Early 1900's
*France controls Vietnam and takes their resources
1930's
*Ho Chi Minh begins to lead Communist revolts against the French
1940-1945
*Japan invades and controls Vietnam in WWII
1945
*France takes over again after Japanese lose WWII
1954
*Vietnamase Communists and Nationalists defeat the French in a major battle at Dien Bien Phu
United States
*Supports France to stop Communism
Geneva Peace Conference (1954)
*Divide Vietnam in half at 17 degrees north latitude
Ho Chi Minh
*Rules North Vietnamn as a Communist dictator
Ngo Dinh Diem
*Rules South Vietnam as a dictator, supported by U.S. & France
The Beginning of U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
1950
*President Truman gives:
-$15 million aid to help French control Vietnam
-$2.6 billion over the next four years
1953
*President Eisenhower:
-Continues U.S. policy of giving aid to the French
-Domino theory-if we lose one country we may lose all the countries in Southeast Asia
1961
*President Kennedy:
-Supports Ngo Dinh Diem's government
-Increases aid to South Vietnam
-Sends in 16,000 "military advisors"
1964
*President Johnson:
-Believes politically and strategically that the U.S. cannot let Vietnam become communist
-Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:Congress grants Johnson the power to use "all necessary measures" to repel attacks on the U.S. in Vietnam
1965
*50,000 U.S. troops are fighting in Vietnam
The Vietnam War
U.S.S.R. (Military aid, no troops)
China (Military aid, no troops)
North Korea (Ho Chi Minh)
Viet Cong (National Liberation Front)
-guerilla fighters seeking to take over South Vietnam
WAR
South Vietnam (Ngo Dinh Diem)
United States (troops and military aid)
American Troops in Vietnam
-1963-16,500
-1965-161,000
-1966-400,000
1967-475,000
-1968-536,000
The Vietnam War
Communist Vietcong from the north
*Used guerilla warfare to take over S. Vietnam
1950s-early 60s
*U.S. sends in military "advisors" to help South Vietnam
Aug.1964
*U.S. President Johnson claims North Vietnamese attacked U.S. ships. U.S. begins to send in troops
1968
*U.S. has 500,000 troops in Vietnam
Vietnamese people
*Support the Vietcong
Vietnam war
*Becomes unpopular in U.S.
1969
*President Nixon begins pulling U.S. troops out
1973
*Last U.S. troops out
Deaths in the war
*Americans-58,000
Vietnamese-1.5 million
The Vietnam War
Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution (1964)
-President Johnson claims the North Vietnamese attacked U.S. ships
-Congress grants the President the authority to use "all necessary means" in Vietnam
Selective Service
-The Vietnam War had a draft. College students and others could get special deferments
-The Vietnam War was fought mainly by 10 year-old, minority, "lower/working class" males
-Most of the soldiers who fought were not old enough to vote
Demonstrations/Protests
-The nation was sharply divided over whether the U.S. should be in Vietnam
-Students and young Americans staged huge Anti-war demonstrations
My Lai Massacre
-Many Vietnamese villagers fought for the Vietcong at night
-The soldiers couldn't tell who was an enemy and who wasn't
-U.S. soldiers lined up and massacred more than 100 Vietnamese villagers, mostly women and children
Turbulent Times
Nov. 22, 1963-President Kennedy Assassinated
July 2, 1964-Civil Rights Act of 1964
1964-1968-Race riots-Hundreds of riots in American cities
Blacks angry at:
*Police brutality
*No jobs
*Slum living conditions
*De facto segregation
Tet Offensive-U.S. loses hope of winning Vietnam War
April 3, 1968-Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated
June 1968-Presidential Candidate Robert Kennedy assassinated
1968-Vietnam War-500,000 U.S. soldiers-more than any year
August 1968-Huge violent demonstrations at Democratic National Convention-Chicago
May 4, 1970-4 students killed in anti-war. Demonstrations at Kent. State
The End of the Vietnam War
Tet Offensive
*North Vietnamese Communists launch a surprise offensive against South Vietnam
-U.S.-3,000 killed
-Vietcong-32,000 killed
-U.S. loses hope of ever winning the war
President Nixon
Vietnamization --> Gradual troop pullout
"Peace with honor"=Paris Peace Talks and massive bombings
April 30, 1970-Invasion and bombing of Cambodia ->Protests on 1200 college campuses -> Kent State massacre-4 students killed by National Guard.
Jan 23rd. 1973-Peace Agreement
March 1973-Last U.S. troops out of Vietnam
After the war
*North Vietnamese take over all of South Vietnam after U.S. troops leave-May 1975
-Many who fought against communist are put to death
-400,000 put in labor camps
-1.5 million South Vietnamese leave the country
-over 50,000 killed in boats trying to escape
Cambodia
*U.S. bombs Cambodia during the war because Vietcong are hiding there
-Communist Khmer Rouge govt. takes over
-Khmer Rouge puts to death 1/4 of the population: 2 million killed
