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Creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
In 1941, Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh founded the Viet Minh, or Vietnamese Independence League. By the 1940s Vietnam had struggled against foreign rule for centuries, long before France seized control in the late 1800s. For much of World War II, the Japanese allowed the French government to retain control over Vietnam. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu, fought from March 13 to May 7, 1954, was a decisive Vietnamese military victory that brought an end to French colonial rule in Vietnam. In its wake came the separation of the country into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The Viet Minh began fighting against the French in 1946 in what became known as the First Indochina War. -
Creation of the 17th parallel between North and South Vietnam
The Seventeenth parallel was the provisional military demarcation line between North and South Vietnam established by the Geneva Accords of 1954.
The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was a demilitarized zone established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam as a result of the First Indo-China War. During the Vietnam War, it became important as the battleground demarcation separating North from South Vietnamese territories. -
Establishment of the National Liberation Front
North Vietnam announces the formation of the National Front for the Liberation of the South at a conference held “somewhere in the South.” This organization, more commonly known as the National Liberation Front (NLF), was designed to replicate the success of the Viet Minh, the umbrella nationalist organization that successfully liberated Vietnam from French colonial rule. The NLF reached out to those parts of South Vietnamese society who were displeased with the government and policies. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Lyndon Johnson to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” by the communist government of North Vietnam. It was passed on August 7, 1964, by the U.S. Congress after an alleged attack on two U.S. naval. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution effectively launched America’s full-scale involvement in the Vietnam War. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the codename for an American bombing campaign during the Vietnam War. U.S. military aircraft attacked targets throughout North Vietnam from March 1965 to October 1968. Operation Rolling Thunder marked the first sustained American assault on North Vietnamese territory . -
US combat troops arrive in Vietnam
On March 8, 1965, 3,500 Marines of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade arrived in Da Nang to protect the U.S. airbase there from Viet Cong attacks. Many of the Marines were surprised when their deployment orders came down on Sunday, March 7. The arrival at Da Nang was uneventful. One of the planes was slightly damaged by anti-aircraft fire. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive of 1968 was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. News coverage of the massive offensive shocked the American public and eroded support for the war effort. -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the people, women, children and old men in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968. More than 500 people were slaughtered in the My Lai massacre. -
1968 Democratic National Convention
The Democratic Convention of 1968 was held August 26-29 in Chicago, Illinois. Tens of thousands of protesters swarmed the streets to rally against the Vietnam War. The strife within the Democratic Party was laid bare and the streets of Chicago had seen riots and bloodshed involving protesters, police and bystanders. -
1968 Presidential Election
The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th United States presidential election. On November 5, 1968, the Republican nominee, former Vice President Richard Nixon won the election over the Democratic nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Nixon ran on a campaign that promised to restore "law and order". -
Tinker v. Des Moines
In December 1965, a group of students in Des Moines held a meeting in the home of 16-year-old Christopher Eckhardt to plan a public showing of their support for a truce in the Vietnam war. They decided to wear black armbands throughout the holiday season and to fast on December 16 and New Year's Eve. The principals of the Des Moines school learned of the plan and created a policy that stated that any student wearing an armband would be asked to remove it. -
Woodstock 1969
The Woodstock Music Festival began on August 15, 1969, as half a million people waited on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York, for the three-day music festival to start. The event would later be known simply as Woodstock and become huge with the counterculture movement of the 1960s.With no efficient way to charge concert-goers, Lang and his partners decided to make Woodstock a free event. -
Kent State University Protest
Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured on May 4, 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. In its immediate aftermath, a student-led strike forced the temporary closure of colleges and universities across the country. The tragedy was a watershed moment for a nation divided by the conflict in Southeast Asia. -
Jackson State College Protest
On May 15, 1970, the police opened fire shortly after midnight on students in a May 14 protest of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War at Jackson State College in Mississippi. Twelve students were wounded and two were killed. The reasons behind the police opening fire on the students continue to be disputed. Some students said the police issued a warning that they would shoot unless the crowd dispersed. -
Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers was the name given to a top-secret Department of Defense study of U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. military analyst Daniel Ellsberg came to oppose the war and decided that the information contained in the Pentagon Papers should be available to the American public. He photocopied the report and in March 1971 gave the copy to The New York Times, which then published a series of articles. -
Watergate
The Watergate scandal began early in the morning of June 17, 1972, when several burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee. This was no ordinary robbery, the men were connected to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign. They had been caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents. -
1973 Paris Peace Accords
The United States, South Vietnam, Viet Cong and North Vietnam formally sign “An Agreement Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” in Paris. The South Vietnamese were presented with a separate document that did not make reference to the Viet Cong government. This was part of Saigon’s long-time refusal to recognize the Viet Cong as a legitimate participant in the discussions to end the war. -
United States vs. Nixon
A special prosecutor was appointed to determine if President Nixon had been involved in the activities or cover up. It was revealed that tape recorders in the Oval Office automatically recorded all conversations there. When the special prosecutor subpoenaed the tapes, President Nixon refused to turn them over. Finally, in July of 1974, the question of whether President Nixon would have to comply with the subpoena and produce the tapes went to the Supreme Court. -
Fall of Saigon
The South Vietnamese stronghold of Saigon falls to the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong on April 30, 1975. The South Vietnamese forces had collapsed under the rapid advancement of the North Vietnamese. Despite previous presidential promises to provide aid in such a scenario, the United States did nothing.