Ford’s Plan and Legacy in Ending the Vietnam War

How Did Gerald Ford End the Vietnam War?

Color footage with sound of President Ford addressing a crowd at Tulane University. The speech was given in April of 1975, as Communist forces were advancing toward Saigon and America’s last ties to the region were being severed.

At the time, Congress and the nation had come to view Vietnam as a losing proposition.

What Happened?

In January 1968, the Viet Cong launches the Tet Offensive, a widespread assault that includes coordinated attacks on cities such as Hue and Saigon. The offensive is bloody and effective, marking a turning point in the war.

The United States backs a military coup to overthrow South Vietnam’s unpopular President Diem, which ends with his murder. In the aftermath, 12 different governments take control of the country in a series of political assassinations and military reversals.

The Geneva Accords partitioned Vietnam along the 17th parallel, known as the “Line of Demarcation.” Ho Chi Minh’s communist North Vietnamese government would govern the northern half of the country; the South, which was to remain non-communist, was to be ruled by an American ally, South Vietnam. The conflict dragged on until 1975, when the North invaded the South and unified the country under one communist government. But the countries surrounding Vietnam did not fall to communism, debunking the so-called domino theory that a defeated Southeast Asia would soon be conquered by the Soviet Union.

What Was Ford’s Plan?

As he began his presidency, Ford was aware of the deteriorating situation in Vietnam. He did not alter the basic strategy set in motion by Nixon: airlift of supplies and refugees; secret bombings of North Vietnamese base camps in Cambodia; and efforts to reach a compromise with the North Vietnamese government.

By late 1974, as North Vietnamese armies massed at the gates of Saigon, the president and his advisers pleaded with Congress for a fresh infusion of military aid. But the response was limited, and Congress refused to allow the president to increase troop levels.

At the same time, Ford’s administration continued to pursue the goals of detente with the Soviet Union and improved relations with China. He also pushed to establish a program that would give Viet Nam era draft evaders and military deserters a chance to earn clemency by performing alternative service. This was a crucial demonstration of US resolve and toughness.

What Happened After?

The United States had enmeshed itself in a Southeast Asian conflict that started as an anticolonial struggle and evolved into a Cold War contest between international communism and free-market democracy. By the 1960s, a civil war was also brewing as the North’s National Liberation Front (NLF) gathered support and created its own shadow government in South Vietnam. The NLF included both Communists and non-communists who fought to overthrow the Ngo Dinh Diem government and unify the nation on Ho Chi Minh’s terms.

When Ford delivered this speech at Tulane University in April 1975 he declared that “this war is finished as far as America is concerned.” But the relief felt by Americans was soon replaced by grief and loss, as the last of the American troops were evacuated from Saigon. The President’s words seemed hollow as the Communist forces surrounded and occupied the city. It was the end of an era, and a very bitter one at that.

What Was Ford’s Legacy?

President Ford’s foreign policy efforts were centered on the principle of reducing government intervention and expenditures to improve the American economy. He successfully negotiated the Helsinki accords on human rights principles and East European national boundaries, conducted trade negotiations, initiated an Apollo-Soyuz joint manned space flight, and established close relations with China and Japan.

Henry Kissinger described Ford as the closest American President ever to the leaders of Europe, a result of his openness, intelligence, and directness. Ford reformed welfare reform and strove to curb inflation, revitalize a stagnant economy, and overcome energy shortages.

In April 1975, nine months into his presidency, Ford witnessed South Vietnam fall to the North Vietnamese. He announced America’s withdrawal from the war at Tulane University to thundering applause. Americans felt relief, and it ended the most divisive era in their country’s history. During the final evacuation, television viewers watched as U.S. helicopters ferried away the last American personnel and citizens from Saigon’s rooftops.

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