Independence Movements in Southeast Asia
Global History and Geography II
Name: ____________________________
E. Napp
Date: ____________________________
Questions:
1. List two archipelagos of Southeast Asia?
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2. While this nation is not present on the map, what nation is north of Southeast Asia?
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3. What nations border Cambodia?
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4. What nations border Vietnam?
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5. Which Southeast Asian nation is location on a peninsula but also an island?
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6. What is the capital of Hanoi?
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7. What is the capital of the Philippines?
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Excerpt Adapted from Global History: Geopolitical Patterns & Cultural Diffusion
“Southeast Asian countries faced many of the same problems in achieving
independence as the African nations. Vietnam’s effort was led by Ho Chi Minh (18901969). He was present at the Paris Peace Conference after World War I when France
denied Vietnam independence. During the 1920s and 1930s, he turned to communism
and received training in the Soviet Union and China. During World War II, he
organized the Viet Minh with other nationalists. They harassed the Japanese occupiers
with guerrilla tactics. At the end of the War, his forces occupied parts of North
Vietnam, and he declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam an independent nation.
France refused to recognize the new nation and began a war to regain control.”
Questions:
1. Who was the nationalist leader of Vietnam?
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2. What did France deny Vietnam at the Paris Peace Conference after World War
I?
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3. What political ideology did Ho Chi Minh turn to during the 1920s and 1930s?
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4. Where did Ho Chi Minh receive training?
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5. What did Ho Chi Minh organize during World War II?
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6. What warfare tactics did Ho Chi Minh use?
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7. Describe this tactic (outside information).
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8. What did Ho Chi Minh declare at the end of World War II?
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9. What was France’s reaction to Ho Chi Minh’s declaration?
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“The first phase of the Vietnam War might be called ‘the French phase’ (19461954). The United States gave aid to France because of its belief in the domino
theory (if one nation fell to communism, others would follow like dominos).
However, the French campaigns against communist insurgents floundered. The
surrender of French forces at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu led to peace talks in
Switzerland. The Geneva Agreement (1954) divided Vietnam at the 17 th parallel
with elections to be held within two years to unite the country.”
Questions:
1. What might the first phase of the Vietnam War be called?
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2. Why did the United States give France aid?
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3. Explain the domino theory.
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4. What happened at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu?
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5. What was the outcome of the Geneva Agreement of 1954?
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“Ho Chi Minh and his communist followers established a totalitarian
government in North Vietnam, copying the examples of Soviet and Eastern
European regimes. Ho Chi Minh carried out land reform and won the support
of many peasants. South Vietnam came under the control of a non-communist
government led by Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963). However, Diem refused to hold
the scheduled elections, because he feared losing to the communists.”
Questions:
1. What did Ho Chi Minh establish in North Vietnam?
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2. Which social class did Ho Chi Minh receive support from?
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3. Why did Ho Chi Minh receive support from this social class?
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4. Who controlled South Vietnam?
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5. Why did the leader of South Vietnam refuse to hold the scheduled
elections?
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“The second phase of the war might be called ‘the American phase’ (19591975). At first, the United States sent only military advisers to help Diem
resist the Viet Cong (communist insurgents). The Viet Cong guerrillas
received aid from North Vietnam and harassed the South Vietnamese
government. Diem’s dictatorial policies, corruption, lack of land reform, and
pro-Catholic policies made his government unpopular. A 1963 military coup
resulted in Diem’s assassination. As North Vietnam sent troops to aid the
Viet Cong, the war intensified. In 1964, North Vietnamese attack on U.S.
warships prompted action. The U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution giving President Lyndon Johnson the power to use force if
necessary. Johnson sent U.S. combat forces to Vietnam. The War became
unpopular in the U.S. and led to Johnson’s decision not to run for reelection.
He was followed by Richard Nixon who promised to end the War.”
Questions:
1. What might the second phase of the war be called?
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2. Who were the Viet Cong?
