Mr. Giesler American History

The Truman Doctrine, 1947 TTYN: Describe the basic tenants of the Truman Doctrine?  With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. The Truman Doctrine effectively reoriented U.S. foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the United States, to one of possible intervention in far away conflicts.

Diên Biên Phú

Overview  The French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 signalled the end of French influence and Colonialism in Indochina.  The battle fought around Dien Bien Phu was the last major campaign by a European state in the region  Dien Bien Phu was a town in northwest Vietnam with an isolated air base built and used by the Japanese in World War Two.  Located near the Vietnam/Laos border.

Diên Biên Phú Overview  Although the French inflicted heavy casualties on the Vietminh, Dien Bien Phu was a tactical and operational failure for the French.  French losses totaled 7,184 casualties, included 1,142 dead and 1,606 missing.  Vietminh suffered 7,900 dead and over 15,000 wounded.

Diên Biên Phú Overview  The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN) had mobilized over 33,000 workers to support the contingent at Dien Bien Phu, which allowed it to sustain the 50,000-man siege for the five-month operation.  It was a tactical and operational success for the Vietminh; they had achieved their decisive victory over the French.

Diên Biên Phú Overview  The Vietnamese strategic goal of using the victory to obtain concessions at the Geneva negotiations failed.  The Vietnamese were forced to accept a temporary partition of their country with elections to be held two years later. However, the south government headed by Ngo Dinh Diem and backed by the US established a separate government and ignored the call for elections in 1956.

Partition of Vietnam

CLASSIFIED CASE FILE Vietnam Conflict Harry S Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.

Who authored the document? When was the document authored? What type of document? Who was the audience for the document? Why was it created? Who was the aggressor in the incident according to the document? Document 1 Document 2 See Handout Detective Log

Document 1 Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy on Indochina before the Senate Washington, D.C., April 6, 1954

Document 2 Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy before The Executives' Club Chicago, Illinois, May 28, 1954

Document 3 Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy at the Conference on Vietnam Luncheon in the Hotel Willard Washington, D.C., June 1, 1956

Document 4 ANTI-REDS ACTIVE IN NORTH VIETNAM New York Times; Oct. 16, 1961

Document 5 Reds in Vietnam Kill U.S. Aide in Ambush New York Times; Nov. 6, 1960

Document 6 OFFICIER TELLS OF "ROUTINE' IN GULF OF TONKIN Chicago Tribune; Oct 5, 1964

Document 7 New Hurdle in Vietnam New York Times; Aug. 12, 1964

Document 8 Patrols in Gulf of Tonkin Began as Watch on Reds Los Angeles Times; Sept. 27, 1964

Document 9 President Johnson's Message to Congress August 5, 1964

Document 10 Joint Resolution of Congress H.J. RES 1145 August 7, 1964

Questions to Consider  What questions did you ask while evaluating these sources?  On what points do the accounts agree?  On what points do the accounts differ?  Which of these sources aligns most closely with what you already knew about the Vietnam Conflict? How so?  Which of these sources is most reliable in determining what actually happened the led to the start of the Vietnam Conflict? Why do you think so?  Describe the difficulties in developing an accurate account of historical events like the start of the Vietnam Conflict?  If you were asked to write your own historical account of the events that occurred during the years the followed the battle of Dien Bien Phu, how would you go about doing so?

Cracking the Case Based on your analysis of the documents and citing evidence to support your answer, please write a one-page summary, which answers the following questions: how did the basic tenants of the Truman Doctrine and the events that followed following the battle of Dien Bien Phu interconnect and would ultimately lead to the Vietnam Conflict? Was Unites States involvement justified? What are the similarities between the Korean War and the start of the Vietnam Conflict?