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Ho Chi Minh is born
Ho Chi Minh was a communist rebel in the French territory of Vietnam. He saw his people starving and suffering so he used his communist ideas to help the people. Ho Chi Minh is important because once Vietnam was divided he lead the North. -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but French and U.S. do not recognize them
North Vietnam declares independence from French and stage attacks against French officials occupying North Vietnam. This angers North Vietnam and causes Ho Chi Minh's ride to power. -
The Geneva Accords cause Vietnam to split
When the Geneva Accords were enacted, it split Vietnam into a North a South on the 17th parallel. This divided the nation and what the people thought, making the North communist and the South free. -
Pres. Eisenhower declares "Domino Theory"
The "Domino Theory" states that if one nation falls to communism then all nations around it will also cave in. Meaning that if North Vietnam takes control of South Vietnam then all surrounding countries will turn communist. -
Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh defeat France at Dien Bien Phu
Under control of Ho Chi Minh, the Vietn Minh drive out the French. The U.S. did not know how to respond, because they are allies with the French but also support independence. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancles elections in Vietnam
Ngo Ding Diem canceled the elections because of the popularity of Ho Chi Minh. He knew that he would lose and Vietnam would become Communist, so in response he canceled the elections. -
The National Liberation Front is formed
The National Liberation Front, also known as the Vietcong, was a group of people in the democratic south that supported the communist ideas of the North. They worked with the North to do operations in the south. -
U.S. withdraws support of Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem was the leader of South Vietnam and the U.S. supported him until he had extreme ideas and started killing civilians. Once the U.S. stopped their support Ngo Dinh DIem was killed by Vietcong. -
A South Vietnamese Monk sets himself on Fire
Quang Duc, a buddhist monk, set himself on fire to protest Ngo Dinh Diem's persecution of people who are not Catholic. He did this in front of people on the streets of Saigon. -
President Kennedy is assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson takes office
From earlier sign in JFK's presidency, he showed that he was most likely going to try to pull the U.S. out of the Vietnamese conflict, but then he was killed. LBJ then took office and kept U.S. forces in Vietnam. -
LBJ claims a U.S. ship was fired upon by North Vietnamese
The USS Maddox was supposedly fired upon by three North Vietnamese torpedo ships, but all missed so there was no evidence of the attack. This would give LBJ a reason to push for U.S. involvement in Vietnam. -
First combat troops arrive in Vietnam
With troops in Vietnam a the actual war had broken out and full U.S. involvement ensued. This was important because with this, the U.S. was now completely in the war and was not going to pull out.
