Moving Toward Conflict
French Rule in Vietnam
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From the late 1800’s until World War II, France ruled most of Indochina (Vietnam Laos,
Cambodia)
French colonists, who built plantations on peasant land and extracted rice and rubber for their
own profit, encountered growing unrest among the Vietnamese peasants
French rulers reacted harsh by restricting freedom of speech and assembly and by jailing
Vietnamese Nationalists
Ho Chi Minh- Leader of the Indochinese Communist Party who fled Vietnam and created
Vietnam’s growing independence movement and returned to fight against the French and U.S.
In 1940, the Japanese took control of Vietnam and the next year, Ho Chi Minh returned with U.S.
support to try resist Japanese occupation
Vietminh- Organization led by Ho Chi Minh with the goal of winning Vietnam’s independence
from foreign rule
When World War II was over, Ho Chi Minh saw his dream of Independence could become a
reality
France Battles the Vietminh
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France, however, had no intention of giving up its former colony and French troops moved back
into Vietnam by the end of 1945, gaining control over cities in the Southern half
Ho Chi Minh vowed to fight from the North to liberate the South from French rule
In 1950, the United States entered the Vietnam struggle by sending 15 million in aid to France to
stop the spread of Communism
Over the next four years, the United States pumped 1 billion into the effort to defeat a man
America had once supported
The Vietminh Drive out the French
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Upon entering the White House in 1953, President Eisenhower continued the policy of supplying
aid to the French war effort
Domino Theory- Theory by Eisenhower in which he compared the countries on the brink of
communism to a row of dominoes waiting to fall on after the other
Despite the massive aid, the French could not retake Vietnam and they were forced to surrender
in 1954
Geneva Accords-In 1954, France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States, China,
Laos, and Cambodia met with the Vietminh to reach a peace agreement
Ho Chi Minh controlled the North and Anti-Communists controlled the South at the 17th parallel
An election to unify the country was called for in 156
Wading deeper into the country’s affair, the Eisenhower and the Kennedy administrations
provided economic and military aid to South Vietnamese non-Communist regime
Trouble in the South
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Although he directed a brutal and repressive government, Ho Chi Minh won popular support in
the North by breaking up large farms and redistributing land to peasants
Recognizing Ho Chi Minh’s popularity the South and the United States supported canceling the
unification elections
Ngo Dinh Diem-Leader of the South who was a strong anti-communist and catholic, who ruled a
corrupt government that suppressed opposition and offered no land distribution to peasants
Diem failed to create a stable government in the south and angered many Buddhists by restricting
practices and discrimination
Vietcong- A communist group in the South that attacked the Diem government and was
supported by Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh
Ho Chi Minh Trail- A network of paths along the border of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia that
was used by Ho Chi Minh to supply the Vietcong
With surprise attacks and a unstable South, Eisenhower took little action, deciding to “Sink or
Swim with Diem”
Kennedy and Vietnam
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The Kennedy administration initially decided to “swim with Diem” afraid of looking too soft on
communism
Kennedy increased financial aid to Diem’s government and sent 16,000 military advisors to train
the South Vietnamese
Diem intensified his attacks on Buddhism and relocated people in the South, giving rise to protest
such as Buddhist setting themselves on fire; This stunned the world and citizens in the U.S.
Shortly before his death, Kennedy announced his intent to withdraw troops stating “In the final
analysis, it’s their war”
Johnson Expands the Conflict
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Diem’s death brought more instability to the South and led to a string of military leaders who
proved even more unstable than Diem
President Johnson believed that a communist takeover of Vietnam would be devastating
In 1964, a North Vietnamese patrol boat fired a torpedo at the USS Maddox, which was patrolling
the Gulf of Tonkin
The attack on the U.S. ship prompted President Johnson to launch bombing strikes on North
Vietnam and asked Congress to give him the powers to “prevent further aggression”
Tonkin Gulf Resolution-Granted Johnson broad military powers to invade Vietnam
In February 1965, President Johnson used his newly granted powers to unleash “Operation
Rolling Thunder”, the first sustained bombing of North Vietnam
In June of 1965, more than 50,000 soldiers were battling the Vietcong and the Vietnam War had
started