Chapter 19 Section 1 Part 2

Ho Chi Minh wanted all of Vietnam Ho Chi Minh tried to reunify North and South Vietnam by force. To help him reunify Vietnam, he started a new guerrilla army called the Vietcong.

Ike Increases Aid In response to the fighting between the Vietcong and South Vietnam's forces, Eisenhower increased American aid, and sent military advisers to train South Vietnam's army. – However, the Vietcong’s power increased.

JFK and Vietnam President Kennedy continued to support South Vietnam. Politically, President Kennedy needed to appear tough on communism because Republicans had accused Democrats of having lost China to communism during the Truman years.

Taking out Diem The United States believed that the Vietcong were popular because South Vietnam’s government, led by Ngo Dinh Diem, was corrupt. A military coup against Diem on November 1, 1963 ended the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam. Several Vietnamese generals overthrew Diem and executed him.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Johnson asked Congress for authorization to use force to defend American forces. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution three days after the Gulf of Tonkin incident. It essentially handed over war powers to the president.

After Diem’s Death Less than a month after Diem’s death, Kennedy was assassinated. With Diem’s death, the government of South Vietnam became even more unstable. The United States became even more involved as it tried to support the weak South Vietnamese government. The conflict in Vietnam fell to President Johnson.

Johnson on Communism President Johnson was determined to stop Vietnam from becoming communist.

Gulf of Tonkin On August 4, 1964, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson mistakenly claimed that North Vietnamese forces had twice attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. This event became known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.