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Japan Invades Vietnam
On September 22, 1940, Japan Invaded French Indochina (Vietnam). China ruled this land for hundreds of years. Then, from the late 1800s until WW2, the French ruled Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, a region known as Indochina. -
Japan Surrenders
Japan eventually surrendered to the Allies in 1945, doing so, they gave up control of Indochina. Ho Chi Minh quickly declared Vietnam's independence. -
French forces fall to the Vietminh
France did not want to give up the colony they had ruled, so they sent troops to fight the Vietminh from taking control. On May 7, 1954 Vietminh defeated French forces. -
Geneva Accords
Negotiations to end the conflict in Geneva, Switzerland. They provided a temporary division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel. -
Diem Overthrown
Diem was the ruler of Vietnam. He was very unpopular, and people blamed him for the conflict. He became even more unpopular after he banned the nation's most popular religion, Buddhism. When the protest started, he had the police kill nine innocent protestors. In response, a Buddhist monk poured gasoline on himself and burned himself alive on national TV. A U.S. military coup overthrew him. -
Kennedy's Assassination
Just three weeks after Diem's death, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in his motorcade during a parade. -
Teach-ins Begin
At the University of Michigan, Teach-ins started. Teach-ins were where faculty and students game together to talk about the war. Discuss the issues and reaffirm their reasons for opposing the war. In May 1965, 122 colleges held a "National Teach-in" by radio more than 100,000 antiwar demonstrators. -
Hawks vs. Doves
During the war, the nation became divided; out came Hawks vs. Doves. Hawks supported the war and wanted to keep fighting, while Doves were tired of the fighting and wanted to opt out of the war. -
Tet Offensive
During Tet, the Vietnamese New Year's, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese launched a massive surprise attack. They attacked most American airbases and most of the South's major cities. Vietcong blasted their way into the American embassy in Saigon. -
Johnson Leaves the Race
President Johnson was the Vice President for Kennedy. he was very unpopular because of the war, and when Eugene McCathry challenged Johnson for the Democratic nomination and started gaining support from those who hated the war, Johnson decided to drop out of the race. -
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated
While in Memphis for a protest about economic rights, while MLK was on his balcony, he was sniped and killed by James Earl Ray. -
Robert Kennedy Killed
Another Democratic nominee, Robert Kennedy, who entered the race when Johnson became vulnerable, was gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan, an Arab nationalist. -
Nixon Becomes President
The Republican nominee, was former Vice President and 1960 presidential hopeful, Richard Nixon. Nixon won because he promised to unify the Nation and restore law and order. -
Vietnamization
Vietnamization was the process of slowly removing troops from Vietnam and letting the South Vietnamese continue the fight. -
America Pulls Out
Americans were ready for the war to end, as the election of 1972 approached. A month before the election, Kissinger emerged from his secret talks with Le Duc Tho to announce that "peace is at hand". Which ended up securing Nixon's second term.