-
Vietnam declares independence
Following Japan's surrender from World War II, Vietnam announced their indpendence from France. While declaring their independence, they paraphrased part of the U.S. Declaration of Independence Vietnam Independence http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vietnam-independence-proclaimed -
Eisenhower's Domino Theory
This theory was introduced during the Cold War. Eisenhower later brought it up in another speech. During the speech, Eisenhower discussed how important Vietnam is and if we looked at it in a broader sense, if Vietnam fell, one country would fall and repeat like dominoes. Eisenhower Domino Theory http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/eisenhower-gives-famous-domino-theory-speech -
Geneva Conference Begins
At this conference, world powers met to discuss the dispute between the French and Vietnam. At this point, if France lost, communism would continually expand. It was at this point that the U.S.'s involvement in the war would increase. Geneva Conference http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/geneva-conference-begins -
Kennedy is elected president
When elected, Kennedy wanted to take challenges head on. However, during his first few months, he was extremely overwhelmed. First the Bay of Pigs invasion failed and the southeast asia situation was continually deterioating. Kennedy Elected http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-f-kennedy-elected-president -
The assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
This marked a major turning point. Up till now, America was advising South Vietnam and how to handle the war. After this assassination, America's involvement grew substantially, in support and in numbers. The Assassination http://www.historynet.com/the-assassination-of-ngo-dinh-diem.htm -
Kennedy is assssinated
Kennedy's assassination left a lot of "what-ifs" up in the air. The big question is would Kennedy have pulled the American soldiers out of Vietnam. Instead, when someone took over the rest of his presidency, the numbers increased. Kennedy Assassination http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/kennedy-assassinated -
Gulf of Tonkin
Originally, this gave permission to expand the size of the war. However, it did not work out too well. Also, later on it was analyzed. It was thought that Johnson and his party misled congress into approving the expansion. Gulf of Tonkin http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/gulf-of-tonkin-resolution -
Johnson is elected president
Johnson had success in many programs, however, in terms of the Vietnam War, he failed. He increased the amount of troops from 16,000 to over 500,000 in the span of five years. Johnson became unpopular across the country and in his own party. There were also anti-war protests across the country. President Johnson http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/lyndon-b-johnson -
The U.S. sends first combat troops to South Vietnam
President Johnson ordered the deployment to protect a U.S. Airbase in South Vietnam. This was also the first commitment of U.S. troops in South Vietnam. U.S. troops -
Tet Offensive
North Vietnam planned to invade South Vietnam in order to stop their advances and hopefully have America's support diminish. However, South Vietnam was able to hold their ground. Later, news was showed which only strengthened the anti-war movement in America. This lead to less overall support. Tet Offensive http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/tet-offensive -
My Lai Massacre
In March 1968, a group of American soldiers went in to a South Vietnam town and almost wiped out the whole town. This included women, children and the elderly. The soldiers tried to cover up the situation and did so successfully for a year only to have one soldier spread the news. My Lai Massacre http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre -
Nixon is elected president
After losing to Kennedy before, Nixon was finally elected President in 1968. This is important to the Vietnam war because Nixon promised "peace with honor". During this time, there was also an anti-war movement. Nixon Elected 1968 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/richard-nixon-elected-president -
Vietnamization
Vietnamization was President Nixon's efforts to start to withdraw the U.S. support. The idea was that America would slowly back out and South Vietnam would step up and become a more powerful army. However, in 1975, Vietnam fell to communist rule. Vietnamization http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnamization -
Nixon announces war is coming to an end
During a press conference, Nixon announced the war would be coming to an end. During the conference, troops were in the process of leaving Vietnam. This also has to deal with the Vietnamization plan Nixon had to leave South Vietnam to fight for themselves. Nixon Announces End of War http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-declares-vietnam-war-is-ending -
The Draft Ends
President Nixon announced that there would be no more drafting. This was in effort to try to win back the people's opinions. Obviously during the Vietnam War, there was constantly a growing anti-war movement. Nixon hoped this would help fix it. The Draft Ends http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72085.html
