The Vietnam War (1954-1975) Honors United States History 20.1.
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Transcript of The Vietnam War (1954-1975) Honors United States History 20.1.
The Vietnam War (1954-1975)
Honors United States History 20.1
Indochina
A History of Foreign Rulers• China ruled Vietnam for 2,000
years– Bring Buddhism, language, and
rice• France took over in the 1800s– Catholicism, plantations,
education, and infrastructure– Indochina became one of
France’s most lucrative possessions• Rice – North; Rubber – South;
Coal, Tin, and Zinc from mines
– Workers known as “coolies” – Asian laborers
Ho Chi Minh and the World Wars• After WWI – Ho Chi Minh
wanted to model a system of US system– Wilson refused aid
• WWII – Japan’s GEACPS– Ho and his VIET MINH -
organization that led the struggle for Vietnamese independence from the French - spied and carried out guerilla warfare for the Allies
– Wants US help again but now a Communist
Stuck Between Scylla and Charybdis • France wants control back
after WWII– US is anti-colonial but…is
needs anticommunist forces in Europe
• Mao’s PRC (1949) forces the US to France– Pays 80% of the French bill
and takes French troops to Vietnam
• Eisenhower comes to power– Continues Truman’s
policies to prevent his DOMINO THEORY – if Vietnam falls to Communism all its closest allies would follow
Truman has to choose…
War Continues Indochina• French victory– Initial military success
• Gained control of Saigon• Viet Minh heavily outnumbered
the French but could not get weapons or munitions
– Placed Bao Dai as ruler• Catholic, seen as puppet
– Tried to seem pro-Vietnamese, anti-communist, anti-colonial• Ho is gaining support throughout
Vietnam• Created Vietnamese National
Army (VNA)
Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva Accords• 1954 – French lose at Dien Bien
Phu garrison to the Viet Minh– US sends no soldiers, just money
• Geneva Accords – Granted independence for
Indochina– Peace treaty divided Vietnam at
17th parallel• Ho’s Communists in the North and
anticommunist gov’t in South
– 1956 – election to reunite Vietnam
Chaos Followed the Accords• Refugees – 900,000 Catholics move
to South Vietnam – 80,000 Communists move
North • Eisenhower sends 900
army trainers to help the VNA (Vietnamese National Army)– S. Vietnam now under
Ngo Dihn Diem
US and S. Vietnam Rethink Geneva• 1954 – SEATO (Southeast Asia
Treaty Organization) formed to stop Asian Communism – US funds S. Vietnam
• Diem losing support– Catholic, persecuted Buddhists• Ho winning more supporters in S.
Vietnam…
• CIA recognizes Diem will lose to Ho in 1956 election– Diem pulled out
Civil War Breaks Out!• 1957 – National Liberation
Front (Viet Cong) form in S. Vietnam– Assassinated South
officials, blow up infrastruction, guerilla style warfare
– Undermined Diem’s gov’t– Supplied by the North
Vietnamese Army (Viet Minh)
JFK Intervenes• After Bay of Pigs in
1961– Sent in 16,000
special forces troop “advisors” and 675 trainers for Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
Dissatisfaction with Diem
• Repressive, torturous dictator– Diem’s family holds all
power, elites hold the wealth
– STRATEGIC HAMLET PROGRAM – contain potential communists in walled towns • Buddhist peasants angry
as removed from ancestral lands
• US keeps him in power
Early Protests of Diem’s Government
US Offs Diem
• JFK plots with anti-Diem generals in coup– 2 Nov 1963 – Diem is killed
• Succession of leaders– Nguyen Cao Ki (ran with Thieu)– Then Nguyen Van Thieu took over when Ki retires
LBJ Amps Up JFK’s Approach
• Vows not to lose Vietnam in the same we we “lost” China, N. Korea, and Cuba
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident
• Aug 1964 – N. Vietnamese ship attacked USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution– A Blank Check– Gives LBJ the power to send
troops into combat without Congress
LBJ Sends in Ground Forces
• China is still on LBJ’s mind– “I’m not going to be the
president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went.” – Lyndon Johnson
• Advised to make the move by SoS Robert McNamara
Air Strikes Begin Against N. Vietnam
• Broadens US involvement – the war begins for the US
• US troops now directly engaged against North Vietnamese troops and the Viet Cong (VC)