Independence in Vietnam  1802 – Nguyen Anh (renamed Emperor Gia Long) named Vietnam and unified the country.  1860s – 1880s: France took control of Vietnam.  French “reason” for taking over – persecution of European missionaries in Vietnam  Early 20 th Century: nationalist (common group wanting to form its own country) movement began  1930s: Communist party took over the nationalist movement (led by Ho Chi Minh)  Group named the “Vietminh”

Independence in Vietnam (cont’d)  During WWII ( ), Japan controlled Vietnam.  1945 – Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam to be an independent nation with himself as the president.  BUT… France returned, and war broke out between the Vietminh (communist group in control of Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh) and France.  United States gave supplies to France to help them defeat the Vietminh (because the Vietminh was communist).

Vietnam (cont’d)  1954 – Geneva Conference in Switzerland to organize a cease-fire (Vietminh had defeated the French.)  Vietnam was divided into a north region and a south region.  North region: controlled by the Vietminh (communist)  South region: controlled by non-communist Vietnamese  South Vietnam and the U.S. would not agree to the division. They wanted a unified Vietnam.  In South Vietnam: Ngo Dinh Diem was appointed premier. U.S. gave them military and financial help to protect South Vietnam from the communists in the north.

Vietnam  1957 – Vietnam War began when communist rebels attacked South Vietnam.  1960 – Vietcong (communist military in North Vietnam) began fighting.  August 2 and 4, 1964 – North Vietnam fired at U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam.  March 1965 – first U.S. troops in Vietnam  U.S. mission in Vietnam: to support South Vietnam so that it could take over all of Vietnam (did not want to win, and soldiers could not fight in North Vietnam land)  January 27, 1973: cease-fire agreement in Paris, France, and U.S. withdrew from Vietnam  South Vietnam: weak

Vietnam  1975 – North Vietnam attacked and successfully took over South Vietnam.  1976 – Communists unified all of Vietnam and renamed it the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Korea  Pre-WWII: Korea controlled by Japan  1945 – Japan defeated by Allies in WWII  Allies decided to divide Korea in half at the 38 th parallel.  South Korea: supported by United States  North Korea: controlled by communists  1950: North Korea wanted control of all of Korea, so it invaded South Korea.  The Korean War began.  United Nations forces (led by U.S.) rushed to South Korea’s defense.  The United Nations and U.S. did not want communism to spread.  United States: had a policy of containment  Would try to keep communism from spreading to any other countries

Korea (cont’d)  China was communist (Mao’s government).  Sent troops to help North Korea when the U.N. and U.S. had pushed communist North Korean soldiers almost to Chinese border in the north  Chinese government was afraid of U.S. nuclear weapons (used in WWII).  China had many more soldiers, but the United Nations and United States had superior firepower.  Caused a stalemate in the fighting  1953 – cease-fire  Korean War ended without a peace treaty or a victory for either side.

Japan  WWII: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. (1941)  United States fought and dropped two atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan.  Japan surrendered.  : Allied forces occupied Japan  Japan became a democracy. The United States helped Japan form a new constitution.  U.S. helped Japan rebuild after the devastation of WWII because the U.S. wanted to set up a democratic government in the region to be opposed to and to prevent the further spread of communism in the region (China).