1. Origins of the Vietnam Conflict
Day 1 Notes
Origins of the Vietnam Conflict

2. History of Vietnam
*Vietnam had been a territory under the French Empire since 1800
*During World War II France fell to the Third Reich and their colonies in Asia quickly were snatched up by the Empire of Japan.
*Even before the fall of France, Communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, had lead multiple Communist uprisings in the 1930’s, which lead the French to sentence him to death.
*Minh fled to the Soviet Union and China to help build the Communist movement from afar

3. Vietnam Rises
*Post WWII The French went on to assume their previous colonial holdings, including Vietnam.
*France had gained control of the Southern half of the peninsula and Ho Chi Minh and the communists had control of the North
*Following domino theory policies, Truman sent the French $15 mil to aid them in their fight.
*The French had their final stand in DIen Bien Phu and were finally pushed out of the country

4. America Takes Sides
*Due to Cold War policies of containment, the United States will Side with Ngo Dinh Diem and the South Vietnamese
*Diem was a not a democratic leader but instead a brutal dictator that cancelled elections in South Vietnam (U.S. backed this decision)
*Diem and the U.S.’s action led to the communist group in the South called the Vietcong being formed.

5. Kennedy in Vietnam
*When Kennedy takes office in 1961, he decided to continue friendly relations with Diem regardless of his obvious brutality towards his own people
*Kennedy will continue to send financial aid to South Vietnam
*By the end of ,000 military personnel were on the peninsula as “Military Advisors”

6. Fall of Diem
*Diem continued his brutal practices against his own people, especially towards the Buddhists living in Vietnam, the end of his regime was coming to an obvious end
*In 1963, the United States helped organize and facilitate a military coup to throw Diem from power
*Against Kennedy’s wishes, Diem was assassinated

7. Johnson and the Gulf of Tonkin
*Johnson held the same outlook on Vietnam as Kennedy and continued American support
*In August of 1964, American destroyer, USS Maddox, was shot upon by a Vietnamese patrol boat
*This act of North Vietnamese aggression led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave Johnson larger military powers without formally declaring war