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Ho Chi Minh is born.
He later went on to become the founder of Indochina Communist Party and the president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. This is important because he was a voice for independence of Vietnam and he fought for Vietnam's freedom. For his part in the war, he became a symbol of Vietnamese liberation. -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but neither France nor the United States recognize Vietnam as a separate nation.
The North Vietnam government begins to have conflicts with the South Vietnam government. Eventually, South Vietnam started taking over the North and erupted in war. -
The Geneva Accords cause Vietnam to be split into North and South.
Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel. This is important because the nation was now north and south Vietnam and it will cause the two nations to go to war together. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancels elections in Vietnam.
He decided to cancel the elections because he feared that Ho Chi Minh would win. The reunification of the two Vietnam states were being voted on. This is important because the refusal would lead to the permanent separation the North and South Vietnam. -
President Eisenhower declares "Domino Theory"
The idea was that if a communist nation/government would quickly lead to communist takeover in neighboring states, each falling to communism. In Vietnam, they had a communist government and U.S. believed Vietnam could take over and everyone will fall to communism. This was important because the thought of communism scared the United States but, communism failed to spread throughout Southeast Asia. -
The Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu
The U.S. responded by taking over the anti-communist fight in Vietnam. The United States helped the French in dangerous circumstances. This was important because the United States was now involved in the Vietnam war and helped anti-communists resistances. -
The National Liberation Front is formed.
They are also known as National Front for the Liberation of the South, Vietnamese Mat-Tran-Dan-Toc Giai-Phong Mien-Nam. They occupied the South part of Vietnam. This is important because it urged to foment insurgency in the South. -
The United States withdraws support of the Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of South Vietnam
After the United States support was withdrawn, Diem was assassinated. This is important because Diem refused to make any meaningful concessions or institute any significant new reforms. -
A south Vietnamese monk sets himself on fire.
This monk belonged to the Buddhist religion. He sacrificed himself because it was an act of protest over discrimination towards Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government. -
President Kennedy is asssassinated.
If he lived, he would have pulled the United States out of the Vietnam war. He did not want the U.S. to be in the war anymore and he expected the United States to be entirely out by 1966. This is important because after his assassination, LBJ sent in more U.S. troops into the Vietnam War. This escalated the U.S. involvement in Vietnam and caused many people to die. It also became one of the most traumatic wars in history. -
President Johnson claims a U.S. ship had been fired upon by the North Vietnamese.
The ship that was attacked is the USS Maddox. A United States destroyer ship. The response of this attack was LBJ began to get military troops ready and sent them to South Vietnam and Thailand. This is important because in this moment Johnson took this attack as they want a fight so he is began to escalate and put more U.S. troops into the Vietnam war. Also, Admiral U.S. Grant Sharp, ordered a second destroyer called the USS C. Turner Joy to join the Maddox. -
The first combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
In 1950, the first military advisers were sent to Vietnam by Harry Truman. This was important because they were sent to assist the French. JFK then sent more advisers. The combat troops were then sent to defend the American air base at Da Nang.