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3. Who did the Viet Cong receive aid from?
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4. Why was Diem’s government unpopular?
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5. What happened in 1963?
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6. What happened in 1964?
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7. What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
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8. Which American President sent U.S. combat forces to Vietnam?
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9. Why did this President not run for reelection?
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10. Which American President ended the Vietnam War?
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Reflection Questions
 Which two nations were the primary participants in the Cold
War?
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 What did the United States seek to prevent during the Cold War?
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 Explain the U.S.A.’s containment policy.
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 Explain the U.S.A.’s domino theory.
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 The Vietnam War began as a struggle for independence. Why did
Cold War policies affect Vietnam?
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 Who was Ho Chi Minh?
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 Which social class supported Ho Chi Minh?
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 Describe guerrilla warfare.
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 Which imperialist nation was defeated by the Viet Minh?
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 What was decided by the Geneva Agreement?
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 Why was the government of South Vietnam unpopular?
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 Who did the U.S.A. support during the Vietnam War?
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 Who won the Second Phase of the Vietnam War?
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 What city fell to the communists in 1975?
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 What was the city renamed in 1975?
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 What political ideology became the dominant ideology of Vietnam
in 1975?
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Excerpt Adapted from time.com
“The Khmer Rouge killed nearly two million Cambodians from 1975 to 1979, spreading
like a virus from the jungles until they controlled the entire country, only to systematically
dismantle and destroy it in the name of a Communist agrarian ideal…The Khmer Rouge
took root in Cambodia’s northeastern jungles as early as the 1960s, a guerrilla group
driven by communist ideals…The flash point came when Cambodia’s leader, Prince
Norodom Sihanouk, was deposed in a military coup in 1970 and turned to the Khmer
Rouge for support. The prince’s imprimatur lent the movement legitimacy, although while
he would nominally serve as head of state, he spent much of the Khmer Rouge’s rule under
house arrest. As the country descended into civil war, the Khmer Rouge presented
themselves as a party for peace and succeeded in mobilizing support in the
countryside…When the Khmer Rouge succeeded in capturing the Cambodian capital of
Phnom Penh in 1975, they evacuated the entire population of the city — more than 2.5
million people — to camps in the countryside. Similar evacuations took place every time
the Khmer Rouge took over a new city…Simultaneously, the Khmer Rouge were planning
the steps necessary for a radical shift to an agrarian society. During the Khmer Rouge’s
nascent days, the movement’s leader, Pol Pot, had grown to admire the way the tribes on
the outskirts of Cambodia’s jungles lived, free of Buddhism, money or education, and now
he wanted to foist the same philosophy on the entire nation. Pol Pot envisioned a Cambodia
absent of any social institutions like banks or religions or any modern technology…”
Questions:
 How many Cambodians were killed by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979?
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 Where did the Khmer Rouge begin and what ideology did they support?
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 What individual increased the popularity of the Khmer Rouge?
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 Why did this individual turn to the Khmer Rouge?
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 What did the Khmer Rouge do when they captured the Cambodian capital of
Phnom Penh?
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 Who was the leader of the Khmer Rouge?
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 What philosophy did Pol Pot admire and want to hoist on the entire nation?
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 Which social institutions did Pol Pot envision the nation free of?
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 Why do historians refer to this chapter of history as the Cambodia genocide?
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 How is the Cambodian genocide similar to the Armenian genocide?
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 How is the Cambodian genocide similar to the Holocaust?
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The Quick List: Identify, define, and/or explain the following key words!
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Imperialism
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Reasons for European Imperialism
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Imperialist of Vietnam
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Ho Chi Minh
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Communism
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Battle of Dien Bien Phu
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Geneva Agreement
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Cold War
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Domino Theory
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Containment Policy
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Outcome of Vietnam War
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Cambodia
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Khmer Rouge
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Pol Pot
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Pol Pot’s Vision for Cambodia
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Genocide
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Countries of Southeast Asia
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