Vietnam+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
 * 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

Need some help? How about ... //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 **VIETNAM - THE PATH TO WAR**

__**France**__ ruled Vietnam from the late 1800’s until WWII. Vietnam nationalists were not happy with the __**French**__ and wanted them out. __**Ho Chi Minh**,__ a revolutionary leader of North Vietnam, led a combination of three __**Communist**__ groups, called the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP), which called for independence for Vietnam. The ICP organized protests against the French government which made the French retaliate by arresting Communist leaders and executing some. __**Ho Chi Minh**__ came back to Vietnam and became the leader of a new combined organization of nationalists and the ICP called the Viet Minh. During WWII, Japan took control of Indochina and the French were no longer in charge of Vietnam. The US Government gave aid to __**Ho Chi Minh**__ in their fight against Japan because the US and Japan were enemies. When WWII ended and the Japanese surrendered to the Allies, __**France**__ tried to take control of Vietnam again. War broke out between Viet Minh and __**France**__ in 1946. Now the US would back __**France**__

__**President Truman**__ worked for a policy of “containment” against the spread of __**Communism**__. He thought that if Vietnam fell to the __**Communists**__ that the rest of the region would follow like falling dominos. In 1950, __**Truman**__ gave $10 million dollars in military aid to the __**French**__. The US was in it! The __**French**__ could not defeat the Viet Minh even with the US aid. In 1954, the __**French**__ met with the Viet Minh in Geneva, Switzerland, for peace talks and came to an agreement that divided the country in two. There were separate governments for North Vietnam, led by __**Ho Chi Minh**__,a __**Communist**__, and South Vietnam led by __**Ngo Dinh Diem**__, an anti-Communist. __**Ho Chi Minh**__ was a popular leader in North Vietnam. __**Ngo Dinh Diem**__ had a corrupt government and some people in South Vietnam didn’t like him. __**Diem**__ decided to cancel an election in 1956 because he feared that __**Ho Chi Minh**__ would win and __**Communism**__ would spread.

__**Diem**__ asked for help from the US. Pres. Eisenhower sent 900 __**Military Advisors**__ to Vietnam in 1960. The US thought the Viet Cong were dangerous __**Communists**__. When __**President Kennedy**__ took office, the number of __**Military Advisors**__ rose to 16,000. __**Pres. Kennedy**__ faced the spread of __**Communism**__ during the Bay of Pigs invasion in April, 1961, then the the Soviet Union’s threat to close off access to West Berlin when they helped to build the Berlin Wall, and he faced the Soviets during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. These events supported the Containment Policy that __**Truman**__ and Eisenhower had worked for. The US was against the spread of __**Communism**__ but they also saw that __**Diem’s**__ government was corrupt after the US asked __**Diem**__ to make reforms and he didn’t. __**Kennedy**__ lost confidence and the US supported a “coup” that ended __**Diem’s**__ rule but didn’t support his murder.

A short time after __**Ngo Dinh Diem**__ was killed, __**President Kennedy**__ was assassinated. __**Vice-President Johnson**__ took over as President and increased US involvement in Vietnam. The North Vietnamese were aiding the Viet Cong. __**President** **Johnson**__ did not want to see a __**Communist**__ takeover of Vietnam. __**Pres. Johnson**__ got approval to bomb North Vietnam after the US destroyer, Maddox, was attacked in the __**Gulf of Tonkin**__. The North Vietnamese torpedoed the Maddox. There was a report of a possible second attack two days later. __**Pres. Johnson**__ asked Congress to pass the __**Gulf of Tonkin Resolution**__ giving him the power to use any military force he felt was necessary in Vietnam. Congress agreed. __**Pres. Johnson**__ began bombing North Vietnam with __**Operation Rolling Thunder**__ in 1965. The bombing raids targeted ammunition depots, radar sites, roads, bridges, railroads, industrial targets and electric generation plants. The first marine ground troops were sent in early 1965.