The Vietnam War
1955-1975
Early Years
 Cambodia & Vietnam ruled by
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France as French Indochina
During WWII when France feel to
the Germans it became part of
Vichy France & run by the Japanese
Fell into famine
When Japan is defeated in 1945,
Ho Chi Minh & the Viet Minh
declare Vietnam free
With the help of the British
however, Vietnam is returned to the
French
A guerilla war begins
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
 March-May 1954
 French fight Viet Minh & lose
 Vietnam becomes divided by
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17th Parallel at Geneva
Conference
Eisenhower sends 675 as
military advisors
North communist & South
looked over by French
Capital North: Hanoi
Capital South: Saigon
Elections to be held 1956
Ngo Dinh Diem
 Put in power as Prime
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Minister in South
In 1955 in rigged the
elections to become president
of South
His brother Nhu becomes his
2nd in command and Madame
Nhu is stand in 1st lady
Vietnam against the Emperor
Catholic
He cancels the elections in
1956 knowing Ho Chi Minh
would win
What traits does Michelle
Obama have that may make her
a good First Lady?
What traits do you
think a First Lady
should have?
Problems Under Diem
 Hamlets: US helps Diem
relocate citizens to
protective hamlet
communities
-Failed
Religious Tension:
-Places Catholic minority in power
-Restricts practice of Buddhism
-June 1963 Monk burns himself in protest
-US begins to question Diem as leader
Diem’s Death
 November 2, 1963
 Diem and his brother are
assassinated by a coup
 JFK assures the coup the
US will not stop the
assassination
 JFK increases # of troops
to 16,000
 (JFK killed a few weeks
later)
War Intensifies
 By the end of Eisenhower’s
term 900 advisors
 JFK increases troops to
16,000 by 1963
 Gulf Of Tonkin
Incident August 1964:
Claim that US destroyer
Maddox had been attacked
by NVA torpedoes off coast
N. Vietnam
 Gulf of Tonkin resolution:
Congress gave the president ability
to “take any measures necessary
repel any armed attacks against US”
Escalation
 1965-25,000
 End 1965-184,000
 1966-385,000
 1967-485,000
 1968-543,000 *Tet
Key Leaders
General Westmoreland (Until 1968)
Robert McNamara Sec. of Defense
The Draft
 December 1, 1969
 Lottery by Birth date
 18-26 yr olds born
between Jan. 1, 1944 &
Dec. 31, 1950
 Where would you have
fallen?
 http://www.landscaper.ne
t/draft.htm
 *The Average age of a
soldier will be 19