AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: The End of the Vietnam War (Day 263/309)

Hey APUSHers, let’s chat about the End of the Vietnam War as part of my series- APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

Nixon and Vietnam, Miller Center

Due to the continued challenges, costs, length of time, and increasingly severe opposition, President Nixon sought to bring the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War to a close. 

American Involvement in Vietnam 1960-75, Global Lyceum

Through a strategy of Vietnamization, the U.S. sought to shift the burden of combat from American troops to the South Vietnamese military while gradually withdrawing U.S. forces from the conflict. 

“Vietnam Accord is Reached,” New York Times

In 1973, the U.S. agreed to the Paris Peace Accords which established a ceasefire, outlined steps for withdrawal of American troops, provided for the release of prisoners of war, and the assurance of free elections in South Vietnam.

Fall of Saigon, Orange County Register

However, the North Vietnamese army continued to advance. The Fall of Saigon in April 1975, when North Vietnamese forces overran the capital and the South Vietnamese government collapsed, marked the definitive end of the war. 

The main objective of the U.S. in Vietnam, to contain the spread of communism, ultimately failed when the U.S withdrew and the North Vietnamese reunified the region under a communist regime.

Join me tomorrow as I explain Other Global Cold War Events in the next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!