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Ho Chi Minh is born
Ho Chi Minh was a communist revolutionary leader in Vietnam. He helped in the fight for independence for Vietnam and he became the head of northern Vietnam. -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but neither France nor the U.S recognize Vietnam as a separate nation
Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam is independent from France but the U.S and France did not see them as independent as they knew they would struggle with their freedom. -
The Geneva Accords cause Vietnam to be split into North and South
At the Geneva Accords, an agreement was signed to split Vietnam at the 17th parallel. They would be split to South Vietnam and North Vietnam, the south being non-communist and the north being communist. -
President Eisenhower declares "Domino Theory"
President Eisenhower thought that if Vietnam fell to communism many other nations in Asia would fall to communism also. He called this theory the Domino Theory that was also declared during the Cold War when the USSR grew in communism. -
The Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu
Ho Chi Minh brought his Viet Minh into Dien Bien Phu which was a French controlled area in Vietnam. They defeated the French and the French pulled out of Vietnam. The U.S began to worry about the communists getting strong in Vietnam because they were able to defeat the French. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancels elections in Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem and Ho Chi Mihn were supposed to have an election for being the leader of Vietnam but Ngo Dinh Diem noticed how popular Ho Chi Mihn was and he thought he didn't stand a chance in the election so he decided to cancel the elections. -
The National Liberation Front is formed
The National Liberation Front was also known as the Viet Cong. They were a mass political organization in South Vietnam. They functioned as a political party and an army for the south. -
The U.S withdraws support of Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of South Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem was the leader of South Vietnam and he was supported by the U.S. After began to kill the Vietnamese that weren't Catholic the U.S withdrew their support and Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated soon after when the Southern Vietnamese overthrew the government. -
A South Vietnamese monk sets himself on fire
The most popular religion in southern Vietnam was Buddhism. Ngo Dinh Diem was a Catholic leader so he began to execute anyone who wasn't Catholic. In protest of the killings and to inspire others a Monk set himself of fire. This gave the U.S an idea of what was happening in Vietnam and it gave the Southern Vietnamese the inspiration to retaliate against Ngo Dinh Diem. -
President Kennedy is assassinated, leading to the presidency of Lyndone B. Johnson
John F. Kennedy was the president during parts of the conflict in Vietnam. He heavily supported the southern Vietnamese in their effort for independence so he gave them U.S. military aid. A couple of hours after JFK was shot, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the president. -
President Johnson claims a U.S. ship had been fired upon by the North Vietnamese
The U.S.S Maddox was patrolling the Northern Vietnamese waters when it was apparently attacked by 3 Northern Vietnamese PT boats but there was no harm done to the ship. LBJ addressed this issue and said we had to fight back against this since the U.S. was under attack there. -
The first combat troops arrive in Vietnam
The first U.S combat troops landed at China beach to defend the air base at Da Nang. There were 3500 Marines in the group and the went to help other military advisors already in Vietnam.
