AGENDAApril 28/29, 2010

1. Administrative: Stamps -- Chapter 38 Terms List & Civil

Rights Timeline Tutorial period: Thursday, 8:05-9:10 a.m. Tests available for correction then

2. Today’s topic: Vietnam Lecture / Guided Notes Take out your notebook

3. Homework for Friday, April 30: Terms List, Chapter 39

Welcometo

Vietnam

…or should I say French Indochina?

CIA World FactbookBackground on Vietnam

The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Vietnam declared independence after World War II, but France continued to rule until its 1954 defeat by Communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the Communist North and anti-Communist South. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South reuniting the country under Communist rule.

Roots of the Vietnam Conflict

• French Indochina was a French colony since the late 1800s

• After World War I, Ho Chi Minh asked President Woodrow Wilson for assistance in the cause of self determination for SE Asia

• During World War II, Japan seized French Indochina and the U.S. provided assistance to the resistance fighters

Roots of the Vietnam Conflict

• Ho Chi Minh again seeks independence after WWII, but the French return in 1946 -- with U.S. consent and financial assistance

• 1954 – Dienbienphu falls, ending French occupation

• Geneva Conference divides Vietnam at the 17th parallel, provides for nationwide elections within two years

The Contenders

President Ho Chi Minh President Ngo Dinh Diem

The Domino Theory

Kennedy years: Key events

Late 1961U.S. backing includes new equipment and more than 3,000 military advisors and support personnel.

January 12, 1962Helicopters flown by U.S. Army pilots ferry 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to sweep an enemy stronghold near Saigon. It marks America's first combat missions against the Vietcong.

Early 1962Operation Ranchhand begins. The goal of Ranchhand is to clear vegetation alongside highways, making it more difficult for the Vietcong to conceal themselves for ambushes.

Kennedy years: Key events

“Rome made a desert and called it peace.”--Tacitus

To whom have we committed?

The End of Diem

A new president…

Guns or Butter?

1964 Presidential Elections

Lyndon Johnson Barry Goldwater

The Gulf of Tonkin

Johnson years: Key events

July 30, 1964 South Vietnamese commandos attack two small North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin.

August 1964The captain of the U.S.S. Maddox reports that his vessel has been fired on and that an attack is imminent.

Johnson years: Key events

August 7, 1964The U.S. congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Johnson the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend southeast Asia.

Homework

Homework for Friday, April 30: Terms List, Chapter 39