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Ho Chi Minh is born
Ho Chi Minh would become a communist and create the Vietminh. He lead North Vietnam during the Vietnam War in an effort to unite the country. -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but neither France nor the United States recognize Vietnam as a separate nation.
Vietnam declared its independence from French Indochina in a speech by Ho Chi Minh. North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh, created the Vietminh and began fighting the French. Vietnam would eventually defeat the French. -
The Geneva Accords cause Vietnam to be split into North and South.
Vietnam was divided into North and South at the 17th parallel. There was a demilitarized zone at the 17th parallel. -
President Eisenhower declares "Domino Theory"
President Dwight D. Eisenhower cited the domino theory in a speech. By saying this, he meant that if Vietnam turned communist, other surrounding nations would also turn communist. -
The Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu.
The Vietnamese, lead by Ho Chi Minh, defeated the French at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. The United States was reluctant to support the French and President Eisenhower vetoed a proposal to fight with the French. He did not want to get involved in another land war so soon after the Korean War. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancels elections in Vietnam.
Diem canceled the elections in Vietnam that were going to unite the country under one ruler. Diem saw that he was probably going to lose in the election to Ho Chi Minh, so he canceled it. -
The National Liberation Front is formed.
This group was also known as the Viet Cong. They were communists that operated in South Vietnam. They assassinated thousands of South Vietnam government officials and were known for their brutality. -
The United States withdraws support of Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of South Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem canceled the elections to unite Vietnam and started killing non-Catholics, so the U.S. stopped supporting him. After this, the Diem regime was overthrown and Diem and his brother were killed. -
A South Vietnamese monk sets himself on fire.
A Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc set himself on fire in downtown Saigon. He did this in response to the killing of 9 Buddhists by Ngo Dinh Diem's government troops. Duc was successful in making a statement against Diem's regime as he burned to death. -
President Kennedy is assassinated, leading to the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in to the presidency later that day on Air Force 1. If JFK would have lived, he probably would have pulled the U.S. troops out of Vietnam. -
President Johnson claims a U.S. ship had been fired upon by the North Vietnamese
The U.S.S. Maddox was reportedly fired upon by 3 North Vietnamese PT boats, although there was no damage done to the Maddox. President Johnson saw this as a reason to go to war and he created the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. This allowed the president to go to war without approval from Congress. -
The first combat troops arrive in Vietnam
The first U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam at China Beach to defend an American air base. They joined 23,000 military advisors who had been there since September 1950.
