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Political Events: French Pull Out of Vietnam
After years of conflict in Vietnam, the French decided it was not worth it and began peace talks with the Viet Minh. The conference was held in Geneva and they decided to split Vietnam into the north and south. They hoped that the conclusion of the meeting would lead to peace in Vietnam. -
Major Military Operations: The North invades the South
Northern Vietnam was communist, so they decided to invade the south so that the entire country could be communist. The US and USSR took interest in this so while the Soviets backed the North, the US backed the South. This marked the beginning of involvement from other countries, but the US still had yet to declare war. -
Major Military Operations: US Assists Coup in Southern Vietnam
Despite placing in Ngo Dinh Diem into power during the convention in Geneva, the US decided they needed to change the leadership of the South. At the time, the US was sending troops to Vietnam in the pretenses that they were training the Vietnamese, but they actually helped them on operations. Diem did not want US troops in the country, especially since the US started to boss around Diem, so the US decided to replace Diem with someone more compatible. -
Home Front Events: Assassination of John F. Kennedy
JFK was the second president to be killed while in office. His death shocked the world and was very sad for many Americans. Lyndon B. Johnson became president after him as a result. -
Major Military Operations: Gulf of Tonkin
US destroyers were attacked by the Vietnamese, so they retaliated. The US approved of operations in the gulf after the incident so the battle escalated. This represents the beginning of major US involvement. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was also signed as a result and it allowed the Military to continue operations in Vietnam. -
Major Military Operations: US Starts Sending the Military to Vietnam
The first US troops arrive and the airstrikes commence. The troop size in Vietnam greatly increases to 200k troops. The war starts to pick up. -
Home Front Events: Muhammad Ali Dodges the Draft.
Muhammad Ali was only 25 at the time and was the heavyweight boxing champion. He opposed the war and when the government tried to draft him, he decided to not go. He took his prison sentence and his fine and practiced civil disobedience to protest the war and the draft. -
Home Front Events: Lincoln Memorial Protests
One of the most prominent protests of the war which took place in Washington at the Lincoln Memorial. There were roughly 100,000 protesters there and 30,000 of them proceeded to march on the pentagon. Hundreds of protesters were arrested. -
Major Military Operations: Tet Offensive
The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese launch an attack on US positions and cities. Despite losing the battle, the communists were able to show their strength and desire to win. This weakened the hearts of Americans who just wanted for the war to end finally. -
Home Front Events: Approval of the War Keeps Getting Worse
A poll was ran that said that only 35% of people approved of the war and of the president's actions. 50% were opposed and the rest had not opinion. The worsening approval of the war is directly worsening the approval of the government. -
Home Front Events: The Students for a Democratic Society
The Students for a Democratic Society was a group of activists who were against the war. They were most popular in 1968 after the Tet Offensive broke the spirits of Americans. The SDS was mostly made up of college aged students which is how it got its name, but they staged many protests and played a large role in activism at the time. -
Home Front Events: Assassination of Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King was an activist for civil rights who also opposed the Vietnam war. He would speak out against it since minorities were given worse treatment in the military and because he did not approve of the government's actions. He was an important person whose efforts helped the civil rights movement. -
Home Front Events: The Draft
In order to bolster the numbers in the military, the US government implemented the draft. Men of the right age who met the physical requirements were forced to register and out of those who were registered, people were selected by lottery. The draft was a large source of dissent among US citizens who did not wish to fight. -
Home Front Events: Kent State Shootings
Many students were at an anti-war protest in Kent Ohio. The protest got out of hand and the protesters set an ROTC building on fire. The national guard was dispatched and 28 people were shot, causing outrage against the government. -
Political Events: US Pulls Out of Vietnam
The US and the North Vietnamese meet in Paris to negotiate a ceasefire. US troops pull out of Vietnam. Soon afterwards, the north wins the war.