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Creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
On September 2, 1945, Ho officially declared independence and renamed Indochina to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. -
Creation of the 17th parallel between North and South Vietnam
The 17th parallel officially separated the region into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the North and the State of Vietnam to the South. -
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Battle of Dien Bien Phu
It was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954 and it was fought between the French Union's colonial Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. -
Establishment of the National Liberation Front
The National Liberation Front is a South Vietnamese. It was a communist group who worked with North Vietnam in hopes to capture South Vietnam. Their founder was Nguyen Van Hieu. They are often called the Viet Cong. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Resolution
Two unprovoked attacks by North Vietnamese torpedo boats on the destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy of the U.S. Fleet and led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which ultimately allowed President Lyndon B. Johnson to escalate the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. -
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Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was a gradual and sustained aerial bombardment campaign conducted by the United States against North Vietnam. -
US combat troops arrive in Vietnam
The U.S. first deployed troops to Vietnam in 1965 in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the first 3500 combat troops were sent by President Johnson. -
Tet Offensive
During the celebration of Tet Nguyen Dan, a celebration of the Lunar New Year in Vietnam referred to as Tet, the North Vietnamese, and the Viet Cong launched a series of surprise attacks on multiple cities, an embassy, and outposts, causing many deaths on the South Vietnamese and American sides. Americans and South Vietnamese soldiers eventually repelled the attacks. Despite this, the attacks marked a new part of the war and destroyed American and South Vietnamese morale. -
My Lai Massacre
US soldiers fired at least 300, but more commonly said to be 500, unarmed Vietnamese civilians in a small village named My Lai. My Lai was in South Vietnam and believed to be connected to Viet Cong. Some stories and sources claim that the soldiers didn't only kill the village's residents but also abused and assaulted them. The killing was covered up before being exposed by the press and fueled the anti-war sentiments and movements in America. -
Democratic National Convention
Pigasus for President !!! Huge protest and eventually the police were involved and arrested the Chicago Seven. -
Presidential Election
Richard Nixon won. He beat George Wallace (American Independent Party), and Hubert Humphrey (Democratic Party). Nixon focused on the "silent majority", the white middle class. -
Woodstock 1969
Woodstock was a concert/festival that captured the hippie culture. There were bad weathers and it was in New York, far away from California where most hippies traveled to; however, despite all of what most would consider miserable conditions, tons of people went, mainly hippies. It wasn't for money, just to hang out, do drugs, and listen to music that expressed the cultural independence of the 60s hippies. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
A group of students at a public school decided to wear black armbands as a sign of antiwar sentiments. The school board did not like this and banned it, so eventually, multiple students, including Mary Beth Tinker (where the name comes from), were suspended. When they came back they filed a lawsuit saying that the school broke the First Amendment. Then Supreme Court stuff, eventually Tinker won, and Justice Abe Fortas said that public schools cannot restrict speech unless it impacts learning. -
Kent State University Protest
Ohio National Guard shot at a crowd of Kent State University students during a protest about keeping the US's conflict with Vietnam out of Cambodia. They also were protesting the presence of the National Guard on campus. Four students were killed and nine were injured. None of the students had weapons and one was left paralyzed. Tons of people and media were highly upset about the ordeal, and it pushed more movements to spark. -
Jackson State College Protest
After the Kent State Protest, another antiwar protest took place at Jackson State College. Police again shot at a group of protestors outside of a dormitory and killing 2 students and injuring 12. -
Pentagon Papers
The Times published the first Pentagon Papers, and America basically, for lack of better words, got angry. Very angry, especially antiwar supporters. The Papers explain that the US was looking for a war in Vietnam far before the war started and that they had taken the war into neighboring countries, Cambodia and Laos, something that no other media had reported on. Needless to say, tons of people were very angry. -
Watergate
5 people break into the Democratic Convention at the Watergate Hotel. Nixon was trying to spy on the Democrats. Most of the 5 burglars and 2 planners had ties to the CIA and Nixon, but it was claimed that it was an anticommunism act and that Nixon was not involved. -
Paris Peace Accords
Peace treaty between the US and Vietnam. Nixon was worried about the 1972 elections and the Vietnamese were losing their support from Russia and China. -
United States vs. Nixon
After the Watergate Hotel was broken into, Nixon was being questioned about his involvement. He lied under oath by saying that he didn't do it. Multiple other people testified both for and against him. In the end, he was found guilty, he resigned, and multiple people who worked for him went to prison, but Nixon got off without much punishment. He resigned shortly after, and Vice President Gerald Ford became president. He once said, "I am not a crook." -
Fall of Saigon
Saigon was the capital of South Vietnam, and after the U.S. moved out of Vietnam, the South Vietnamese military was weakened and the North Vietnamese invaded Saigon. The Fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War.