Moving Toward Conflict Chapter 30 Section 1

Daily Objective & Do Now Objective Understand the reasoning behind the United States entering in the Vietnam conflict Do Now: Under what circumstances is it ok for the U.S. invade and fight in a sovereign country?

I Roots of American Involvement France ruled Indochina until Japan takes over in WWII Exploited land pop for profit/restricted freedoms  rise of nationalism Indochinese Communist Party forms (1930) Leader = Ho Chi Minh  org. uprisings from exile in SU & China 1941 returns home combines Vietnamese Com. Party w/ others to form Vietminh Sought indep & thought they had it after Japans defeat in WWII

French return in 1946 & drive out Vietminh  control southern half Ho Chi Minh fight from North to drive them out of South US enters in 1950 (Truman) Paying for France’s war to beat a man we supported during WWII in order to beat the Japanese Cold War fever & the Red Scare  support France because… Maintain an ally & help stop another Asian country from going RED

Vietminh overruns French at Dien Bien Phu  French pull out of Vietnam US settling of stalemate in Korea  strengthening of anti-communist feelings Eisenhower’s Domino Theory = countries on brink of communism are like dominoes, when one falls the others around it will fall Vietminh overruns French at Dien Bien Phu  French pull out of Vietnam Geneva Accords peace agreement that temp. divide Vietnam N = Communists & S = anti- communists until an election in 1956 would unify them

II the United States Steps In Ho Chi Minh wins support by redistributing land to peasants Ngo Dinh Diem (Pres. Of S & staunch anti- comm) refuses to take part in election US supports suspension of elections out of fear that that would lead to Ho Chi Minh victory US sends mil aid to Diem in return for stable gov’t in south but he fails  Vietcong attacks on Diem gov’t Vietcong AKA National Liberation Front = communist in south Vietnam Minh sends support to Vietcong  Ho Chi Minh Trail

Diem (catholic) attacked Buddhism imprisonment & destroying temples JFK increases aid to Diem’s corrupt gov’t because DEMS were seen as “soft” on communism Increase in finance and military support against NLF Diem’s institute Hamlet Program to combat growing Vietcong presence in South Diem (catholic) attacked Buddhism imprisonment & destroying temples Self-Immolation in protests horrified Americans  JFK demanding Diem stop persecution but he refuses 1963 US military coup topples Diems regime JFK assassinated LBJ now controls Vietnam situation

III President Johnson Expands Vietnam Conflict Diem’s death instability in South Vietnam & growing Vietcong presence LBJ knew communist takeover of S Vietnam would spell disaster for a DEM Party Also seem like an appeaser around the globe LBJ announces N Viet. Troops attack an American ship in the Gulf of Tonkin LBJ launched bombing campaign in N Vietnam & request Congress to allow him to use “all necessary measures…to prevent further aggression” Tonkin Gulf Resolution = NOT decl. of war but gave LBJ broad military powers in Vietnam

Operation Rolling Thunder = the first sustained bombing of North Vietnam Shortly after thousands of Amer. Troops land in South Vietnam  beginning of Vietnam war