1. Chapter 29 Section 1 Notes Second Half
“Kennedy and Foreign Policy”– “Conflict in Vietnam”

2. Vietnam After World War II
- For centuries the Vietnamese were dominated by China
- French Indochina – colony of France since late 1800s that included Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia
- Vietnamese fought French rule, under the leadership of the Communist leader, Ho Chi Minh
- during World War II Japan took over Vietnam

3. - Ho Chi Minh formed the Viet Minh to fight the Japanese and received aid from the United States for doing so
after the Japanese surrendered to end WWII, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent, France returned to regain their old colony
both Presidents Truman and Eisenhower gave France aid to fight the communist Viet Minh
Ho Chi Minh

4. Truman & Eisenhower Aid the French
- while France was fighting in Vietnam the U.S. was following its containment plan in Western Europe against the Soviet Union in the Cold War
when China became communist in 1949 U.S. leaders feared the spread of communism in Asia
domino theory – U.S. theory that if one nation fell to communism, that other neighboring nations would become communist, too
Chairman Mao Zedong, Communist Leader of China
Sec. of State John Foster Dulles and President Dwight Eisenhower discuss strategy in Vietnam

5. French Defeated in Vietnam
- Viet Minh had fewer weapons and supplies but used hit-and-run guerilla tactics to weaken French - France was defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland began
French get re-supplied by air while surrounded at Dien Bien Phu
French surrender to Vietnamese forces at Dien Bien Phu

6. Geneva Accords Divide Vietnam
Geneva Accords – agreement that was to temporarily split Vietnam between north and south, with elections to unify the nation to be held in 1956
North Vietnam became communist under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh
- South Vietnam became anti-communist under Ngo Dinh Diem (supported by the U.S.)

7. Diem’s Government in South Vietnam
Diem’s govt. in South Vietnam wasn’t democratic, but was corrupt, oppressive, and unpopular
Thousands of political opponents were imprisoned and tortured
- elections to unify Vietnam never held as the popular Ho Chi Minh would have won and turned Vietnam communist
President Eisenhower and South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem

8. The Viet Cong Oppose Diem
National Liberation Front is formed by the North Vietnamese to oppose Diem and recruit fighters against his govt.
Viet Cong – nickname for South Vietnamese communists who opposed Diem and were aided North Vietnam
Viet Cong fought to overthrow Diem’s govt. and reunite the nation all of Vietnam under communist rule
The Viet Cong Oppose Diem

9. American Involvement
Pres. Eisenhower helped Diem’s government in South Vietnam by sending aid, weapons, and military advisors
Kennedy sent more advisors and special forces (who did take part in combat missions)
Diem ordered troops to open fire on Buddhist protesters against his government
Buddhist monk sets himself on fire in protest against South Vietnam’s govt.

10. The Diem Government Falls
- U.S. aid increased in South Vietnam, but U.S. upset that Diem wouldn’t make political, economic, and military reforms
- with U.S. support, a military coup overthrew Diem, and against Kennedy’s wishes killed Diem
- shortly after, Kennedy himself was assassinated and the problem of Vietnam fell to the new U.S. President, Lyndon Johnson
V.P. Lyndon Johnson is
sworn in as President
aboard Air Force One in
the presence of JFK’s wife,
Jacqueline Kennedy