Module 1: "The Vietnam Wars"

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words only definitions & notes
  1. wary
    openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
    Vietnam’s emperor, wary that the Frenchman’s religion was just the calling card for an invasion force, banished Rhodes from the country.
  2. banish
    expel from a community or group
    Vietnam’s emperor, wary that the Frenchman’s religion was just the calling card for an invasion force, banished Rhodes from the country.
  3. misread
    interpret wrongly
    When France arrived in Vietnam, explained Paul Doumer, architect of the colonial economy, “the Annamites were ripe for servitude.” But the French, like the Chinese before them, misread their colonial subjects.
  4. spurn
    reject with contempt
    The Vietnamese spurned slavery, and organized a determined resistance, using their knowledge of the countryside to outwit the French.
  5. tend
    have a disposition to do or be something; be inclined
    As one French military commander wrote with foreboding before returning home: “Everything here tends to ruin.”
  6. ruin
    an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
    As one French military commander wrote with foreboding before returning home: “Everything here tends to ruin.”
  7. pacify
    ease the anger, agitation, or strong emotion of
    French colonial officials made clumsy attempts to pacify the Vietnamese. They built schools and taught French culture to generations of the native elite, only to find that most Vietnamese clung proudly to their own traditions.
  8. tumult
    a state of commotion and noise and confusion
    In the tumult of World War II, the Japanese had swept through most of Southeast Asia, replacing the French in Vietnam with their own colonial troops.
  9. sweep
    move across or over
    In the tumult of World War II, the Japanese had swept through most of Southeast Asia, replacing the French in Vietnam with their own colonial troops.
  10. assert
    declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
    Quoting directly from the American Declaration of Independence, he asserted that all men have a right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
  11. kindle
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    The Vietnamese, their hopes kindled by the excitement of the moment, soon found that independence would not come as easily as elegant speeches.
  12. appeal
    request earnestly; ask for aid or protection
    He also appealed several times for U.S. help, but to no avail.
  13. avail
    a means of serving
    He also appealed several times for U.S. help, but to no avail.
  14. committed
    bound or obligated, as under a pledge to a cause or action
    The U.S., committed to containing the spread of Communism, backed the French.
  15. contain
    hold back, as of a danger or an enemy
    The U.S., committed to containing the spread of Communism, backed the French.
  16. communism
    a theory favoring collectivism in a classless society
    The U.S., committed to containing the spread of Communism, backed the French.
  17. back
    support with funding
    The U.S., committed to containing the spread of Communism, backed the French. Even $2.5 billion of U.S. aid did not keep the French from wearing down, just as Ho had predicted.
  18. battleground
    a region where a conflict is being (or has been) fought
    By 1950, the French war in Vietnam had become a battleground in a much larger struggle.
  19. fall
    be captured
    After two months of fighting in the spring mud, the French were exhausted and Dien Bien Phu fell.
  20. cringe
    draw back, as with fear, pain, or embarrassment
    The Americans cringed at the thought of a Communist Vietnam, and picked up where the French left off.
  21. accord
    a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
    A peace accord temporarily divided Vietnam in half, promising elections for the whole country by 1956.
  22. alienate
    arouse hostility or indifference in
    As President, Diem managed to alienate everyone, arresting thousands of dissidents and condemning scores to death.
  23. dissident
    a person who objects to some established policy
    As President, Diem managed to alienate everyone, arresting thousands of dissidents and condemning scores to death.
  24. condemn
    pronounce a punishment, as in a court of law
    As President, Diem managed to alienate everyone, arresting thousands of dissidents and condemning scores to death.
  25. operate
    perform a movement in military or naval tactics
    Meanwhile, in the South, Communist rebels, called the Viet Cong, operated stealthily under cover of the jungle.
  26. stealthily
    in a manner marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    Meanwhile, in the South, Communist rebels, called the Viet Cong, operated stealthily under cover of the jungle.
  27. pursue
    follow in an effort to capture
    Like the French before them, U.S. troops – some 500,000 strong by 1968 – pursued their elusive enemy in ways that alienated the people they were supposed to be saving.
  28. elusive
    skillful at evading capture
    Like the French before them, U.S. troops – some 500,000 strong by 1968 – pursued their elusive enemy in ways that alienated the people they were supposed to be saving.
  29. column
    a line of units following one after another
    Two years later, on April 30, 1975, columns of North Vietnamese soldiers entered Saigon, meeting little resistance from the demoralized South Vietnamese army.
  30. demoralize
    lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
    Two years later, on April 30, 1975, columns of North Vietnamese soldiers entered Saigon, meeting little resistance from the demoralized South Vietnamese army.
Created on Wed Aug 05 10:47:01 EDT 2020 (updated Mon Aug 17 14:51:08 EDT 2020)

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