1. Press F5 to begin

2. VIETNAM -Our Longest War- The Way We Saw It
An illustration and art resource based on MindSparks, copyright 2001

3. The completed worksheets will be due as instructed.
This activity on the Vietnam War relies on photographs, editorial cartoons, and internet resources as a basis for your self-directed study.
As you advance through the slides, be careful to read each of the descriptions for the photographs. At times you will be directed to print worksheets—or, if working on a laptop without printing options, get them from Mr. Schlosser—to answer questions based on the information within this slide presentation.
The completed worksheets will be due as instructed.
At other times you will need to access specific websites to gather additional information; they are linked with the slides so you will not need to close this presentation.
Be sure to ask if you have any questions.
Unless directed otherwise, advance to the next slide by clicking on the mouse.

4. Lesson 1
By the start of World War II, Vietnam had been a colony of France for about 100 years. Vietnam was a traditional Asian nation of small villages and peasants such as those shown here.

5. The villages were the heart of Vietnamese society, a society the French never really understood. During World War II, Japan briefly conquered Vietnam at a point when France had been overrun by the Nazis. However, the chaos of war also gave the Vietnamese communist Ho Chi Minh the chance he needed to organize his Viet Minh fighters for a struggle to win their independence. Was Ho’s main goal to impose communism on Vietnam or simply to free his country from the French? For a while, this was not clear.

6. Ho Chi Minh actually helped the U. S
Ho Chi Minh actually helped the U.S. during World War II in its fight against Japan. But with the start of the Cold War, Ho’s communist beliefs turned U.S. leaders against him. They soon began to support the French in their drive to re-conquer Vietnam. In 1949, communist rebels under Mao Tse-Tung, shown here with Ho, took power in China.

7. The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb that year
The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb that year. Then in 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. All this added to US fears about the spread of Communism throughout Southeast Asia. US aid to the French in Vietnam rose rapidly. Soon, the US was financing most of the war. This cartoon reflects the irritation many Americans felt at France’s lack of gratitude for the US assistance it had come to depend on.

8. The war continued to go badly for the French
The war continued to go badly for the French. In 1954, they finally gave up, agreeing at a conference in Geneva to withdraw their troops and accept a divided Vietnam. Ho’s forces would control the North, while the South was in the hands of non-communist Vietnamese, many of whom had backed the French. America would soon begin to aid South Vietnam in a new war against the Communists.
The map illustrates some of the geographical factors which would make the war so difficult to fight.

9. Lesson 1 Review What European country colonized Vietnam (Indochina)?
What was the heart of Vietnamese society?
Who led the Communist forces in Vietnam?
What geographic features made Vietnam a difficult battleground?
According to the terms of the French withdrawal from Vietnam, elections were to be held. The US opposed them. Why?
Find an on-line timeline for the years Choose 10 events to create your own timeline relevant to Southeast Asia for these years. You may need to use more than one website. Click on the text box to the left to access the web.
Lesson 1
Review
Answer these questions on a separate sheet of paper.
Use the “page up”/”page down” buttons to check the slides for answers.

10. Turn in the review questions from the previous slide when finished.
The next assignment requires you to complete a map worksheet on Southeast Asia. You may reference the slide earlier in the presentation or use an on-line map.
Be sure to use color.
Once you finish and hand in the map, you may close out Lesson 1 and begin Lesson 2.