel [drive back] any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression. Sec. 2. The United States regards as vital to its national interest and to world peace the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia." Card C, President Lyndon B. Johnson, news conference of July 28, 1965 (primary source; Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Aug. 2, 1965), to report a decision on Viet-Nam: "I have asked the Commanding General, General Westmoreland, what more he needs to meet this mounting aggression. He has told me. We will meet his needs. I have today ordered to Viet-Nam the Air Mobile Division and certain other forces which will raise our fighting strength from 75,000 to 125,000 men almost immediately. Additional forces will be needed later, and they will be sent as requested. This will make it necessary to increase our active fighting forces by raising the monthly draft call from 17,000 over a period of time to 35,000 per month, and for us to step up our campaign for voluntary enlistments." Card D, a table, U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam on December 31 (Department of Defense, OASD Comptroller, 1974): 1964, 23,300; 1965, 184,300; 1966, 385,300; 1967, 485,600.

2. 1.

   Ari wants to know exactly what powers Congress approved in August 1964. Which card is the strongest evidence?

   • Card D, because the growth in troops shows how wide the powers turned out to be in practice
   • Card B, because it prints the words Congress approved, which card A restates
   • Card A, because it covers the same vote and adds how the House and Senate voted on it
   • Card C, because the president used the powers in 1965 and says in his own words what he did
3. 2.

   Bo asks how the president explained a troop decision to the public in 1965. Which card is the strongest evidence, and what is its limit?

   • Card D, because the rise in personnel through 1965 shows what he decided and why
   • Card A, because a summary of the vote also covers the president's requests
   • Card C, which gives his own words but not how the public took the decision
   • Card C, which gives his words and also shows that the public accepted the decision
4. 3.

   Card A is a summary written today; card B is the text of the resolution. What does card A add that card B cannot give, Esme asks?

   • How presidents used the resolution later in the war, since a summary written today can see ahead
   • The reasons members had for voting yes, since a summary explains why the vote came out as it did
   • A more reliable record of the wording, since a summary is checked by a modern writer
   • The House and Senate vote and the signing date, which the text itself does not give
5. 4.

   Card C says the troop decision 'will make it necessary' to raise the monthly draft call from 17,000 to 35,000. Which claim does it support, Kira asks?

   • The draft call was raised first, and the added forces were then sent to match it
   • The added forces came with a plan to roughly double the monthly draft call
   • The draft began in 1965 to supply the forces Johnson announced
   • The draft alone would supply the new forces, with no call for volunteers
6. 5.

   Card D gives personnel on December 31 of 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967. Which claim does it support about the size of each year's rise, Luz asks?

   • The count shows how many were in combat each year, with 1967 the greatest
   • The count rose by about the same amount in each year, so the build-up was steady
   • In people, the largest rise was from the end of 1965 to the end of 1966
   • The largest rise was 1964 to 1965, since the count grew about eight times in that year
7. 6.

   Card C says fighting strength would rise from 75,000 to 125,000. Card D shows 184,300 at the end of 1965. How do the cards fit, Milo asks?

   • They count different things on different dates, so the numbers need not match
   • Card D shows Johnson's figure of 125,000 was too low, since the total ended higher
   • They agree that U.S. strength rose in 1965, so they must count the same people
   • Card D's 184,300 is the number sent in 1965 on top of the 125,000 in card C
8. 7.

   Cards A and B together: which claim about the resolution of August 1964 do they support, Noah asks?

   • Members voted yes expecting the president to send large ground forces in 1965
   • The vote was unanimous in Congress, so no member had doubts about the policy
   • Congress nearly united behind wide measures against attack, without declaring war
   • Card B limits the measures to attacks already made, so later troops needed a new vote
9. 8.

   Card D shows 23,300 at the end of 1964 and 184,300 at the end of 1965. What can Ren say about 1965, and what is the limit?

   • The count rose by 161 percent, since the table shows a rise of 161,000 people
   • The 161,000 were combat forces, since the table counts those sent to South Vietnam
   • About 13,400 more arrived each month of 1965, since 161,000 divided by 12 is about 13,400
   • About eight times as large, but year-end counts cannot show when in 1965 it rose
10. 9.

    Card D shows year-end counts of 184,300, 385,300 and 485,600 for 1965 to 1967. Tala says the build-up slowed in 1967. Which statement is fair?

    • No: the 1967 count is the largest, so the build-up was still speeding up in that year
    • Yes: the rise fell from 201,000 to 100,300, and from about 109 to about 26 percent
    • Yes, because the president decided after 1966 to add troops at a slower pace
    • Yes in people, but no in percent, where 1967 rose faster than 1966 because the base was larger
11. 10.

    Card C raises the monthly draft call from 17,000 to 35,000. Zee says the draft alone supplied the 1965 rise in card D. Which statement is fair?

    • The claim fails, since the call is the number sent to South Vietnam each month, which card D then totals
    • The claim overlooks that a draft call counts men called, and card C also seeks volunteers
    • The claim fails, since the draft call kept rising each year to 1967, as the rise in personnel did
    • The claim holds, since 35,000 a month over twelve months far exceeds the rise of 161,000