Path+to+war+(Vietnam)


 * =**VIETNAM - THE PATH TO WAR **=

You all know that the United States was involved in a major military conflict during the Cold War ... but why? What was America's "path to war"? Using the resources below and Creating America, your task this evening is to write a description in YOUR OWN WORDS of the causes of American involvement in Southeast Asia. Pretend you are writing it as a summary for on online encyclopedia or textbook. Your description should ...


 * be between two and four paragraphs
 * contain the following terms - France, Ho Chi Minh, communism, Ngo Dinh Diem, military advisors, Gulf of Tonkin
 * be IN YOUR OWN WORDS (remember, it's easy to check this online)
 * contain two images THAT RELATE TO YOUR WRITING
 * Should end with the first Marines landing in Vietnam in 1965

Need some help? How about ... //Creating America// [|Into Vietnam (Overview)] from ABC-CLIO [|**Vietnam War** - the **Causes**] [|Timeline of the Vietnam War] [|Vietnam Online Timeline] Causes of the Vietnam War video below

The French had been under control of Vietnam for about 100 years. After the Japanese left after WWII, Ho Chi Minh declared their independence from the french. Ho Chi Minh wanted help from the US, but Harry Truman never responded because Vietnam was Communist and had just declared their independence from a democracy in France. At the time, Communists had just taken over China, which led the US to focus more on Asia. Vietnam asked China for help because they were both communists.

France tried to regain control over their colonies in Vietnam but the Vietnamese had help from both China and the Soviet Union, so it was difficult. To stop the spread of communism the US offered financial and Military support to the french.

When Dwight Eisenhower became president, he and his advisors thought that if Vietnam became Communist then the rest of south east Asia would fall to communism too. This is called the domino affect. In 1954, French drew out of vietnam, because they were weary of war. Vietnam was then divided at the 17th parallel. Ho got to control the north, while anti-communists controlled the south. But there was to be an election that decided who got control of both sides. Ho was the favored. But the US didn't want it to controlled by a communist leader so the election never happened.

The US started sending aid to the south Vietnamese government lead by Ngo Dinh Diem. He wasn't very popular in south vietnam as a leader. Communists in the south started a group to overthrow Diem and install communism. They destroyed roads and bridges and assassinated government officials. They had help from the north. The US fears of the communists wanting to take over the world was true, and they thought their only hope to stop the spread in South east Asia was through Vietnam. So JFK sent 400,000 troops to Vietnam to teach the Vietnamese how to fight the Vietcong's.

The north got worried about the US involvement in the war. While this was going on, Diem's rule was on the line. People didn't like that he favored catholics while most of the population was Buddhist. Diem started to crack down on protesters of his rule. they would either be arrested or executed. Some Buddhist hated him so much they burned themselves in revolt. The US knew they could help the south win the war with Diem in power so they had him assassinated. Only three weeks later, JFK was assassinated. Linden B Johnson took office. He also believed in the domino affect. A new leader took control in the south but he did not have strong support either.

The USS Maddox was attacked by a north torpedo ship in the Gulf of Tonkin. They were attacked again. Linden Johnson was infuriated the attacks. He ordered lots of air-strikes on the north. He also asked congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin resolution that allowed the president to do anything to stop and prevent the attacks on US troops and ships. This allowed Johnson to send troops into Vietnam. He also ordered operation rolling thunder the boost the morale of the south and to punish the north. ||