March 5

IB 30/35

We watched "Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam" today. I think you could see techniques of the war clearly illustrated in this video and yesterday's excerpts from "Born on the Fourth of July". As unsettling as these two movies were you can see recruitment techniques, the fears of the times ("communism is all around us, they're moving in everywhere"), the techniques of warfare in Vietnam (how the war was fought: use of helicopters, dropping troops near villages, engaging the enemy/luring them out and then calling in air strikes) and the aftermath/impact that the war had on young men like Ron Kovic (issues of drug use, post-traumatic stress disorder). There was an event that was briefly mentioned in the film "Dear America" that I think deserves a little bit more attention since it helped sway American popular opinion against the war. I'm not talking about the Tet Offensive (although it failed militarily to achieve the goals that the Viet Cong wished, it did turn American public opinion), I'm referring to the My Lai Massacre. You can read more about this event here. Please visit the IB 30/35 wiki tonight, and edit the Vietnam War page (causes, courses, practices, events and results chart). You can find this page on the Collaborative Notes page. I have also shared this page with you, so there's no excuses! Changes due by Friday. GOOD!

As we will see, public support for the Vietnam War changes over time as more and more American soldiers are killed. We see a growth in the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, and the media also played a role in the turn of popular opinion against the war. I REALLY recommend that you have a look at the this series of photographs from the Vietnam War era, pretty powerful imagery (make sure that you read the captions too). Here is a link to the NPR that explains the story behind the photograph below, definitely worth the time to read or listen to the podcast, and make sure that you look at the photo gallery of Eddie Adams' photographs of the Vietnam War.



There are certain iconic images associated with the Vietnam War. Here is another:

The above photograph is of Phan Thị Kim Phúc, O.Ont (born in 1963), she is a Vietnamese-Canadian best known as the child subject of a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972. The iconic photo taken in Trang Bang by AP photographer Nick Ut shows her at about age nine running naked on the street after being severely burned on her back by a South Vietnamese napalm attack. Contrary to popular myth, the US Air Force were not involved in the attack, and only two US troops were within 60 miles (97 km) of the scene, neither of whom had any say in the bombings. Still, it is a powerful image associated with the war.

Social 20-1

I gave you back your Chapter 4 Key Terms and Questions at the beginning of class. We watched a couple of videos from the CBS World War I series. Today's videos were "Clash of the Generals" and "The Trenches". I also gave you a reading booklet called "The Causes of World War I". Some parts of the booklet are dated since it was written in 1989, and it makes reference to the USSR, the Cold War and the division of Germany post-WWII. That having been said, it is well-written and very helpful. It is highly recommended that you have read this booklet PRIOR to Friday's class. You have a Chapter 3-4 Test tomorrow (please see the study guide here), and on Thursday you have your Unit 1 Final Exam (please see the study guide here).

Social 30-1

We finished off the "FDR and the New Deal" video at the beginning of class. I also did a homework check on the Chapter 4 Key Terms and Questions today. I gave you a booklet on Analyzing Political Cartoons today. You're allowed to have this booklet out on Thursday when you write a cartoon analysis assignment. In Thursday's class there will be several political cartoons up on the board and you'll have to pick one to analyze.