-
Geneva Accords
A collection of documents relating to Indochina and issuing from the Geneva Conference of April 26–July 21, 1954. The 10 documents consisted of 3 military agreements, 6 unilateral declarations, and a Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference. They brought an end to the First Indochina War and marked the end of French influence in Southeast Asia. The Geneva Accords also helped lay the groundwork for the Second Indochina War, more commonly known as the Vietnam War. -
Assassination of Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem was a Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam and then served as President of South Vietnam from 1955 until he was deposed and assassinated during the 1963 military coup. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam but also lead to political chaos in the nation. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Was a joint resolution that the United States Congress passed on August 7, 1964, in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. It 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. -
LBJ ordered 1st troops to Vietnam
Under the authority of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the United States first deployed troops to Vietnam in 1965 in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of August 2 and 4, 1964. The U.S. entered the Vietnam War in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive 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. It was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. -
Nixon’s Vietnamization policy
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops". -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed against unarmed civilians 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. The massacre ultimately increased domestic opposition to the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. -
Nixon becomes President
The presidency of Richard Nixon began on January 20, 1969, when he was inaugurated as 37th President of the United States. Nixon's victory marked the start of a period of Republican dominance in presidential elections, as Republicans won five of the next six elections. In addition, he became the first non-incumbent vice president to be elected president. -
Nixon ordered troops to Cambodia
Nixon announced his decision to launch American forces into Cambodia with the special objective of capturing COSVN, "the headquarters of the entire Communist military operation in South Vietnam." This was significant because it made protests break out in the U.S. and people were even more upset with the Vietnam war. -
Hard Hat Riot
The Hard Hat Riot occurred on May 8, 1970, in New York City. It started when around 400 construction workers and around 800 office workers attacked around 1,000 demonstrators affiliated with the student strike of 1970. The riot separated society between the people who protested the war and people who were proud of the United States. -
Nixon goes to China
U.S. President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's resumption of harmonious relations between the United States and mainland China after years of diplomatic isolation. -
Nixon’s Christmas bombing
Also, know as Operation Linebacker II, a total of 741 B-52 sorties were dispatched to bomb North Vietnam; 729 completed their missions. B-52s dropped a total of 15,237 tons of ordnance on 18 industrial and 14 military targets while fighter-bombers added another 5,000 tons of bombs to the tally. The purpose of the bombing was to get them back to the table. -
Paris Peace Accords
A peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. This was significant because it would finally end the war they had been fighting for years. -
Nixon Resigns
Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974, after the House Judiciary Committee then approved articles of impeachment against Nixon for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. Also, his complicity in the cover-up made public and his political support completely eroded. He is the only U.S. president to have resigned from office. -
Saigon Falls
It was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong. The fall of Saigon effectively marked the end of the Vietnam War. After the introduction of Vietnamisation by President Richard Nixon, US forces in South Vietnam had been constantly reduced leaving the military of South Vietnam to defend their country against the North.