1. AP World History POD #23 – Emerging Asia War in Korea & Vietnam

2. Class Discussion Notes Bulliet – “West Versus East”, pp. 852-853 Bulliet – “United States Defeat in Vietnam”, pp. 853-855

3. Truman Doctrine (Containment) the United States cut off aid to the Soviet Union in May 1945 / the United States believed the atomic bomb gave them military superiority, thus they got tough with the Soviets or at least talked tough at Potsdam March 1947 desired to contain communism to areas already under the control of the Red Army financial aid was provided to Greece and Turkey to help in the resistance Used to justify involvement in Korea and Vietnam (Southeast Asia), as well as Nicaragua and Cuba

4. Korea at the End of WWII Soviet troops occupied and controlled the Korean peninsula north of the 38 th parallel American troops controlled the south No agreement could be reached allowing for countrywide elections 1948 communist North Korea and non- communist South Korea were established as independent states

5. War 1950 – North Korea invaded South Korea driving the American army to the southern tip of the peninsula a Pusan The United Nations would come to the rescue of South Korea in the absence of a Soviet delegation to veto an authorization of troop used in the UN Security Council General Douglass MacArthur launched a daring escape by sea and an amphibious landing at Inchon cutting off the North Korean troops and supply line As the North retreated the American and United Nations army crossed the 38 th parallel drawing the Chinese Army into the battle A stalemate would emerge until the 1953 truce

6. Truce “Because the United States feared that launching attacks into China might prompt China’s ally, the Soviet Union, to retaliate, the conflict remained limited to the Korean peninsula. Victories by American and South Korean forces forced North Korean forces north until China entered the war. The contending armies eventually reached a stalemate along the thirty-eighth parallel. The two sides formally agreed to a truce but never signed a peace treaty. As a result, fear of renewed warfare between the two Koreas continued well past the end of the Cold War.” (Bulliet, p. 853)

7. Vietnam War Conflict pitting North Vietnam and South Vietnamese communist guerillas against the South Vietnamese government, aided after 1961 by the United States Vietnam was divided at the 17 th parallel Nationalism – war to end foreign intervention (both north & south had this motivation) Civil War – North Vietnam vs. South Vietnam Cold War – United States engages militarily in this region to uphold the Truman Doctrine and the policy of containment / there was also a great fear that if Vietnam fell to communist control the other nations of Southeast Asia would follow (Domino Theory)

8. Vietnamese Nationalism “At the war’s end (WWII) the French government was determined to keep its colonial possessions. Ho Chi Minh’s nationalist coalition called the Viet Minh, fought the French with help from the People’s Republic of China. After a brutal struggle, the French stronghold of Dienbienphu fell in 1954, marking the end of France’s colonial enterprise. Ho’s Viet Minh government took over the north, and a non-communist nationalist government ruled in the south.” (Bulliet, p. 853)

9. Ho Chi Minh Spent several years in France during World War I Helped form the French Communist Party Returned to Vietnam in 1930 after a training session in Moscow to form the Indochina Communist Party Forced to take refuge in China during World War II Cooperated with the United States while Japan controlled Vietnam

10. American Intervention in Southeast Asia: President Eisenhower (1953-1961) Provided limited support to France but ultimately decided not to prop up French colonial rule After victory at Dienbienphu the North Vietnamese supported a communist guerilla movement known as the Viet Cong in their fight against the noncommunist government of South Vietnam Blocked a national unity election in 1956 fearing a Ho Chi Minh victory for the communists

11. American Intervention in Southeast Asia: President Kennedy (1961-1963) Supported the South Vietnamese government of Ng Dinh Diem (even though it was corrupt and unpopular) Feared a communist victory would encourage the ideological and economic spread of communism throughout the region altering the Cold War balance of power Kennedy increased the number of American military advisers while encouraging the overthrow of the Diem government, an event that led to Diem’s execution

12. American Intervention in Southeast Asia: President Johnson (1963-1969) Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) – gave congressional support for an unlimited U.S. military deployment that eventually reached 500,000 troops Due to the corruption of the new post-Diem government in the south, many people supported the Viet Cong Battlefield success did not lead to a comprehensive victory Tet Offensive (January 1968) – massive attack by the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong guerillas – even though the American troops recovered it added credibility to the North and its allies and fueled the American anti-war movement

13. War Protests “President Johnson began his administration committed to a broad program of social reforms and civil rights initiatives, called the Great Society, and was instrumental in passing major civil rights legislation that responded to the heroic campaign for voting rights and integration led by Martin Luther King, Jr. As the commitment of U.S. troops in Vietnam grew, a massive antiwar movement applied the tactics of the civil rights movement to end the war. Growing economic problems and a rising tide of antiwar rallies, now international in character, undermined support for Johnson, who declined to seek reelection.” (Bulliet, p. 855)

14. American Intervention in Southeast Asia: President Nixon (1969-1973) Promised a withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam Paris Peace Accords (1973) – signed by the United States and North Vietnam – ended U.S. involvement and promised future elections

15. Fall of Saigon 1975 In violation of the peace accord the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong overran the south capturing the capital of Saigon and renaming it Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam was reunited and ruled from the north Over 1 million dead Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans