1. America’s Involvement in Vietnam
Going to War in Vietnam
America’s Involvement in Vietnam

2. Roots of Conflict
France had control over Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia –Known then as Indochina
Nguyen That Thanh –Took the name: Ho Chi Minh
He was a Vietnamese Communist nationalist who fought against the Japanese occupation during WWII
America sent aid to the Vietminh
When the Japanese surrendered, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence

3. What is America to do?
The French were not okay with Vietnam trying to declare independence
The French tried to fight back the Vietminh but they slowly gained control more and more of the country.
France begged for help from the U.S.
The U.S. was opposed to colonialism but it hated Communism even more and didn’t want Vietnam to fall to the Reds
The fall of China and Korea helped convince the U.S. to get involved
Truman sent aid and Eisenhower followed suit
“Domino Theory” –The idea that if Vietnam fell to communism, all other Asian countries would

4. A Changing of Power
After a crushing defeat in the town of Dien Bien Phu, the French decided to make peace and retreat from Indochina
Negotiations were held in Geneva to make peace between France and Vietnam
Split Vietnam along the 17th parallel –North Vietnam was controlled by Ho Chi Minh and South Vietnam was controlled by a pro-Western anti-Communist government headed by Ngo Dinh Diem
The U.S. became the “protector” of South Vietnam
There was supposed to be an election held in to reunite the county but Diem was afraid that Ho Chi Minh would win so he wouldn’t let the elections take place
Eisenhower was totally cool with this and gave more American aid to South Vietnam

5. American involvement Deepens
When Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold elections, Ho Chi Minh organized South Vietnamese Communists who became known as the Vietcong
They formed a new guerrilla army that fought to reunify Vietnam
Eisenhower sent hundreds of military advisors to train South Vietnam’s army
By 1961 the Vietcong were popular and extremely powerful and had gained much of the country side

6. Kennedy takes over Kennedy continued support to South Vietnam
From 1961 to 1963, U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam went from 2,000 to 15,000
Still many problems and many South Vietnamese didn’t like Diem.

7. Diem Ultimately Loses Power
Diem was very discriminatory towards Buddhism –One of Vietnam’s most widely practiced religions
In 1963 he banned traditional religious flags for the Buddha’s birthday
Buddhists protested in the streets and Diems police killed nine people
In response a Buddhist monk poured gasoline on his robes and set himself on fire
This horrified Americans who saw it on television news reports

8. Diem is Overthrown
U.S. ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge traveled to Vietnam and learned that several Vietnamese generals were planning to overthrow Diem
Lodge told them the U.S. sympathized with their cause
The generals launched a military coup and took power, executing Diem
The South Vietnamese government was still weakened by this coup.