America and Vietnam - A Short History
Vietnam's Early History
Earliest history 208 BCE ---111 BCE China controls --- 939 AD Vietnam independent
Rural oriented life - government is local centered on the village
Village is the economic, cultural, political, and religious center
Elite are educated and in the government
1840's French imperialism begins
Westernized elite isolated from village population
Vietnamese rulers are symbolic and ceremonial - decisions made by French
Elite Vietnamese are French educated, Christians who live in major cities
Peasants (90% of pop.) don't share in benefits in economics or education
WWI and WWII: Nationalism and self-determination
Ho Chi Minh - appeals to Wilson and the West - turned down
Nationalist (Vietnam for the Vietnamese!) - turns to communism
Moves to resist French Imperialism and promote independence
1930 Indochinese Communist Party founded by Ho - Vietminh
WWII – Japan invades 1940 after French fall to Nazis and pull out
Ho and Vietminh resist Japanese occupation, gain experience
France then Japan is out of Indochina --- expectations
Ho has US support and announces Vietnamese independence – Democratic Republic of
Vietnam
Problems in Europe - US needs France - France wants U.S.
First Indochinese War 1946-1954
France installs Bao Dai as chief of state
France controls South Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh controls North Vietnam - resists French
U.S. provides 78% of F. military budget in Vietnam, Vietminh receive Chinese weapons/advisors
France defeated at Battle of Dienbienphu - 1954, French leave Vietnam
*US position? Geneva Conference 1954 - Vietnam divided between North and South
Elections to be held in 1956 to unify all of Vietnam
Wolf by the ears - Early U.S involvement in Vietnam under President Dwight D. Eisenhower 1954-1960
US appoints (elects?) Ngo Dinh Diem as premier of South Vietnam
Provides aid, money, and advisors to South Vietnam
*Domino theory – The fear at the time that if one country falls to communism, then all countries near
it will also fall
Elections cancelled - Why? Who's upset?
Who's who in Vietnam
Vietminh - North Vietnamese communists/nationalists
NVA - North Vietnamese Army
Vietcong - South Vietnamese communists
NLF- National Liberation Front - political union of Vietminh & Vietcong – established 1960
All groups begin to resist Diem and U.S
Diem policies alienate the peasants
Hamlet and agroville program
ARVN - Army of the Republic of Vietnam, South Vietnamese Army
A Limited Partnership - JFK and Vietnam 1961-1963
*John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Cold War - Flexible response - must meet and stop communism
Bay of Pigs, Berlin, Cuban Missile Crisis - where can we show our toughness?
Vietnam and Diem are problematic
A middle road - more aid and advisors 1960 (900 advisors), 1961 (3,200), 1962 (9,000), 1963 (16,000)
Problems controlling the countryside, misuse of statistics
Buddhist protests begin, 1963, South Vietnam growing unstable
Diem replaced/killed in Nov.1963 in a coup by the South Vietnamese military
Enough but not Too Much: President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Vietnam 1963-1968
LBJ continues JFK's policies - aid and advisors 1964 (23,000)
Problems with ARVN- won't fight, who will?
*Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (was US ship attacked by North Vietnam?) August 1964
“all necessary measures to repel any armed attacks against the forces of the US and to
prevent any further aggression”
Election of 1964
U.S bombs North Vietnam - problems in the south with VC, who's who in guerrilla warfare?
U.S troops sent to defend and protect U.S bases in South Vietnam - March 1965
By end of the year 185,000 troops, $700 million budget, lots of bombs
U.S is fighting both NVA and Vietcong
1966 - 450,000 troops and more bombs
problems with negotiations - what does everyone want?
Westmoreland and military optimism - December 1967
*Tet Offensive - Jan/Feb 1968 - attacks over 100 cities and villages all over South Viet. – It was not
supposed to happen because it was a holiday, and because the VC and NVA weren’t supposed to be able to
do such a thing
March 16th 1968 – Mai Lai massacre of over 500 civilians
July 1968 – Westmoreland replaced by Abrams
Increase in American publics opposition to the war and draft
Dec. 1968 – Troop strength at 540,000
LBJ initiates peace talks and declines to run for reelection
A War for Peace: Nixon and Vietnam 1969-1975 & the end
Nixon runs on program with a “secret” plan to end the war
Kissinger (National Security Advisor/ Secretary Of State) is main advisor to Nixon
No real plan- expands war, secretly bombs and sends troops to Cambodia
Vietnamization - get ARVN to fight the war, lesson the number of U.S troops
Sept. 3rd 1969 – Ho Chi Minh dies
1970 – Cambodia invasion, Kent State protest/shooting
*Pentagon Papers February 1971 - shows truth of U.S role in Vietnam 1945-1967
U.S to meet with China February, 1972 and Russia May 1972 - Detente
U.S mines Haiphong Harbor in North Vietnam May 1972 - as a message to Russia and China
March 72 – Easter Offensive, ARVN collapse, only pushed back with U.S. airpower
Christmas bombing 1972 – last bombing of North
Peace Agreement January 1973 - war over. U.S. Troops pull out, but NVA get to stay in south
March 1975 – North Vietnam launches a massive assault all on South
April 30th 1975– the capital of Saigon falls and is later renamed Ho Chi Minh City
May 1975 - Vietnam unified under the communists
July 2, 1976 – Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Nov 13th 1982 – Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C. dedicated
November, 2000 – President Clinton lifts trade embargoes and reestablishes diplomatic relations