Vietnam+-+Path


 * || = VIETNAM - THE PATH TO WAR =
 * || = VIETNAM - THE PATH TO WAR =
 * || = VIETNAM - THE PATH TO WAR =

You all know that the United States was involved in a major military conflict in Vietnam during the Cold War ... but why? What was America's "path to war"? Using the resources below and __Creating America__, your task this evening is to write a description in YOUR OWN WORDS of the causes of American involvement in Southeast Asia. Pretend you are writing it as a summary for on online encyclopedia or textbook. Your description should ... * be between ** two and four complete, well written paragraphs ** Need some help? How about ... This voicethread, made by your favorite 8th grade American history teacher that you have this year (I like to limit my competition)
 * ** contain the following terms ** - France, Ho Chi Minh, communism, Ngo Dinh Diem, military advisors, Gulf of Tonkin, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Rolling Thunder
 * be** IN YOUR OWN WORDS ** (remember, it's easy to check this online)
 * ** contain two images ** THAT RELATE TO YOUR WRITING
 * Should **end with the first Marines landing in Vietnam** in 1965

While Japan controlled Vietnam during WWII, Ho Chi Minh, a communist, came together with other nationalists to create an organization called Viet Mihn. This group trained soldiers for a fight against Japan. When the Japanese surrendered to the Allies in 1945, Ho declared Vietnam independent. China tried to regain power over Vietnam, but Ho refused. In the end, there was a war between the Viet Minh and France. By 1954, the rebel Viet Minh had successfully overthrown French rule. After Vietnam was free, there was a peace meeting that took place in Geneva, Switzerland. Here, the French and the Viet Minh came up with a resolution known as the Geneva Accords. This agreement divided Vietnam into two parts. The dividing line was the 17th parallel. Moreover, both sides agreed to hold elections in 1956 for a single government to reunite the country. Up until that point, Ho Chi Minh leaded the communist north and Ngo Dinh Diem controlled the US-supportive South. The US supported the south because of what Truman and Eisenhower called the domino theory; if one country falls to communism, others will soon follow. The elections never took place. Ngo Dinh Diem knew that if there were an election Ho Ci Minh would win by a landslide. For this reason, Eisenhower sent more military advisors, money, and supplies to South Vietnam to help the Diem government. Even with the aid received from the US, Diem did not create a democratic government. Instead, his government was full of corruption and unpopularity. Even Americans did not approve of a majority of Diem's actions. On November 1st, 1963, a US funded military coup overthrew and killed Diem. This overthrow was supported by President Kennedy. During his presidency, Kennedy also sent more advisors to Vietnam; he did not want to be soft against communism. By his death, over 16,000 troops were in Vietnam.

President Johnson is responsible for escalating American involvement in Vietnam. Originally, he did not support the war. However, as time went on he realized that not supporting the war would let communism spread and flourish. The Gulf of Tonkin incident is what allowed him to increase American involvement. In this event, a US navy destroyer was supposedly attacked by North Vietnamese submarines. Johnson went before Congress to ask for the ability to take "all necessary measures." Congress gave him this ability, and from that moment on American troops in Vietnam steadily increased until the late 1960s. Johnson's first plan against Vietnam was known as Rolling Thunder. During this airstrike, the US dropped more bombs on Vietnam than they did against Germany in WWII. Then in 1965, the first United States ground troops were sent to Vietnam. //Creating America // [|This cool animation] [|Into Vietnam (Overview)] from ABC-CLIO [|Timeline of the Vietnam War] [|Vietnam Online Timeline] Causes of the Vietnam War video below ||