-
Ho Chi Minh is born
Living as a young man in France during World War I, he developed as an outspoken voice. He joined the communist party and traveled to the Soviet Union. He was involved in and helped found Indochinese Communist Party and the League of Independence of Vietnam. He was then elected president of North Vietnam, where he would serve for the next 25 years. Ho Chi Minh being born was important because he was heavily part of what the world, especially Vietnam, came to be today. -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but neither France nor the United States recognize Vietnam as a separate nation
Ho Chi Minh declared the independence of Vietnam, but the French forces seized Southern Vietnam and then bombarded North Vietnam. The North responded with a launched attack against the French. -
The Geneva Accords cause Vietnam to be split into North and South
As part of the Geneva agreement, French agreed to withdraw their troops from northern Vietnam. This would make Vietnam temporarily divided at the 17th parallel. -
President Eisenhower declares ¨Domino Theory¨
The idea of the domino theory was if communist spread to one country, the neighboring countries would ¨catch¨ the spread of communism. This related to Vietnam because North Vietnam was being ruled by a communist leader, The U.S. did not want South Vietnam to also become communist- as well as the neighboring countries that could also keep spreading. -
The Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu
The United States response to the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu was to be as expected. Rushing to stop communism. They took over the anti-communist fight which resulted in about 20 more years of battle in Vietnam. They became more involved in the conflict. -
The United States withdraws support of Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of South Vietnam
Diem refused to establish any powerful new reform, this led to the withdraw of support from the United States. After this, Diem went on to live his life. On November 2, 1963, Diem was assassinated during a coup by opposition generals. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancels elections in Vietnam
Diem didn´t want to have a national election to unify the country (called for the Geneva Accords). Diem also just didn´t feel confident because was the rise of Ho Chi Minh. Communism is what was being voted on here. Anti-Communists vs. Communists. -
National Liberation Front is formed
The National Liberation Front, also known as the Viet Cong, occupied South Vietnam. The NLF reached out to the parts of South Vietnamese society who was displeased with the government policies of President Ngo Dinh Diem. -
A South Vietnamese monk sets himself on fire
The man that set himself on fire was a Buddhist. He did this to try and protest the killings. He had a feeling he was going to be killed anyways. -
President Kennedy is assassinated, leading to the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
John F. Kennedy was assassinated whilst riding his motorcade through downtown Dallas. Things changed a lot after the assassination. This led to L.B. Johnson being elected as president. Johnson handled Vietnam much differently than JFK would have handled things if he had survived. If Kennedy had survived. Kennedy most likely wouldn´t have taken the path of the massive rise and destruction as Johnson did. He wouldn´t have withdrawal either. Kennedy would have settled for an in-between. -
President Johnson claims a U.S. ship had been fired upon by the North Vietnamese
The U.S. ship, known as the USS Maddox, was cruising around the Tonkin Gulf. Whilst monitoring radio and radar signals, a message by the North Vietnamese was detected that said ¨preparing for military operations¨. This sounded like an attack was about to happen. Events took place and one shot at the USS Maddox was taken and one casualty. Johnson's response to this was to go to war. -
The First Combat Troop Arrive in Vietnam
In response of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, L.B. Johnson first deployed the U.S. troops to Vietnam in 1965. The U.S. military advisors had a humble start during September of 1950.
